It’s a “Saturday Night Live” cast shakeup.
Ahead of the late-night comedy sketch show’s 47th season premiere, two cast members are leaving the series.
Longtime show staples including Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong will be staying on as part of the main cast. However, Beck Bennett is departing the NBC series after eight seasons, and Lauren Holt will also be leaving after making her debut just last season.
“Love you, SNL Gonna miss you so much Thank you for 8 years of remarkable people and incredible experiences that completely changed my life. I had so much fun,” Bennett wrote alongside a series of throwback snaps from his time on the “SNL” set.
Comedians Aristotle Athari, James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman were added to the cast lineup. Meanwhile, Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang were promoted to series regulars.
The regular cast list for Season 47 also includes Michael Che, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Kenan Thompson and Melissa Villaseñor. Andrew Dismukes and Punkie Johnson will be back as featured players.
“SNL” returns on Oct. 2 and will kick off with host Owen Wilson (“Loki”) and musical guest Kacey Musgraves.
Fans expressed their sadness at Bennett’s exit and took to social media to share their thoughts with the world. “Beck Bennett was the most underrated SNL cast member in years. He never had a bad skit and made every performance better. Always reliable and funny. That’s a big loss,” one wrote.
Another added, “beck bennett has played such an astronomical part in this show for so long, it will feel so different without him but i wish him all the best.”
The long-running show has an all-star series of guest hosts and musical performances to celebrate the new season. Kim Kardashian, Jason Sudekis (“Ted Lasso”) and Rami Malek (“No Time To Die”) are among the guests sharing their comedic chops in the upcoming season, with musical guests lined up who will include Halsey, Young Thug and Brandi Carlile.
“Will & Grace” alum Debra Messing recently trashed Kardashian’s pending stint as guest host. “Why Kim Kardashian? I mean, I know she is a cultural icon, but SNL has hosts, generally, who are performers who are there to promote a film, TV show, or album launch,” Messing, 53, tweeted on Sept. 23. “Am I missing something?”