By Juliana Stumpp
Season 38 of “Saturday Night Live” will return Sept. 15 for its 38th sesason, but without many of its key cast members, who have exited the NBC series, leaving fans worried how it will move forward.
Last season, fan favorite Kristen Wiig was honored with a going-away ceremony by her fellow cast members and host and musical guest, Mick Jagger. Even SNL producer Lorne Michaels came out to bid her farewell on-air.
The season finale was an emotional experience for the cast, fans and Wiig, who left being seven seasons of memorable skits. Wiig’s SNL characters included Penelope, a compulsive liar trying to impress her peers, and the neurotic Target store clerk who would look through her customer’s shopping bags. She also impersonated celebrities such as Madonna, Taylor Swift, Kathy Lee Gifford, Suze Orman and politician Michele Bachmann.
Over the summer, funnyman Andy Samberg also announced he’d leave the show. Samberg boosted the series’ online presence with “Digital Shorts,” a series of comic videos he co-created with his college friends Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. Popular shorts include “I’m on A Boat” and “Laser Cats.” Often the weekly guest hosts would be featured in the videos, and many featured star cameos by celebrities including Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Jonah Hill, T-Pain, Jon Hamm and other SNL cast members.
Four-year castmate Abby Elliot also left the show. Her impersonations included Khloe Kardashian-Odum, Angelina Jolie, Zooey Deschanel, Ke$ha and many more.
With two legendary cast members leaving the show, it’s not clear who will rein next as SNL’s funny girl and who will give the show a different comedic vibe. However, other fan favorites like Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and new featured cast members Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah, will remain on the late-night show.
The season premieres at 11:30 p.m. Saturday September 15. Seth Macfarlane, creator of “Family Guy” and “Ted,” will host, with musical guest Frank Ocean. It has already been announced that “Dark Knight Rises” actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt will host for the second time and Mumford & Sons will perform the following week.