Saturday Night Live Season 47 dropped its finale this past weekend, and the event was accompanied by multiple major cast exits. Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, and Kyle Mooney all said goodbye to Studio 8H during the last episode of the season, and it was emotional. The four exits weren't reported by the trades until this past Friday though, as it turns out, McKinnon (skillfully) dodged a question regarding her future on the popular sketch series just a few weeks ago.
Kate McKinnon discussed her successful career in comedy, including her Emmy-winning work on SNL while chatting with Variety for its 2021 Power of Women issue in April. When McKinnon was asked how much longer she’d be on the show, she found a respectful way to bypass the question:
Umm, gosh, it’s April. It’s early. Honestly, no, I can’t. I’m sorry.
That's certainly a smooth way to keep the conversation moving. It couldn't have been easy for the star to hold her tongue (if she had even decided by that time, of course). Kudos to her for sticking to her guns and not flinching.
Kate McKinnon brought beloved characters and impersonations (like Ruth Bader Ginsberg) to life during her tenure on SNL, which began in 2012. In fact, at this point, she's in sixth place when it comes to all-time sketch appearances, having topped Bill Hader earlier this year. Saturday’s finale opened with the fan-favorite alien abduction sketch, with McKinnon’s character experiencing her final close encounter and the comedian tearfully giving her final “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night” announcement.
Rumors of her exit from Saturday Night Live were swirling for a while. One of the reasons for this is that her career obligations outside the sketch comedy show had been steadily increasing. Though the series seems to be more flexible with its stars committing themselves to other gigs, though it's understandable that they'd eventually want to branch out and leave the show completely.
SNL is definitely not going to be the same next season since it'll be without the likes of breakouts like Pete Davidson. Of course, the cast experiences changes frequently, but it’s rarely easy to see fan-favorites go. Though on the bright side, it can be comforting for fans to know that some of them have plenty of other projects on the way. And that is indeed the case for Kate McKinnon.
The public can still catch her in DC League of Super-Pets later this year and Greta Gerwig's Barbie in 2023. She also recently appeared in Netflix’s The Bubble and was a co-lead on Peacock’s Joe vs. Carole earlier this year. So there's plenty that you can still enjoy from the actress. I wish her the best moving forward (and will continue to watch how she approaches those interview questions).
Get your fix by checking out other movies Kate McKinnon has starred in. You can also revisit some of her greatest Saturday Night Live performances by streaming full episodes, available with a Peacock Premium subscription.
