Cecily Strong gives a pretty weak answer when asked if she's returning to Saturday Night Live
The cast member, who has been on show for 9 seasons, says that "things are a bit more up in the air"
TV News Cecily Strong
Another Saturday Night Live cast member offers an unclear answer about their return the iconic comedy sketch show. Cecily Strong says she’s unsure about whether or not she’ll stick around for what will be her tenth season on the show. She says things “are a bit more up in the air.”
“I’ll be thrilled if I go back, I’ll be thrilled if that was my last show,” Strong told Entertainment Tonight. “I feel good either way.
Last week, fellow cast member Pete Davidson also expressed his uncertainty about returning for SNL’s 47th season. “Everything is kind of up in the air right now just depending on scheduling. It is my seventh year, and that’s what the contract is usually for,” Davidson said. “It’s a big cast; there’s a lot of new guys in there, and there’s a lot of great new talent that it’s their time to shine.” If a third SNL cast member says things are “up in the air,” we’ll call that a pattern.
Following the emotional season 46 wrap up in May, rumors arose concerning potential exits from tenured cast members Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Strong, and the record-setting Kenan Thompson, who’s been in the show for 17 seasons. If all five long-time members do decide to leave SNL, it will bring in a new age for the show similar to 2012-2013, when Andy Samberg, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis, and Fred Armisen all left the NBC mainstay. However, it’s unlikely Thompson will depart this coming season, after telling Variety in February he’d love to get to twenty seasons. However, he says his continuation on the show depends on how much time he has for his family and to work on his own sitcom Kenan.
Strong will appear in the new Apple+ TV musical comedy series Schmigadoon!, opposite Keegan Michael Key. Other key cast members include: Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth, Fred Armisen, Dove Cameron, Jane Krakowski, and Martin Short, who will play a leprechaun. Schmigadoon! premieres on Apple+ TV on July 16.
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Alan Cummings as Kristin Chenoweth
This will be interesting see
“Other key cast members include: Alan Cummings as Kristin Chenoweth…”I don’t know who this Alan Cummings fellow is, but if he’s able to convincingly play Kristin Chenowith, he’ll be well on his way to setting himself apart from the similarly named Alan Cumming in the popular imagination.
as amazing as that would be, that was a whoopsie daisy typo on my end, but I think he would kill it
Alan Cumming should have his own sketch comedy show, where he plays all the parts. It would be called “Cumming Attractions.”
he has a fragrance titled “Cumming”
Even better, he wrote an autobiography called “I’m Cumming.”
How he didn’t end up in porn is beyond me.
There’s still time.
There’s a famous clip of Arnold Schwarzenegger talking about his Alan Cumming impression.
He actually did a one-man Macbeth. That it wasn’t called “Something Wicked This Way Cums” is a tragedy on par with the play.
He should do a one-man show on Broadway and call it “Cumming to America.”
Or a roadshow called Cumming All Over The Place?
Maybe he can market an exfoliating mask called “Cumming on Your Face.”
I am certain that he would agree with you.
Everybody should star this as it is a writer who has noticed they made a typo or other errata, has issued a mea culpa and has edited their typo. How often does that happen here? Positive reinforcement, people!On the other hand: Who would be adverse to seeing a reedy man playing a diminutive songstress? Seems like an opportunity missed.
I can’t believe that it took me decades to realize that Eli Gold was also Boris from Goldeneye.
If it’s any consolation, I didn’t know that either, but only because I’ve never seen Goldeneye.
Man, it’d certainly suck for the show if she leaves. It’s not like they can really afford to lose their strongest performer (sorry, Kate) right now.
You mean their Strong-est performer.
You are correct! My bad.
I think you have Chloe Fineman and Heidi Gardner both teeing up to do some decent stuff. If they got more screen time, they might breakout more. Cecily Strong took time to come out to the forefront. It’ll be the same for the next person.
Cecily is one of my favorite cast members of all time, but it hasn’t really felt like she’s been there the last two seasons, for various reasons. She still has standout moments, but I think she has reached a natural end to her tenure. I think they have a lot of good people who can keep the show going, with proper writing anyway.
I love Kate but that Verizon commercial playing right now is just weird. “Hey, Kate! Act goofy! Thanks!”
She can do whatever she wants and me and my hopeless crush will be there watching.
she is a strong performer, even if they have repeated a few too many of her bits without introducing too many new ones (or the new ones that they have-the uninvited singer bit-are not that good). But you can’t blame her for waiting to see if her show is popular or renewed before committing. Like, that show gets canceled? Sure I’m back for one more!
Shmigadoon, shmigadoon.
I have a feeling that SNL contract negotiations are pretty hard on the talent and the agents. NBC knows the show is a well-oiled machine who can find solid replacement talent from literally anywhere they want and sign them instantly. Even the veteran cast members probably realize they don’t have much to bargain with.
Hey, remember when Wiig left and Lorne gave her an emotional send-off, playing She’s a Rainbow and coming out to dance with her, while other all-time greats like Sudekis and Hader stood there smiling politely while it was their last show, too? Maybe Lorne can do that do Cecily and Keenan while he dances with Kate.
