Chloe Fineman is preparing to return for season 51 of Saturday Night Live, though she admitted that she’s “still processing” many of her former co-stars not returning to the show amid a major cast shake–up.
“Pretty wild,” Fineman told Extra TV when asked about the cast changes. “Some shocking stuff. A little heartbreak, sadness. I haven’t fully processed anything, but I will say the show has such turnover.”
It was previously announced that Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and John Higgins will not be returning for season 51, which premieres on Oct. 4.
“I’m going into my seventh year,” Fineman continued. “I’ve like, done it. You always experience [turnover], but these people stay in your lives.”
Fineman joined SNL in 2019 as a featured player and she was promoted to repertory player in 2021.
In addition to Fineman, SNL stars Bowen Yang, Kenan Thompson, Ego Nwodim, Marcello Hernandez, Colin Jost, Michael Che, Andrew Dismukes, James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman, Ashley Padilla, Mikey Day and Jane Wickline are all confirmed to return for the new season. Meanwhile, Please Don’t Destroy’s Ben Marshall has been promoted to a feature player. The upcoming season will also include newcomers Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska.
While speaking to Extra, Fineman said that she’s “excited for the new people” to join the show. “It’s so many people,” she said, before joking, “When I saw how young the new cast is, I immediately got a laser. I felt like I was in Death Becomes Her. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’”
Fineman isn’t the only SNL star to recently reflect on the cast shake-up. Yang opened up about Gardner leaving the show during the Wednesday episode of his Las Culturistas podcast.
After he called Gardner “a true anchor on that show,” Yang said she was “one of the greats” and “will go down in history.”
He then shared that she was a trusted sketch writer on the variety show. “It’s always a very, very vulnerable thing as a cast member to put only your name on it,” Yang added. “But anytime you saw just ‘Gardner,’ you knew you were in good hands. She would take it upon herself to write pieces for other cast.”
On a personal note, Yang credited Gardner for getting the cast through the COVID-19 pandemic. He recalled that she would have them “just each text each other every day, something that made us smile today,” adding that she is “just a truly beautiful person.”
