Watch Saturday Night Live Bid Farewell To Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, And Pete Davidson … But Not Kyle Mooney

As of now, these are the only cast members who are confirmed to leave “Saturday Night Live” after this season. However, there’s a chance some of the other featured players could end up not coming back for season 48. As of now, Andrew Dismukes and Punkie Johnson have been on for two seasons while Aristotle Athari, James Austin Johnson, and Sarah Sherman just finished their first season. Typically, just before the new season begins, “SNL” cast members can be let go. Often it’s featured players who are let go during this time, usually because they’re just not working out. Lauren Holt was one of the most recent featured players to last only a season, while previous featured players like Bowen Yang and Chloe Fineman were promoted to the repertory cast. 

Though I’d hate to see him go, Aristotle Athari feels like he could be on the cusp of being let go. He debuted his own recurring, original character during his first season, but his memorable appearances on the show otherwise have been few and far between. Punkie Johnson is in a similarly precarious situation, perhaps even more so since she’s yet to land a staple character. As for Andrew Dismukes, he’s been delivering some great sketches lately, and his youthful looks allow him to fill a specific kind of role in “SNL” sketches.

Meanwhile, James Austin Johnson isn’t likely to go anywhere. Not only is his impersonation of Donald Trump a big hit, but he’s also been playing President Joe Biden. On top of that, he’s a fantastic impressionist and a skilled everyman. As for Sarah Sherman, she’s enjoyed quite a rise on “SNL,” bringing plenty of alt comedy flair and oddball laughs to the late night sketch show, and I can’t see her getting sent away. 

Aside from the featured players, there’s always a chance another repertory player decides to leave. They don’t all make the decision before the season finale. There have been rumblings that Michael Che could leave the show soon, especially after recently saying, “My head has been at leaving for the past five seasons.” But it seems Che is sticking around at least for one more year. Fans have also been thinking Cecily Strong might be the next longtime cast member to head out, but not quite yet it seems. Of course, Kenan Thompson hasn’t indicated that he might leave, despite being on the show for nearly 20 years. Since his sitcom “Kenan” recently got canceled, he’ll probably stay comfortable on “SNL.”

We’ll have to see what happens over the summer before “Saturday Night Live” returns for season 48 this fall.