IIRC, Hader had a big sendoff earlier as Stefon during Weekend Update and Sudeikis was unsure at that point if he was coming back or not. Also, if you watch that Wiig sketch, Sudeikis can barely keep it together and looks like he’s a second away from blubbering.
Bill and Jason left the season after her (sadly Jason never really did get much of an exit, I guess because he was never sure whether he was going). Andy Samberg left when she did. Unfortunately there’s always a bit of awkwardness in that segment because Abby Elliott serves as one of her handmaidens, or whatever, and I believe she ended up being fired. Not the kindest farewell.
That’s not what happened, though. Sudekis and Hader stayed for one more season, and their send-off that year was with Armisen (also leaving), and Taran Killam (not leaving). They performed “Lovely Day” as Ian Rubbish and the Bizarros, with musicians like Steve Jones, Aimee Mann, and J Mascis (among others) joining them throughout.
I don’t care if Davidson gets the boot, but replacing Strong will be difficult.
this is like identical to what pete davidson said, I wonder what the hell’s going on in 30 rock
Cecily Strong will be hard to follow on that show. She can sing, act, dance and do physical comedy.
I knew she was gone the moment she closed out News Update with My Way. I mean, come on.
I’d sign up for a Colbert Report-like show after TDS mocking Pirro.DO IT NOW, Comedy Central!
Weird that people think she owes anyone an answer.
Especially since it appears she doesn’t know. “That’s a personal question” to what is your favorite Bible verse is a weak answer. “I don’t know” is actually a pretty strong response to being employed.
I don’t think she has an answer. It’s always been Lorne’s call as to who stays. Its only her call if she decides to go. However, if she says the wrong thing Lorne just might make that decision for her.
She has been my absolute fave for all of those years, hands down. I’ll be pretty sad when she leaves because she’s got more talent in her pinky toe than I do in my whole body so someone like that can only keep doing the same thing over and over for so long…but most post-SNL careers in the last 20 or so years haven’t gone too well, talent be damned. Wishing her the best
Cecile, Pete, and Aidy basically did half seasons due to their other filming commitments last year. As much as I enjoy them on SNL (well, Cecily and Aidy, anyway) it’s pretty clear they’re looking for the exits. The cast is mega-bloated right now, and it would not surprise me if Lorne asked them to stick around last season until the new kids got a little seasoning.
She’d be a huge loss but SNL neeeds a major – MAJOR – reset. The current formula is pretty tired.
If she leaves, she leaves having that HILARIOUS last Judge Janine to go out on … not too shabby.
This title makes use of a pun I routinely make ahead of watching SNL. Before Cecily Strong is introduced I will say in my best Don Pardo impression “Cecily weak?” before Darrell Hammond corrects me in matching caveman syntax.
And your housemates still think it’s funny?
Oh, they do their callouts too. “Hey hey its…Michael Che!” “Colin Jost…with the most!” I think mine is the best though.
From what I’ve read about Saturday Night Live (including the excellent Live From New York book by Miller and Shales), the performers are usually left in a grey area for months where they don’t know if they are staying or going. Same goes with new talent, where they’ll have a talk with Lorne and still have no idea whether they have been hired onto the show.
She might as well stay. I mean, her new show don’t look too hot.
Cecile has probably been looking for an exit after they set her up to be
the new weekend update anchor, complete with Tina Fey coming out to
pass the baton so to speak, then replaced her with Che between
seasons. If her new show takes off, I expect her to walk. Otherwise I can see her sticking around for the steady paycheck until she can find something else.
After Shrill was picked up for season 2, I figured Bryant was gonna start looking for more projects and exit. It even seems like the show lined up Lauren Holt to replace Aidy Bryant.
There was one sketch early on where at first I though Bryant was finally
doing a different voice instead of her usual go to, then realized it
was Holt.I get the impression Redd, Yang, and
Villaseñor are just sticking around until something else takes off. Redd
is on Kenan’s show and Yang has been doing a lot outside SNL. Speaking of Yang, still waiting for that next season of Nora From Queens.
Chloe and Hedi seem like they are are on the verge of breaking out on the show, but the cast is just too stuffed. You either have to be a great writer or hope one of the staff writers is really good at writing parts for you to get screen time. They seems like much stronger performers than writers (or the backstage backstabbing is keeping them down).
Yes. Strong has bitterly been looking for an exit after she asked to leave Update 7 years ago.
Are we 100% sure anybody is returning? There was that one time they set fire to the studio and hired a whole new cast the next season, unless I’m combining 2 or more emergency casting shake-ups.
She has never been funny and neither is 95 percent of the cast. 🥱
Reading between the lines I would say she would like to stay for another year but Lorne has not given any indication that he has decided that. And until Lorne decides, to say anything different might make help him make up his mind. But not in a good way.
I’m much more interested in when Lorne is leaving. Soon I hope.