“SNL” Cast Members Who Exited After One Season: Where Are They Now?
“SNL” Cast Members Who Exited After One Season: Where Are They Now?
Stephanie Sengwe, Samantha StutsmanSat, March 14, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
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Chevy Chase; Martin Short; Sarah Silverman.Credit: Ron Galella Collection via Getty (2) ; Michael Caulfield Archive/WireImage for TV Guide Magazine
For comedians, earning a spot on Saturday Night Live can be a career-defining moment.
While some performers become staples of the long-running sketch show — Kenan Thompson holds the all-time record with 23 seasons — others come and go much more quickly.
It may be hard to believe, but superstars such as Martin Short, Chevy Chase and Billy Crystal only lasted one season on the show. Meanwhile, Damon Wayans, Tim Robinson and Christopher Elliott also weren't a fit for the weekly sketch program's brand of comedy.
Others, such as Chloe Troast, Michaela Watkins and Emil Wakim (who was one of the cast members axed in the season 51 shake-up) were not invited to return after their debut year.
Here's which former Saturday Night Live stars only did a one-season stint on the long-running NBC show — and where they are now.
01 of 22
Chevy Chase, Season 1
Chevy Chase during 'Weekend Update'Credit: NBC/NBCU/Getty
Chevy Chase joined Saturday Night Live in its premiere season back in 1975, and though his tenure was short, his impact was major: The comedian originated the role of the "Weekend Update" anchor which would go to the likes of Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Michael Che and Colin Jost in the decades that followed.
Though Chase left the show in the middle of season 2, he came back to host eight times between 1978 and 1999. And his quick departure only allowed his career to take off: He starred in megahits such as the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, Caddyshack and more.
The actor's last credit was in 2024's The Christmas Letter.
02 of 22
Peter Aykroyd, Season 5
Harry Shearer as Mr. Blackwell, Chevy Chase, Peter AykroydCredit: Alan Singer/NBCU Photo
Though his brother Dan starred in four seasons of Saturday Night Live, Peter Aykroyd only did one.
Peter joined the cast as a writer and featured member in season 5, which ran from 1979 to 1980. Though he left after the singular season, in his short time at 30 Rock, the actor snagged an Emmy nod for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program.
Peter worked with his brother on several projects, including the films Coneheads and Dragnet. The two also co-wrote the 1991 comedy-horror film Nothing but Trouble.
Peter died of sepsis from an untreated hernia in November 2021. He was 66.
03 of 22
Laurie Metcalf, Season 6
Laurie MetcalfCredit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Perhaps no one had a shorter SNL tenure than Laurie Metcalf.
The Lady Bird actress did one episode of the show back in 1981, in which she played a "Weekend Update" reporter sent on the street to ask New Yorkers whether or not they'd take a bullet for the president, per Vulture. She also appeared in a pre-tapped sketch titled "Laurie Has a Story" alongside the late Catherine O'Hara.
"You know, it seems like a dream because it was so long ago and it was a whirlwind five days I spent in New York. I think it was my first to New York ever," Metcalf told Vulture of her experience.
"I was so out of my element; I had not idea what I was doing. But I know that I did it because there is proof, there is footage," she joked. "When I see that, I realize I was very naïve and brave about it in a way. Like, 'Okay, you want me to do this? Okay, let's go.' "
Shortly after, the WGA went on strike and the show went on hiatus. Metcalf was not asked to come back once taping resumed. The actress would get her big break playing Jackie Harris in Roseanne, a role she reprised decades later in the show's 2018 reboot The Conners.
04 of 22
Martin Short, Season 10
Martin Short as Ed Grimley and Ringo Starr as Unlucky ManCredit: Alan Singer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
After getting his start on Canada's SCTV, Martin Short was recruited for Saturday Night Live's 10th season.
The beloved comedian was on the show from 1984 to 1985 and created memorable characters such as Ed Grimley.
Though his season is considered one of the most stacked, talent-wise, in the show's history — Julia Louis Dreyfus, Billy Crystal and Christopher Guest were also on during his stint — Short simply couldn't keep up with the tight schedule the show runs on, telling HuffPost it felt like "it was final exams, every week." (And many of those stars went on to leave shortly after he did.)
Short went on to do Three Amigos, Cross My Heart, Prince Charming and more. He is currently starring as Oliver Putnam in Only Murders in the Building.
