Molly Kearney leaving Saturday Night Live before season 50
For the second time this week, news is breaking on a Saturday Night Live cast exit ahead of season 50. First, it was Punkie Johnson. Now, it is Molly Kearney.
In a new post on Instagram, Kearney confirmed that they are departing the show after a two-season run:
Yall that’s a wrap on my time on SNL! Reflecting on the amazing 2 seasons I got on this show, it was such a dream come true. So incredibly grateful for this period in my life. So much love to all my big hearted buddies behind the scenes who make the magic happen every week. So many bald caps, so little time. It was a true honor to work with such a talented group of writers and DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE CAST. … Special shout out to my day 1 crew [Marcello Hernandez, Devin Walker, and Michael Longfellow]. Head up and heart out! Harold forever!!!!!
Who is Kearney (the first non-binary cast member in the series’ history) departing right before a milestone season? They may not have had a choice. SNL, like many other shows out there, could be undergoing some contraction for cost-related reasons, even though it remains an enormous hit and one of the most-successful comedy shows on TV. If there are new performers coming on as featured players for season 50, some cuts may have also been needed. It is tough to get into the weeds of the why in a situation like this, mostly because there are a ton of scenarios and it can just come down to speculation.
As we said with Johnson, Kearney still absolutely has a great chance to do things in comedy after the show. They clearly made good friends, and there are tons of examples of cast members making it big even after fairly short runs on the series. There are also some who manage to do that while serving as a writer behind the scenes. It is really all about how you leverage this into something more.
Related – Get more news now on Johnson departing Saturday Night Live
Are you shocked that Molly Kearney is leaving Saturday Night Live leading into the next big season?
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