Where was Cecily Strong during the premiere?
The 48th season of the Saturday Night Live show has officially begun, and a lot has changed in Studio 8H. Over the past few months, the NBC sketch comedy series has said goodbye to a number of veteran actors, from Pete Davidson to Melissa Villasenor. SNL fans probably still have some feelings about so many beloved stars leaving the fold. At the same time, some may have been shocked to see that longtime cast member Cecily Strong was not included in the opening credits of the season. But don’t worry guys, because there is a very specific reason for the omission.
Cecily Strong has not left the Saturday Night Live show, but is simply fulfilling another professional obligation. According to a Chicago Sun-Times source, Strong is currently in Los Angeles, where he is taking part in a play. The actress plays the main role in the production “Search for signs of intelligent life in the Universe” — the famous one-man show, which debuted in 1985. By taking part in this project, she is following in the footsteps of the legendary Lily Tomlin. The source also claims that Strong will return at some point during the 48th season, although a specific schedule is not reported.
The 38-year-old actress joined SNL as a mainstay in 2012 ahead of the show’s 38th season, and it didn’t take her long to become a hit with viewers. During her time on the series, she became known for her recurring characters, such as “The Girl You Wouldn’t Want to Start a Conversation With at a Party.” She has also made many notable impressions, starting with Rachel Maddow and Kendall Jenner. At some point, she also became the co-host of Weekend Update. If she had decided to leave the series last summer, it would have been a significant loss for the long-running program.
At the moment, we can conclude that this is a transitional period for “Saturday Night Live”. It was in May when it was reported that Pete Davidson would be leaving, and shortly after that Kate McKinnon left along with Aidy Bryant and Paul Mooney. In September, SNL lost three more stars in the person of Melissa Villasegnor, Alex Moffat and Aristotle Atari. And in the same month, it was confirmed that Chris Redd was leaving, and he marked his departure with a thank-you message.
The EP series Lorne Michaels openly talked about the changes, officially calling the 48th season a “transitional year”. Despite the fact that the show has lost eight actors, Michaels considers these changes a good moment. Obviously, this is due to the fact that the cast has become too big, and as a result, many people have not had enough time to shine. Now the series has four new stars: Marcello Hernandez, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Molly Kearney, the first non-binary cast in SNL history. Michaels talked about how to see new stars in action, and highlighted the “excitement” that comes with welcoming new talent.
Fortunately, there are many more veterans, including Cecily Strong. But for now, Schmigadun! the star is not leaving yet, you need to think about how much longer it can stay. After all, this is her tenth season, and she clearly has other projects on her work schedule. We’ll just have to wait and see what she plans to do in the long run, but right now we can just be happy that she’s coming back this year.
“Saturday Night Live” returns next week with host Brendan Gleeson and guest Willow. The episode will air on Saturday, October 8, at 1:00 p.m. ET as part of the TV program for 2022.
