Kenan Thompson teases ‘a lot of change’ coming to ‘SNL’ in season 51

Times are a-changing over at Studio 8H.

As Saturday Night Live gears up for its 51st season, longtime cast member Kenan Thompson is hinting that not everyone will be back for the newest era of the late night sketch show. Thompson called the show’s historic 50th season finale “bittersweet” in a recent conversation with Page Six.

“Especially this year where it feels like there’s maybe, possibly, a lot of change next year,” Thompson teased. “You want everyone to stay forever. Knowing that people may be making decisions this summer… it’s always like you want your kids to stay young.”

With 22 seasons under his belt, Thompson has appeared in more seasons than any cast member in the show’s history. Although he hasn’t officially signed on for his 23rd, the comedian said he’s keeping an open mind about once again returning to SNL.

“You just never know what the future holds,” he said. “I don’t want to be in the way of someone else, or I don’t want to be the stale old man riding the same thing. That doesn’t really happen that much at SNL, but there’s no guarantees, I guess.”

He added that SNL is still “one of his favorite places to be,” even after two decades. 

Thus far, no SNL cast members have announced their departure from the show, but the internet has been rife with speculation as the season 51 premiere approaches. Alongside Thompson, some of the show’s most recognizable faces include Michael Che, Colin Jost, Mikey Day, Bowen Yang, Heidi Gardner, and Ego Nwodim, who have all stuck with the show for several years.

Last week’s finale, featuring host Scarlett Johansson and musical guest Bad Bunny, was packed with sly jokes hinting at big changes to the show’s cast. Sarah Sherman became the butt of a joke in Johansson’s musical monologue, with the MCU alum suggesting Sherman had been axed from the show without her knowledge.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Elsewhere, even SNL creator Lorne Michaels wasn’t safe. Che forced his Weekend Update cohost, Jost, to pitch himself for Michaels’ position: “Retire, bitch,” Jost told Michaels, reading from Che-penned cue cards. “Let me run the show.”

Later in the joke swap, a biannual tradition for the duo, Jost slowly put on red lipstick at Che’s instruction and declared, “Lorne, I’ll do anything to run this show.”