It's no secret that working at Saturday Night Live means trying to be creative in perhaps the most high-pressure environment in television. For some cast members, that pressure can be very motivating. But for The Bear's Abby Elliott, it felt more like a threat.
Elliott joined Saturday Night Live during season 34, making history as the child of a former SNL cast member. Her father, Chris Elliott, spent one season on the show in season 20. Her tenure on the show was marked by a string of celebrity impressions, including Angelina Jolie, Katy Perry, Khloe Kardashian, and Zooey Deschanel.
But the dream job on SNL could feel much more like a nightmare for Elliott. Things can get a little cut-throat at the show as performers compete to get their material on air or find a way to become a favorite of the writers.
“Every week was a new week, and your happiness would depend on whether you got something on air or not, and if three weeks went by without a sketch, you’d think, ‘Uh-oh, am I going to be fired?’” Elliott told The Independent. “There was always that looming threat of getting fired. That was the worst that could happen. And then, I kind of did.”
Elliott was let go from Saturday Night Live after four seasons, just before 2012's season 38. The actress initially made the decision to leave, but changed her mind and went to Lorne Michaels asking to return.
“I went back to him with my tail between my legs asking to stay, but after that season, Lorne said, ‘No, I’m going to cut you loose,'" Elliott recalled.
There are certainly worse ways to be let go from Saturday Night Live than Lorne Michaels essentially telling you your gut instinct is right. Adam Sandler was fired via fax, Chris Parnell got fired twice, and Shane Gillis got fired before he could ever set foot in Studio 8H.
Abby Elliott doesn't regret her Saturday Night Live ending
Not everyone leaves Saturday Night Live on good terms. Some cast members have admitted to holding a grudge against Lorne Michaels or the show. However, Abby Elliott is at peace with how her SNL tenure came to an end.
"As much as I enjoyed being on that show, sketch comedy wasn’t going to be it for me," she said. "It’s not why I started and it’s not how I wanted to end. Also, I had learnt the lessons I was going to learn... and so I left and, you know, the water was warm.”
Elliott ultimately made the right decision. Had she stuck around SNL, she would have found herself in competition with Kate McKinnon and newcomers Aidy Bryant and Cecily Strong. For a show that usually has fewer opportunities for female cast members, that is a tough trio to beat out. Elliott likely would have continued to feel the "looming threat" of getting fired.
Since then, Elliott's career has continued trending up. Roles in How I Met Your Mother, Odd Mom Out, and Star vs. the Forces of Evil kept her on TV and gave Elliott more of the opportunities she sought outside of SNL.
Now, she co-stars on arguably the biggest show on television in The Bear. As Natalie "Sugar" Berzatto, Elliott gets to flex her improv skills while also creating a grounded character. It's safe to say she doesn't have to worry about any threats of getting fired this time around.
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