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The pre–season 51 SNL departures continue. Following this week’s news that cast members Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, and Michael Longfellow will exit SNL ahead of its season-51 debut in early October, Vulture has confirmed that Heidi Gardner will also not be returning to the sketch-comedy series. Gardner, who has been a cast member for eight seasons, joined the show in 2017 as a featured player before being promoted to repertory player in 2019.
During her time on the show, Gardner became known for everything from impressions of Jill Biden to “Weekend Update” characters like teen-film critic Bailey Gismert and Angel (a.k.a. “Every Boxer’s Girlfriend From Every Movie About Boxing Ever”) to her ability to oscillate between straight-woman and broad-weirdo characters in sketches. She also starred in the fan-favorite 2024 sketch, “Beavis and Butt-head,” in which she, alongside host Ryan Gosling, memorably could not stop breaking. Her success on SNL has led to a number of roles outside the show; she appeared in a supporting role in the 2022 Adam Sandler movie Hustle and currently recurs as Grace on Apple TV+’s Shrinking. Whoever steps in to fill her shoes when SNL’s new season premieres in October will have a lot to do.
