Season 42 for Saturday Night Live will be down two veteran cast members, as Taran Killam and Jay Pharaoh are leaving the famed late-night institution to pursue other opportunities.
According to an NBC spokesperson, Pharaoh and Killam have been with the show for six seasons. Though the latter had one year left in a seven-year contract, SNL declined to bring him back for the upcoming season. The circumstances surrounding Pharoah’s departure remain unclear.
Killam, whose best known for his impersonations of Matthew McConaughey, Marco Rubio and Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy, is currently working as the director of Why We’re Killing Gunther, a movie about assassins starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Meanwhile, Pharoah, has famously channeled the likes of Jay Z, Will Smith, Dr. Ben Carson and President Barack Obama. His departure has been confirmed by Lauren Roseman of NBC. Pharoah began appeared as a featured player in 2010 and was promoted to the main cast in 2012.
A representative for Jay Pharoah declined further comment on the matter.
Lorne Michaels, the creator and overlord of Saturday Night Live has had his fair share of cast changes over the series’ four-decade run. He is now expected to introduce several new cast members before the launch of the new season next month.
H/T: TV Line
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