Saturday Night Live season 50 cast updates: Who's in and who's out?

Saturday Night Live is 50 years old. The comedy series has shaped generations of viewers, and it will be dealt the difficult task of remaining relevant and biting while at the same time reflecting on the five decades that came before.

Part of the reason SNL has been able to maintain relevance, of course, is that it's constantly bringing in new talent. There are new writers and cast members nearly every season, and those who exit at the same time. With that in mind, we decided to break down the roster for season 50, so you know which comedians to expect and which to lament.

Saturday Night Live season 50 cast exits

Saturday Night Live had an interesting interim between seasons 49 and 50. While cast departures are usually announced close to the start of a new season, several cast members took it upon themselves to break the news themselves via social media.

Over the span of a couple weeks, cast members Molly Kearney, Chloe Troast and Punkie Johnson confirmed that they would not be coming back for season 50. but Johnson told that she felt that her style of comedy didn't mesh well with the SNL brand, and wanted to explore opportunities elsewhere.

Saturday Night Live season 50 cast additions

The three slots left by Kearney, Troast and Johnson were promptly filled by three exciting new faces. NBC confirmed that SNL will be adding Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline to the season 50 cast.

All three performers have substantial followings as social media and/or stand up comedians, so it'll be exciting to see how their talents translate to the hallowed Saturday Night Live stage. Padilla, Wickline and Wakim will be credited as featured players, as is customary for newcomers.

Saturday Night Live season 50 cast promotions

Conversely, there are several SNL cast members who have decided to stick around and been rewarded for their decision. There's a general rule of thumb that comedians are brought onto the show as featured players, and after a few years of getting their feet wet, they will get promoted to official cast member.

This is the case for Marcello Hernandez, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker. All three members have been part of SNL since season 48, and have proven to connect with fans on such a notable level they will be "official" entering the new season.

Saturday Night Live season 50 main cast list

Now that we've sifted through all the personnel changes, here's a list of the main cast members you can expect to see heading in season 50. (We're not including former members who will be present in a cameo capacity, like Maya Rudolph.)

• Mikey Day
• Colin Jost
• Andrew Dismukes
• Chloe Fineman
• Heidi Gardner
• Marcello Hernandez
• James Austin Johnson
• Michael Che
• Sarah Sherman
• Kenan Thompson
• Michael Longfellow
• Devon Walker
• Bowen Yang
• Ego Nwodim

Saturday Night Live returns to NBC on September 28.