SNL Says Goodbye: Heidi Gardner and Michael Longfellow Exit as Show Faces a Major Cast Reset
Looking Toward Season 51
New York — August 29, 2025 — After five decades on the air, Saturday Night Live is no stranger to change. But as the show prepares for its 51st season, it feels like the end of a very specific chapter. Two beloved cast members, Heidi Gardner and Michael Longfellow, are officially saying goodbye, joining a wave of other departures that’s shaking up the comedy institution.
Heidi Gardner: The Quiet Glue of SNL
For eight seasons, Heidi Gardner has been the kind of performer who could hold a sketch together with just a raised eyebrow or a perfectly awkward pause. Whether she was playing the painfully relatable teen Bailey Gismert on Weekend Update or the boxing girlfriend who cheered too hard from the corner of the ring, she carved out a space as one of the show’s most versatile and empathetic comedians.
At 42, Gardner was SNL’s longest-running female cast member still on the roster. Her exit doesn’t just mark the end of her run—it feels like losing a steady anchor of the ensemble. She’s been open about the burnout that comes with years of late nights and sketch-writing marathons, and it seems the timing was right to move on.
Offstage, Gardner has already been building an impressive career: she’s appeared in Shrinking, Girls5eva, and even Adam Sandler’s Hustle. Her fans can expect to see much more of her beyond Studio 8H.
Michael Longfellow: The Rising Star Who Left Early
On the other end of the spectrum is Michael Longfellow, who joined in 2022. With his dry delivery and unflappable stage presence, he quickly became a fan favorite on Weekend Update. His departure after only three seasons feels surprising—especially since he had even screen-tested for a potential anchor role.
In a heartfelt Instagram post, Longfellow called his SNL experience “the best three years of my life so far,” thanking Lorne Michaels and the cast for what he described as “the greatest job in the world.”
At just 31, Longfellow still has a long road ahead in comedy. He’s been busy touring as a stand-up, and his role in Good Burger 2 showed how naturally he fits into the world of film comedy.
A Bigger Shift at SNL
Gardner and Longfellow aren’t leaving alone. In just a few weeks, multiple names have been added to the exit list: Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, writers Celeste Yim and Rosebud Baker, and others. It’s part of what Lorne Michaels himself teased as a “reinvention” following Season 50’s milestone celebrations.
Even former castmates are struggling to process the pace of change. Punkie Johnson, who left earlier this year, admitted she had “whiplash” watching so many departures roll in at once. Her words—“WTF is happening?”—probably echo what many longtime SNL fans are feeling right now.
Looking Toward Season 51
So what comes next? Season 51 kicks off October 4 on NBC and Peacock, but the cast lineup is still being finalized. With so many openings, the show has a rare opportunity to reinvent itself—something SNL has done many times over its long history.
It’s bittersweet: saying goodbye to the familiar faces who shaped SNL over the last decade is tough. But if history is any guide, the show will find new voices ready to step into the spotlight.
For Gardner and Longfellow, though, this isn’t just the end of an era. It’s the beginning of whatever comes next—and if their time on SNL proved anything, it’s that we’ll be seeing a lot more from both of them, even if it’s not from behind the legendary Studio 8H stage doors.