05 of 22
Billy Crystal, Season 10
Jim Belushi and Billy Crystal on 'SNL'Credit: Alan Singer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
You can't run down Crystal's epic resume without mentioning his stint on SNL and yet, he too was on the show for season 10 only.
"I think when I came to the show I was sort of a piñata of ideas and thoughts and characters, and all kinds of things happened,” Crystal revealed in Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests, as excerpted in Vanity Fair.
It wasn't a fit in the end, but Crystal ended up having a pretty big impact on pop culture nonetheless, starring in films such as When Harry Met Sally and becoming the quintessential Oscars host.
06 of 22
Christopher Guest, Season 10
Gary Kroeger as Amish Impersonator, Christopher Guest as Larry WoodsCredit: RM Lewis Jr./NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty
In the same year as Short, Guest also had a year contract and left after season 10 ended in 1985.
Guest famously appeared in 1984's This Is Spinal Tap and served as a writer and director on various projects including Family Tree, Mascots and Best in Show, among other works.
Guest has also been married to actress Jamie Lee Curtis for more than 40 years. The couple share two children, Annie and Ruby.
07 of 22
Robert Downey Jr., Season 11
Robert Downey Jr. as Julian LynchCredit: Al Levine/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Long before he won our hearts and saved the world as Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man, a fresh-faced Robert Downey Jr. practiced his comedic chops on Saturday Night Live.
The Marvel mainstay was a cast member on the NBC hit from 1985 to 1986 and though other talents such as Joan Cusack, Nora Dunn, Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller, Danitra Vance and Damon Wayans were all part of the season, Downey called it "arguably the worst season in its history” during a January 2020 interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Downey, who wasn't as versed in sketch comedy, griped about having been dubbed the "worst cast member," jokingly telling Fallon, "Come on! There's a lot of competition for that."
He found a more positive legacy as a Marvel mainstay, announcing his plans to transition from Iron Man into Dr. Doom.
08 of 22
Damon Wayans, Season 11
Damon Wayans as Little RichardCredit: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
The Wayans family is world-renowned for their comedic chops, but long before Damon broke through in his brother's sketch comedy show In Living Color in the '90s and portrayed beloved dad Michael Kyle in My Wife and Kids, he had a short-lived stint on Saturday Night Live.
The actor was cast as a featured player in season 11, and while his talent was undeniable, he and the showrunners had creative differences. Damon was fired after having gone off-script in a sketch titled "Mr. Monopoly," during one of the live shows, per Collider.
Nonetheless, Damon was invited back to perform a stand-up set during the show's season finale that year.
Damon and his son Damon Jr. helmed their own CBS series titled Poppa's House from October 2024 to April 2025.
09 of 22
Joan Cusack, Season 11
Joan Cusack as Tracy and Danitra Vance as DanaCredit: Alan Singer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Also on that fated cast of season 11 was Cusack, who, like Wayans, also came from an acting family.
After her 17-episode stint on Saturday Night Live, Cusack would make a name for herself, appearing in films such as Runaway Bride, High Fidelity, Raising Helen and more. These days, many would recognize her for playing Sheila Jackson in Showtime's Shameless.
10 of 22
Janeane Garafalo, Season 20
Janeane Garofalo as Cheryl HoustonCredit: Alan Singer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty
Janeane Garafalo quit SNL six months after joining season 20.
"I was only there very briefly, but there really were some great hosts, of course," she told Broadway World back in February 2012. "I don't know if the comedy being done that year was that great, but it was a thrill to be there for the brief amount of time I was there."
She went on to make appearances in The Ben Stiller Show, The Cable Guy, Seinfeld, Home Improvement and many more TV shows and movies. She voiced the character of Dr. Dolphin in 2024's Boys Go to Jupiter.
11 of 22
Anthony Michael Hall, Season 11
Dennis Miller, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Michael Hall during 'Weekend Update'Credit: Alan Singer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
With National Lampoon's Vacation, The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles on his resume, it's no wonder 17-year-old Anthony Michael Hall was the youngest cast member to join SNL in the history of the show — a record he still holds today.
The actor was one of the several members who was axed following season 11's low ratings, though he managed to land on his feet, starring in Edward Scissorhands, Hail Caesar, All About the Benjamins, The Dark Knight and more films and TV shows in the years that followed.
