'Saturday Night Live' adds three new cast members for 50th season

Washington [US], September 10 : Saturday Night Live is gearing up for its milestone 50th season with some fresh faces. NBC has announced that Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline will join the show as featured players for the 2024-25 season. The new season will premiere on September 28.
While most of last season's cast will return, a few notable members have departed. Punkie Johnson and Molly Kearney left the show earlier in the summer. Apart from this, Chloe Troast, a featured player last season, is also not returning.
"Unfortunately I was not asked back to SNL this season," Troast shared on Instagram. "I wish I was going back to be with all the amazing friends I made there, it truly felt like home. But it wasn't in the cards."
Several cast members from last season, including Marcello Hernandez, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker, will move up from featured players to the main cast. Former cast member Maya Rudolph is also set to reprise her role as Vice President Kamala Harris, as the show prepares for its election-themed sketches leading up to the 2024 presidential election.
SNL will celebrate 50 years on the air with a special three-hour primetime event on February 16, next year, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
Jason Reitman's film Saturday Night also premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and will hit theaters later this month.
Padilla, one of the new featured players, has been with L.A.'s Groundlings comedy troupe since 2021 and has appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Night Court. Wakim, known for his stand-up comedy, has performed on The Tonight Show and at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. Wickline is part of the Stapleview ensemble, a sketch show popular on TikTok.