A gig on Saturday Night Live can mean long-term job security for any actor on the small screen, and SNL success can open the doors for major roles on other projects. Unfortunately, not every cast member can be a Kenan Thompson or an Amy Poehler, and we now know of a cast member who is leaving the show before really getting the chance to shine. Luke Null will not appear in the upcoming Season 44 on NBC.
Luke Null joined Saturday Night Live as a featured player for Season 43, so the show won't really fundamentally change without him on board in Season 44. Although he appeared in sketches and even delivered some laughs, he never spent a whole lot of time in the spotlight despite showing promise when he was hired last summer, along with up-and-coming comedic actors Chris Redd and Heidi Gardner. Given that Null's hiring came after the departures of several huge SNL stars, the odds seemed decent that he would have at least a few years on the show. According to Vulture, that's simply not the case.
It may come as some small relief to Luke Null that he's hardly the first SNL cast member to only last one season before leaving the series. Lasting a single season on Saturday Night Live didn't permanently cripple the careers of showbiz pros including Sarah Silverman, Ben Stiller, Laurie Metcalf, Martin Short, Joan Cusack, and Robert Downey Jr. himself. Will Luke Null be the next Robert Downey Jr.? Probably not. Still, his career isn't over just because he no longer has a place on the Saturday Night Live cast.
Before he landed the gig at SNL, Luke Null was based out of Chicago and known for his work with the sketch/improv group known as Newport Hounds. Only time will tell if he'll head back to his old stomping grounds or stick around in New York City. Who knows? Maybe his relatively brief stint on Saturday Night Live managed to open some doors to him in showbiz. He wasn't bad on SNL; he just didn't have the screentime to become especially memorable.
In case you need a refresher on what he brought to Saturday Night Live (and what won't be around in Season 44), take a look at a sketch from the episode hosted by Saoirse Ronan:
The premiere date for Saturday Night Live Season 44 has not been announced just yet, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest news. We can only hope that we'll get as many laughs out of the sketches (and bloopers) as we got in Season 43. If you need to figure out when a bunch of other shows will hit the airwaves in the not-too-distant future, check out our fall TV premiere schedule.
