Heidi Gardner, Longest-Running ‘SNL’ Female Cast Member, Will Not Return for Season 51

Heidi Gardner is the latest Saturday Night Live cast member who will exit the show ahead of Season 51. On Aug. 28, Variety reported that Gardner is out for the new season set to premiere on October 4.

Gardner, 42, joined SNL as a featured player in 2017 and was promoted to a main cast member in 2019. Some of Gardner’s most memorable recurring SNL characters included Angel (Every Boxer's Girlfriend from Every Movie About Boxing Ever), Your Co-Worker Who’s Extremely Busy Doing Seemingly Nothing,  and “Weekend Update”  teen movie critic Bailey Gismert.  Gardner was SNL’s longest-running female cast member.

Earlier this year, she told Craig Ferguson’s Joy podcast that things had gotten a “little tough” for her creatively. “I will say the only thing that I’ve started to feel a little bit is just sketch fatigue, or idea fatigue,” she admitted. “At this point, after doing Groundlings and SNL for so long, I’m like, ‘I’ve written a lot of sketches.’”

Fans reacted to Gardner’s SNL exit on social media, with many saying they would miss what she brought to the show.

“She will be missed - she’s a firecracker and I love her characters. She will go on to great things,” one fan wrote on Reddit.

"It wouldn't surprise me if she left on her own, or she was cool with being let go so she could focus on future endeavors,” another speculated.

“The cast has been bloated for a while, but this is the first departure that I'm genuinely shocked by,” another fan wrote of Gardner.

3 Other 'SNL' Cast Members Are Also Leaving

It has been a brutal week for SNL cuts. Ahead of Gardner’s exit, Devon Walker announced in an Instagram post that he was leaving the show after a three-season run that was sometimes “toxic.” In addition, Michael Longfellow is also out after three seasons, and Emil Wakim will be one season and done after joining the cast last fall.

The rest of the SNL Season 50 cast included Colin Jost, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Marcello Hernández, James Austin Johnson, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, and Bowen Yang, along with featured players Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline. 

Only Johnson has been confirmed to be definitely returning for Season 51, showrunner Lorne Michaels revealed to Puck in an interview earlier this week.