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12 of 22
Ben Stiller, Season 14
Jon Lovitz as Ace, Ben Stiller as Gloverboy SelvaggiCredit: Raymond Bonar/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
In one of the shortest SNL tenures ever, Ben Stiller quit the show after just five weeks. "At that point, I just wanted to make short films and I knew I wasn't good live because I would get nervous," Stiller explained while on The Howard Stern Show, revealing his ultimate goal was to be a director.
He would accomplish his dream, directing Zoolander in 2001, The Cable Guy, Tropic Thunder, Stiller and Meara and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Stiller is also the primary director of Apple TV+'s hit show, Severance.
13 of 22
Sarah Silverman, Season 19
Kevin Nealon and Sarah Silverman during 'Weekend Update'Credit: Al Levine/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
A young Sarah Silverman lent her talents to SNL in season 19 of the show, which aired from 1993 to 1994. However, Silverman, who was also on the show as a writer, was fired after the single season.
"It was a huge defeat for me, but overcoming it, it's like a broken bone, it heals stronger," Silverman once said of the firing.
"I had like a cluster of firings — Saturday Night Live, I got fired from a sitcom I was hired for — and then I got a real complex about it, like I would make sure I still had the job before I'd go in, because I got used to getting fired," she continued. "But somehow I outgrew that and then I ended up keeping jobs."
Silverman focused on her stand-up career and built her resume by appearing in films and TV shows such as Seinfeld, Frasier, There's Something About Mary, School of Rock and more. In 2014, she won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for her HBO special, Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles.
Her latest stand-up special, 2025's Sarah Silverman: PostMortem, is available on Netflix.
14 of 22
Christopher Elliot, Season 20
Chris Elliott and Janeane Garofalo in a skitCredit: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Now recognizable for his role as Roland Schitt from Schitt's Creek, Christopher Elliott was sharpening his surreal humor for decades before he landed the role as mayor in the hit show.
Elliott first auditioned for season 11 of Saturday Night Live, then ultimately turned it down as he was still working with David Letterman on the Late Show. He then auditioned again for season 20 and garnered a spot as one of the cast members.
However, the actor has admitted that joining SNL wasn't the best decision. "I had already left working for Dave. At that point, [SNL] was at a very low point and they just offered me the job. I was in L.A. and I was desperate to get back to New York so I took it," he told The Daily Beast in December 2018.
"But yeah, it was the totally wrong thing for me to do. Everybody was very sweet, Lorne has always been very supportive of me and I met really nice people who worked there and all that, but that totally wrong for me to go there," he added.
Decades later, Elliott's daughter Abby would join the show, becoming a regular from 2008 to 2012.
15 of 22
Nancy Carell, Season 21
Nancy Carell on 'SNL' in 1995.Credit: Al Levine/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Steve Carell’s wife, Nancy Carell, joined SNL as a featured player in season 21, shortly after the couple tied the knot.
After her brief time on the show, Nancy went on to appear alongside her husband in several projects, including The Office and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
16 of 22
David Koechner, Season 21
David Koechner as Fagan, Mark McKinney as Lucien CallowCredit: Al Levine/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
With his larger-than-life personality, one would think David Koechner would be the perfect person for a long-running stint at SNL. Like Damon, however, it seems the actor and some of the people behind the show had creative differences.
"There are some people who had made suggestions or people who I felt were out of position and I don't mind letting people know my opinions. [SNL] is not necessarily a place where people's opinions are welcome," he told Tom Green in May 2019, who was guest-hosting Larry King Now.
Koechner was let go after he did season 21, which aired from 1995 to 1996.
He went on to appear in The Office, Cheap Thrills and perhaps most notably, the Anchorman films.
17 of 22
Rob Riggle, Season 30
Rob RiggleCredit: ana Edelson/NBCU
Rob Riggle joined the cast of Saturday Night Live as a featured player from 2004 to 2005.
"The first job I ever got in show business [was] Saturday Night Live," Riggle told The A.V. Club in April 2023. "I had done a couple of appearances on Conan but just as like, 'Man in the Audience,' or 'Security Guard,' or 'Tarzan Who Speaks to Animals.' Just little bit-characters. I was very grateful for those but my first job ever was Saturday Night Live and I think that was a dream come true."
Though he was living his dream. Riggle couldn't compete with the existing cast for screen time and didn't get a second season.
