This has been a shocking summer for Saturday Night Live fans, as the weeks leading up the Season 51 debut on the 2025 TV schedule have been filled with news of cast member exits. Though there are now several cast additions to look forward to, fans are still lamenting the loss of long-time stars like Ego Nwodim, who announced just in mid- September that she was leaving the legendary sketch comedy behind. Now, she’s opened up about her decision and why it’s so “exciting” for her.
What Did Ego Nwodim Say About Why She Left SNL And Being Excited For The Future?
A few days in late August really shook the Saturday Night Live fandom, as stars Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, and Michael Longfellow were all revealed to be out before Season 51. While they were all relatively new members of the Not Ready For Primetime Players (Walker and Longfellow had three seasons under their belts, while Wakim had only one), viewers were stunned that same week when eight-season vet Heidi Gardner was announced as being out at SNL, as well.
It was just on September 12 that word came down about Ego Nwodim leaving, who was also a long-running cast member with seven seasons on the show. At the time, the comedian (who hilariously and accidentally led the audience to yell out “shit” live on the air in Season 50) noted how thankful she was to Lorne Michaels, the cast, crew and for everything she learned on the series, but now Nwodim’s opened up to Fast Company about why she left and the excitement that lies ahead. The Good Burger 2 actress said:
There’s so much I want to do, and SNL is always meant to be a stepping stone. There’s so many ideas that I need to have time to create. I’m looking forward to doing that. So directing, more writing in a different capacity. Very excited. It’s an exciting thing.
It’s hard to see Lisa from Temecula go, but it’s very good to hear that Nwodim sounds completely ready to move on to the next phase of her career. And, she’s totally correct that SNL is generally a huge “stepping stone” when it comes to the cast members’ later careers. The show has launched a number of Hollywood’s hottest talents over the decades, like Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Kate McKinnon, and Andy Samberg, with stars like Eddie Murphy and Chris Farley making a major impact in less than five seasons.
It sounds like the Poker Face guest star already has a lot of solid plans for what she wants to do next in her career, and I have no doubt that we’ll be hearing from her again before too much time passes.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
