Saturday Night Live Season 42: Jay Pharoah, Taran Killam won’t return
By Joe Tacosik
In an apparent shakeup at NBC’s Saturday Night Live, it was announced that both Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah would not return for the show’s 42nd season.
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Just when you thought ‘SNL’ was on the uphill climb and hitting its stride, the show announced on Monday that it would not be renewing the contracts of two of the show’s most prominent stars.
Taran Killam, 34, and Jay Pharoah, 28, both of whom joined the show in 2010, will not be returning when the show fires up their 42nd season in the fall.
Letting Taran Killam go is a huge mistake, SNL. pic.twitter.com/UE0n3qVXmw
— Kristina Koppeser 🐾 (@KristinaLuca) August 9, 2016
It is not unlike SNL producer Lorne Michaels to mix it up when it comes to the cast of the show. However, although it was announced that the two would “not be returning” for the show’s upcoming season, Killam’s statement to Uproxx in a recent interview hinted at the involuntary nature of the departures.
“You sign for seven years, so I had one more year. I had sort of had it in my head I would make this upcoming year my last year, but then heard they weren’t going to pick up my contract,” Killam said. “I was never given a reason why, really. I can assume until the cows come home.”
What makes the moves even more odd is the fact that it is a presidential election year, where SNL thrives. Pharoah, who was best known for his celebrity impersonations of characters, is the show’s sole impersonator of President Obama, and Killam split time with SNL alum Darrell Hammond as republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
You can read all of Killam’s interview with Uproxx discussing his departure from the show here.
[H/T: Last Night On]