Shakeups in the Saturday Night Live cast continue to trickle out as Emil Wakim, who joined the series for its 50th season last year, won’t be returning for Season 51.
Wakim revealed he was one-and-done at the long-running, late-night show in a statement posted on social media Wednesday. “I won’t be returning to SNL next year. It was a gut punch of a call to get but i’m so grateful for my time there,” Wakim wrote, adding he learned of his dismissal while celebrating a friend’s birthday at a Six Flags amusement park.
“Every time I scanned into the building I would think how insane it is to get to work there. It was the most terrifying, thrilling, and rewarding experience of my life and I will miss it dearly and all the brilliant people that work there that made it feel like a home. Thank u to Lorne [Michaels] for taking a chance on me and changing my life.”
Wakim was one of three new cast members, along with Jane Wickline and Ashley Padilla, that SNL brought in ahead of its 50th anniversary season. During his short tenure on the show, Wakim portrayed the likes of Luigi Mangione, Julius Caesar, and Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, as well as appeared as himself on Weekend Update.
Ahead of the upcoming 51st season, Michaels hinted in a recent interview that massive cast upheaval — which was delayed in order to limit “disruptions” for the SNL 50 specials — could be in the works. (Writers Rosebud Baker and Celeste Yim already said they won’t be returning.)
Devon Walker, a three-season SNL vet, announced Tuesday that he was exiting the show, though it was unclear whether his departure was the show’s decision, his own decision, or mutual. “Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell. But we did what we made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction. We made a fucked up lil family,” Walker wrote on social media.
As for when the major Season 51 changes are coming — there’s already rumors of a new Weekend Update desk — Michaels told Puck, “It’ll be announced in a week or so.”
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