When “Saturday Night Live” debuts its 47th season on Oct. 2, it will be down a couple of familiar faces — but adding some new kids to the crew.
Cast members Beck Bennett and Lauren Holt have exited “SNL,” while the NBC variety sketch series will be retaining this ensemble lineup for the 2021-22 season: Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Melissa Villaseñor and Bowen Yang, featuring Andrew Dismukes and Punkie Johnson.
Whether Bryant, Davidson, McKinnon and Strong would be returning to “SNL” for Season 47 had been an ongoing conversation over the past few months, with NBC finally putting an end to the questions Monday with the release of the above lineup.
Bennett commented on his exit Monday morning, writing in an Instagram post: “Love you, SNL. Gonna miss you so much. Thank you for 8 years of remarkable people and incredible experiences that completely changed my life. I had so much fun 1. after the finale our first year 2. officemates for 5 years 3. Jessy in the dressing room 4. Team of 8 years: Jason (makeup), Ruth (hair), Jason (dresser) 5. last table read, with Kyle 6. writers room on 9 before Saturday meeting 7. meeting before live show 8. audience at goodnights 9. goodnights 10. my nipps.”
“SNL” did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment regarding the exits of Bennet and Holt.
Additionally, NBC revealed Monday that three featured players have been added to the “SNL” cast for Season 47: Aristotle Athari, James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman.
“SNL” Season 47 premieres on Oct. 2 with host Owen Wilson and musical guest Kacey Musgraves.
“Saturday Night Live” is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels.
See below for the bios of the new “SNL” cast members, courtesy of NBC:
ARISTOTLE ATHARI
Aristotle Athari joins the cast of “Saturday Night Live” for his first season.
Athari is a comedian, writer and director. He got his start as part of the sketch group “Goatface,” which released its Comedy Central special in 2018. He has directed stand-up specials for television, and previous acting credits include HBO’s “Silicon Valley” and Funny or Die’s “The Coop.”
Athari is from Los Angeles by way of Texas, and his birthday is July 28.
JAMES AUSTIN JOHNSON
James Austin Johnson joins the cast of “Saturday Night Live” for his first season.
Johnson is a comedian and actor whose past credits include roles on “Tuca & Bertie,” “Future Man,” “Adam Ruins Everything” and the film, “Hail Caesar.” He has performed in Los Angeles at Highland Park’s longest running comedy show, “Rod Stewart Live.”
Johnson is from Nashville and his birthday is July 19.
SARAH SHERMAN
Sarah Sherman joins the cast of “Saturday Night Live” for her first season.
Sherman is a comedian and visual artist known for her traveling comedy show “Helltrap Nightmare.” She previously worked on “The Eric Andre Show” and opened for him on tour.
Sherman is from Long Island and her birthday is March 7.