According to The Hollywood Reporter, Heidi Gardner (Life of the Party, Yes We Cannabis) will be departing from Saturday Night Live after eight seasons. Gardner joined the NBC series in 2017-18 as a featured player and moved up to the main cast two seasons later. Gardner is the fourth SNL cast member to leave the show in the past three days, following Devon Walker (Big Mouth, Everything’s Trash), Emil Wakim (Hunters, Black Market with Michael K. Williams) and Michael Longfellow (How to Be Broke, Laugh After Dark) out the doors of 30 Rock. Joining them are writers Celeste Yim (Las Culturistas Culture Awards, Life & Beth) and Rosebud Baker (Inside Amy Schumer, That Damn Michael Che). Gardner is the longest-tenured female cast member of the show’s current cast, a designation that will now fall to Ego Nwodim (Galactic War Room, Poker Face).

As per The Hollywood Reporter, last week, executive producer Lorne Michaels (The Kids in the Hall, The Other Two) spoke to Puck in an interview and stated that the cast changes for the 51st season, which premieres on October 4. The four departures ahead of the season are the most since 2022, when eight people left the cast between the end of season 47 and the start of season 48. The SNL cast members exiting on the 50th season has led to many viewers being stunned to the sudden change in casting.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, other than Saturday Night Live, Gardner’s credits include a recurring part on Shrinking and guest roles on You, Superstore and Girls5Eva, as well as ad campaigns for Homes.com, Buffalo Wild Wings and Starbucks.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Saturday Night Live is a long-running late-night comedy show that includes a live cast performing sketch comedy, political satire, and parodies, along with a weekly celebrity host and a musical guest. The late-night show started in 1975 and will soon be reaching its 50th season on NBC.