One more castmember is leaving Saturday Night Live before the show’s 51st season.
In an Instagram story posted Friday morning, Ego Nwodim says she had decided to leave the show after seven seasons. Her announcement comes a few days after NBC had seemingly finalized the SNL cast for the coming season, with Nwodim included.
“The hardest part of a great party is knowing when to say goodnight,” Nwodim writes in the Instagram post. But after seven unforgettable seasons, I have decided to leave SNL. I am immensely grateful to Lorne for the opportunity, to my castmates, the writers, and the crew for their brilliance, support and friendship. Week after week on that stage taught me more than I could have ever imagined, and I will carry those memories (and that laughter) with me always. Now invite me to your weddings please!!!”
Nwodim becomes the fifth member of SNL’s cast to leave between seasons, following Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow and Emil Wakim. The Please Don’t Destroy trio also won’t appear on screen together after writer and sometime performer John Higgins departed the show; Ben Marshall moved out of the writers room to become a featured player (along with Kam Patterson, Jeremy Culhane, Veronika Slowikowska and Tommy Brennan), while the third member of the group, Martin Herlihy, is staying on as a writer.
On Monday, Nwodim’s name was included in a list of returning cast for the coming season, alongside Kenan Thompson, Chloe Fineman, Bowen Yang, Mikey Day, “Weekend Update” anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost, Andrew Dismukes, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman, Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline.
Nwodim joined SNL as a featured player in 2018 and was promoted to the main cast two years later. Outside the show, her credits include Peacock’s Mr. Throwback, Netflix’s movie Players and the upcoming Netflix feature Little Brother with John Cena and Eric André.