"The year I was hired, I was the only guy hired. The cast was massive. Fifteen people on the cast and I'm the only new guy," he explained while on The Daily Beast's Last Laugh podcast. "Well, you know Darrell Hammond's getting his, Tina Fey, Amy [Poehler] is getting hers, Maya Rudolph is getting hers, Will Forte, go down the list, they're all getting their time. I'm going in there and I'm drinking out of a firehose."
Nonetheless, he got more TV work on The Daily Show, The Office, Arrested Development and Love, Inc. before showing off his talents in films such as Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Unaccompanied Minors, 21 Jump Street and more.
18 of 22
Michaela Watkins, Season 34
Michaela Watkins as Hoda Kotb, Kristen Wiig as Kathie Lee GiffordCredit: Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Though some former cast members walked away of their own volition, Michaela Watkins' firing from SNL came quite as a shock to many.
Watkins was on the NBC show from 2008 to 2009 but wasn't asked to come back for the following season.
"I don’t think anyone knows what Lorne Michaels was thinking. That’s one of the exciting things about him. If he were to vanish, the show would just freeze. Not a single thing would be shot because so much hinges on him," she told Entertainment Weekly at the time.
She continued, "The only explanation I got from him — and he’s not known to say things just to make people feel better — was that he felt deep down that I should have my own show. And I agreed. SNL was a dream come true for me. It was a fantastic year. I don’t have any regrets."
She's got a busy acting career, and has been seen in Abbott Elementary, Search Party and Enlightened.
19 of 22
Jenny Slate, Season 35
Jenny Slate on 'SNL'
You may instantly recognize Jenny Slate's work in the form of the "Don't Be Suspicious" TikTok sound, but her SNL debut went equally as viral: In the 2009-2010 season, Slate accidentally cursed during her first episode.
"It felt like an explosion when I accidentally said 'f---' on live TV during my very first sketch," she told Glamour in June 2014."After it happened, Lorne Michaels [creator of SNL] wanted to make sure I was okay because he knew I was scared; I had never been exposed so publicly. The aftermath was hard; people tweeted that I was 'ugly' and 'not funny,' and it really stung."
Since leaving SNL, she has appeared in Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the Kroll Show, as well as more dramatic fare like the film Obvious Child. She's also been Oscar-nominated for her animated film Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. She recently appeared in Dying for Sex and continues her voice-acting work on Bob's Burgers and The Great North, among other projects.
20 of 22
Tim Robinson, Season 38
Kevin Hart and Tim Robinson on 'SNL'Credit: Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty
At the height of his SNL tenure, Tim Robinson went viral as the guy who made Kevin Hart lose his cool in the "Barnes and Noble Firing" sketch from season 38.
Still, his talent was so undeniable that even though he wasn't asked back as a cast member, Michaels tapped his talents as a writer and he continued to work on the show for three more years, until his contract ended.
Robinson went on to star in Brother Nature, Detroiters and An American Pickle before creating his own sketch comedy series, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, for which he's won three Emmys.
21 of 22
Chloe Troast, Season 49
Chloe Troast as Mama CassCredit: Will Heath/NBC via Getty
Chloe Troast joined the SNL cast for season 49 and instantly became a fan favorite, appearing in sketches such as "Get That Boy Back" with Chris Appleton, "Little Orphan Cassidy" with Timothée Chalamet and "Christmas Classics" with Kate McKinnon.
However, after NBC announced the new additions for season 50, Troast revealed she had not been asked to come back.
"Unfortunately, I have not been asked to come back to SNL this season," she wrote in a heartfelt Instagram post. "I wish I was going back to be with all the amazing friends I made there, it truly felt like home. It just wasn't in the cards."
Troast would appear in the comedy Sweethearts as well as Four Seasons following her departure.
22 of 22
Emil Wakim, Season 50
Emil Wakim on 'SNL'Credit: Will Heath/NBC via Getty
Emil Wakim joined SNL for its historic 50th season but was among those axed from the show ahead of the new season.
"i won’t be returning to snl next year," the comedian wrote in a statement on Instagram. "it was a gut punch of a call to get but i'm so grateful for my time there.""every time i scanned into the building i would think how insane it is to get to work there," he continued. "it was the most terrifying, thrilling, and rewarding experience of my life and i will miss it dearly and all the brilliant people that work there that made it feel like a home."
Wakim often featured in SNL's iconic "Weekend Update" segment, anchored by Michael Che and Colin Jost, playing various characters.
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