Another longtime cast member is exiting Saturday Night Live before the next season opener.
Ego Nwodim announced on social media today that she will be leaving SNL after seven seasons in the cast.
“The hardest part of a great party is knowing when to say goodnight,” Nwodim said in a statement announcing the end of her tenure on the late night variety show. “But after seven unforgettable seasons, I have decided to leave SNL. I am immensely grateful to Lorne [Michaels] 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.”
Nwodim joins Heidi Gardner as longtime members of the repertory group who are not coming back for the 51st season, which starts Saturday, October 4 with an unnamed host.
The 37-year old comedian/actress is leaving on her own terms following a quick rise as one of the most endearing members of the cast. As a black female, Nwodim brought diversity to a show that has been criticized as being too male and too white in the past.
As Season 51 prepares to launch in a few weeks, Nwodim’s exit creates a gaping hole in the cast. The show has only three black cast members, all of which are male: Kenan Thompson, Michael Che, and newcomer Kam Patterson.
For coveted lead female roles as characters, impressions, and sketches, Nwodim’s absence would seem to create opportunity for Chloe Fineman, Ashley Padilla, Sarah Sherman, Jane Wickline, and new cast member Veronika Slowikowska, who has featured her character and sketch skills in a series of social media videos that brought her to the attention of producers of the show.
Nowodim joined SNL in 2018 just before the start of Season 44. She was made a full cast member for Season 46 in 2020.
Nowodim’s most famous moments have likely been dynamic appearances on Weekend Update under her own name in a segment where she dubbed herself “Miss Eggy.” In those performances, she skewered celebrities and current headlines while strutting in front of the news desk.
It was theorized that with Gardner leaving, and Nwodim as the senior female cast member, she may enjoy a big season. But now the show will need to pivot as it enters what hopefully can be a second 50 years on the screen.
SNL has been criticized for not being edgy, not employing enough satire and parody in recent years. Worse yet: it’s been targeted as being less funny than in the best times of the show. In 2012 the show lost iconic cast member Kristen Wiig, and the following season it lost two beloved cast members: Fred Armisen and Bill Hader. For many fans that 2012-2013 season represents the last golden era of the show. Since 2012-13 (Season 38), the show has been populated by a series of rather interchangeable parts, some of which had brief moments of success, but many of which have failed to land with broad audiences, critics suggest.
With five new cast members replacing the five that have now left, including Nwodim, the SNL cast is at 17. That is tied as the largest group entering a season in the history of the show.
