Chloe Fineman Calls ‘SNL’ Cast Shake-Up ‘Pretty Wild’ and ‘Shocking’: ‘I Haven’t Fully Processed Anything’
by Ellise Shafer · Variety“Saturday Night Live” star Chloe Fineman is still processing the sketch show’s recent cast shake-up.
The past few weeks have seen the departures of Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow and Emil Wakim, plus the splitting up of Please Don’t Destroy as Ben Marshall was promoted to main cast, Martin Herlihy moved to writing staff and John Higgins left the show.
Speaking to Extra TV at a New York Fashion Week event for Michael Kors on Thursday, Fineman — who is returning for Season 51 alongside show mainstays Bowen Yang, Ego Nwodim and Kenan Thompson — called the cast changes “pretty wild.”
Related Stories
The Mystery of 'Exit 8': How A Video Game Adaptation Set in One Hallway Became an Emotional Festival Hit
Channing Tatum’s ‘Roofman’ Reinvention: Why He Wanted to Play a Real-Life Criminal for Derek Cianfrance’s Surprising Film and How He’s Reviving Gambit for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
“Some shocking stuff — a little heartbreak, sadness. I haven’t fully processed anything,” Fineman said. “But I will say, the show has such turnover. I’m going into my seventh year, I’ve done it and you always experience it. But these people stay in your lives.”
One of the most shocking exits was Gardner, who had been on “SNL” for eight seasons. Yang praised her on his podcast “Las Culturistas” earlier this week, calling the comedian “one of the greats” who will “go down in history.”
Other returning “SNL” players include Mikey Day, Sarah Sherman, Marcello Hernández, Andrew Dismukes, James Austin Johnson, Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline. The show is also adding some new faces to Season 51, with Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska joining the cast.
“I am excited for the new people. It’s so many people,” Fineman said. “When I saw how young the new cast is, I immediately got a laser. I was like, do I get the forever 35 facelift? I was Googling their ages and I felt like I was in ‘Death Becomes Her,’ like oh my god.”