Not a huge surprise, but in the wake of one of Saturday Night Live’s most popular old-timers, Bill Hader, leaving the show, another cast member, Fred Armisen, is set to leave, and Jason Sudeikis is likely to follow behind, according to The Post (via Splitsider). With Seth Meyers vacating the “Weekend Update” desk, that will mean that Kenan Thompson — if he stays — will be the only cast member left with more than four years seniority (aside from Thompson, Nasim Pedrad will be the longest serving cast member, and she joined “SNL” in 2009).
With Andy Samberg and Kristen Wiig leaving last year, “SNL” is officially moving into the next generation of cast members, and it’s in good hands with Taran Killam, Cecily Tyson, Kate McKinnon, and Aidy Bryant leading the way. Honestly, the loss of Armisen is not a huge blow. He’s not been a big factor on the show since Jay Pharoah took over Obama impression duties, and he’s much better on Portlandia, anyway. More importantly, without Armisen and Hader, the “Californians” sketch will almost certainly die with them.
Sudeikis is a bigger loss, although his role over the last two years has been noticeably reduced, as he’s positioned himself for a feature film career, where he will likely play best friend roles for the next decade (although, he does have a lead role in this summer’s We’re the Millers, with Jennifer Aniston). I do hope, however, he goes out this weekend with a little Cajun justice.
At any rate, expect both cast members — along with Hader and Meyers — to bid us adieu this Saturday, in the Ben Affleck hosted season finale.
