Cecily Strong is the latest cast member to leave NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
Strong’s last show was the Saturday Night Edition. She appeared as Kimberly Guilfoyle on the cold open and other segments, including a cover of “Jewish Elvis” as well as “Weekend Update.” In the latter, she played the recurring character Cathy Anne, who was saying “goodbye” because she was going to prison. He joked that he would be fine because he had “friends on the inside, they seem to be doing well” as a picture of recently missing cast members Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant was shown on screen.
“Everybody has to go to jail at some point, right? Now’s my time,” he added. Breaking character a bit towards the end, he said: “I’ve had so much fun here. And I feel so blessed to have had so many of the best moments of my life in this place, and with these people that I love so much.”
Another segment saw her as a RadioShack employee working her last day on the job. In the skit, Kenan Thompson, playing his boss, noted that he had had an “amazing eight years” working there. “Well, I’ve been here 11,” he said. “I know, and eight of them were amazing,” he replied, adding, “I honestly don’t think RadioShack could have lasted this long without Cecily. Every time I came to work, I had a new character, a new accent, or a new impression that would just blow your mind. She would have a power and joy in her performance that made you remember why you loved working at RadioShack in the first place.”
Host (and Elvis star) Austin Butler then appeared as “Casual Elvis” (the joke was that they didn’t have enough money to buy an Elvis Presley outfit) and serenaded him with “Blue Christmas,” who later joined her. , followed by Thompson and the rest of the SNL cast.
News of her departure was announced Saturday on SNL’s social media accounts (see below).
He joined the Lorne Michaels-produced sketch show in 2012, its 38th season. Over the years, she created personas like “The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party” and impersonated celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Megyn Kelly and Liz Cheney.
It is understood the plan had been for Strong to return only for the first half of the current season. Fans had noticed his absence from the opening credits of the season premiere in October, but at the time he was featured in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, and so couldn’t tape SNL in New York.
Strong upcoming stars in the second season of AppleTV+ Schmigadoon!, which is also produced by Michaels. He also took a hiatus from SNL while filming this series.
Strong follows on the heels of other cast members who have recently left SNL, including McKinnon, Bryant and Pete Davidson.
Saturday night’s SNL features host Austin Butler and musical guest Lizzo.
Updated 10:32 p.m. Dec. 17: Added Strong’s appearance to “Weekend Update.”