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“Saturday Night Live” has finalized its cast just days before its 47th season is set to premiere — and “SNL” veteran Beck Bennett will not be returning.
Bennett — who became well-known for his impressions of a shirtless Russian President Vladimir Putin, former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Mitch McConnell throughout his eight seasons on the show — announced his departure in an Instagram post on Monday.
“Love you, SNL. Gonna miss you so much. Thank you for 8 years of remarkable people and incredible experiences that completely changed my life,” Bennett wrote. “I had so much fun.”
Bennett did not specify why he was leaving the long-running NBC late-night sketch show.
The comedian received an outpouring of support from fans and former castmates online, with enough viewers tweeting about his departure on Monday that Bennett was trending on Twitter
TWTR,
“Love you!!! God bless your journey but gonna miss you dearly!!!!” Kenan Thompson wrote on Instagram.
“This HURTS. Dang I’m gonna miss you,” Cecily Strong replied.
Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson and Melissa Villaseñor are returning as cast members for the 2021-2022 season. And Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang have been promoted from featured players to the main cast.
So the featured players now include Aristotle Athari, Andrew Dismukes, James Austin Johnson, Punkie Johnson and Sarah Sherman. Lauren Holt, who was a featured player last season, is also not returning.
“SNL” returns for its 47th season on Oct. 2, with Owen Wilson set to host the season premiere with musical guest Kacey Musgraves. Other hosts lined up for this season include Kim Kardashian West, Rami Malek and former “SNL” cast member Jason Sudeikis.
