When Saturday Night Live aired its Season 46 finale last month, many fans had questions about whether any of the cast members would be saying farewell to their time on the long-running variety series. One cast member in question is Cecily Strong, who joined the SNL squad back in 2012. The comedian was recently asked about Season 47, but while fans might have expected her to have more of a concrete response, Strong's response was pretty cryptic.
Cecily Strong is now in the process of having to publicly talk about her future on SNL, which was up in the air following her Season 46 finale performance of “My Way” as Judge Jeanine Pirro in her old Weekend Update stomping grounds. That song choice, combined with her emotional cold open that featured multiple co-stars by her side, made it seem like Strong's exit announcement was imminent. But the future is always uncertain, especially as Strong is really starting to think about what her post-SNL projects could be. Still, Strong’s cryptic response to Entertainment Tonight about her future on SNL doesn’t give away too much, but it does give fans something to look forward to, whether that’s SNL-related or something else altogether. In her words:
I’ll be thrilled if I go back, I’ll be thrilled if that was my last show. I feel good either way… Things are a bit more up in the air and I’m OK with that. My lesson from last year is sort of see what happens.
It looks as if contract negotiations for Season 47 are still underway, meaning we won’t know exactly who is returning for possibly another few months. With SNL having been a TV staple for so long, fans are used to seeing cast members come and go, but that doesn't take away from the pain and disappointment when such exits go down, especially after memorable seasons. Fans don't have to worry about the show's longest-running cast member bowing out anytime soon, though, as Kenan Thompson explained why he’s been on the show for so long, laying out his goal to hit at least 20 seasons before calling it quits.
This isn’t the first time that Cecily Strong was rumored to be leaving the NBC series, either. Last summer, Strong was set to star in and produce the then-untitled comedy for Apple TV+ that turned into Schmigadoon! Set to premiere on July 16, that musical comedy is is executive produced by SNL creator Lorne Michaels, who doesn't seem to have any problems with Strong splitting her time up. Depending on the success of the series, it’s highly possible that Strong could leave the long-running show to focus on the musical comedy with Keegan-Michael Key. But since it hasn’t premiered yet, it’s hard to tell what Strong is going to do over the coming months.
Cast members on Saturday Night Live come and go, and whether or not Cecily Strong will officially exit ahead of Season 47 is up in the air, and the same goes for co-stars Pete Davidson and Kate McKinnon, both of whom have branched out in big ways outside of SNL. It’s likely news won’t come out until closer to the premiere of the season in the fall. Even though SNL wouldn’t be the same without Strong, her new series is getting traction even before the premiere and it will be interesting to see what happens for her! The fact that she’s still working closely with Lorne Michaels spells good news, so check out our 2021 Summer TV schedule while waiting to find out more.
