Just when we thought that the reshuffle of “Saturday Night Live” was over, another casting change was revealed.
Last week, it seemed that the list of actors of season 51 for the late evening comedy show on NBC had been finalized. All the entertainment professions have reported to the distribution as if they had all been locked up. But it turns out that one of the actors in the alleged distribution will not be back: Ego Nwodim.
In an article on Instagram, Nwodim wrote:
“The most difficult part of a big party is to know when to say good night. But after seven unforgettable seasons, I decided to leave” SNL “. I am extremely grateful to Lorne for the opportunity, to my comrades, the writers and the crew for their brilliance, their support and their friendship.
Nwodim is now joining the exodus of distribution members before the premiere of season 51 on October 4, and the deadline said that the actor came herself. The star players Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow were not interviewed for season 51, and Devon Walker, a distribution member, also confirmed his departure. But the biggest surprise was the longtime casting member Heidi Gardner leaving the series after eight seasons. Nwodim joins them after being on “SNL” for seven seasons.
This creates a little problem for “SNL”, because now they are left without a member of the black distribution, which was a problem that brought them in years of hot water there is. In 2014, there was an uproar in the media with the lack of black female representation in the program at the time, which prompted Lorne Michaels to specifically seek a black actress, marking their first hiring of such a talent since 2007. It was at this moment that Sasheer Zamata entered the melee, and since then we saw the players. But what will “SNL” do now?
Ego Nwodim had some hilarious moments on SNL
In addition to allowing “SNL” to draw from the relevant big titles involving famous, black and female personalities, Ego Nwodim also brought hilarious characters to the series of sketches after joining the cast of season 44 in 2018.
How could we forget her beginnings as Lisa de Temecula, who made the host Pedro Pascal and his colleague Bowen Yang Break during a sketch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxXCAW74PTK
Last season, Ego Nwodim became viral, a bit like the signature of Heidi Gardner with the host Ryan Gosling and the distribution member Mikey Day, when she created a shocking moment that found the public “SNL” shouting a generally censored piece of blasphemy that looked like. It was one of the funniest moments of the season, and although it ended up censored in the online version, you can always see the surprised reactions of Nwodim and update of the weekend Michael Che and Colin Jost:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_ljasfqkta
Other memorable bits include the accommodation of Dionne Warwick’s talk show, after the famous singer has become a bit online for her presence on social networks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z88jz2ikwbu
Nwodim was also part of the quartet in this sketch of noon news which brought a racial satire to the table to the joy of the public:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqtzmshikw
As for the future of Nwodim, that’s probably why she leaves “SNL”. Recently, she appeared in “Poker Face” and “Mr. Throwback” by Peacock, the animated series “Good Times” on Netflix, and she will soon be seen in the film of the Streamer “Little Brother”, who follows a famous real estate agent who carefully organized the world. The film features John Cena, Eric Andre, Christopher Meloni, Sherry Cola, Caleb Hearon and more.
Ego nwodim will sorely miss SNL
In 2023, Nwodim spoke on the deadline for “SNL” and his wider career, saying: “I have such great hopes for myself and great dreams for myself and becoming in this show is a part of this dream. The dream come true. I want my other dreams to come true. I want to be in movies and I want to make more television.”
Leaving “SNL” will certainly allow him less than an eventful schedule to play in more movies and television programs, and we are really interested in seeing how his career continues after that. For its part, Nwodim could not be more grateful to be part of this exclusive club. During a prize -cereal consideration event for the 50th “SNL” season, said Nwodim (via the deadline):
“At one point, there was an event honoring Lorne [Michaels] Between the concert of February 14 and the special and Heidi [Gardner] said to me, “I thought there were 500 people in this cast and I realize that we never doing a hundred and something we are in the cast”. What a special honor to be part of this club or this club or this family. The 50th seemed really nostalgic and beautiful. “”
Is the big question that “SNL” will try to find another black actor to fill the gap left by his departure? We will have to wait and see.
“SNL” returns for season 51 on October 4, 2025, and here is the full list that we are expecting to see Return to the show: Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang, As a player Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline.
They will also be joined by the new members of the Tommy Brennan distribution, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska, as well as Ben Marshall not to destroy, that you can find out more here.
