SNL Season 42 Cast Members Confirmed

After an off-season filled with apparent shakeups, it was unclear who exactly from the cast would be coming back when SNL returned for season 42. It was announced earlier this summer that Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah and Jon Rudnitsky would not be returning to the show, and many were concerned about what that might mean for the rest of the show’s cast.

Ultimately, it seems those worries were at least partially unwarranted. As originally reported by SplitSider, the rest of the show’s cast has been confirmed to return next season. These returnees include favorites like Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon, who used their summer to bust some ghosts. Kenan Thompson will also be back next year for his 14th (!) season, which will tie him with Darrell Hammond as the longest-running cast member in the show’s history.

The full list of returning cast members is as follows:

Vanessa Bayer
Beck Bennett
Aidy Bryant
Colin Jost
Kate McKinnon
Kyle Mooney
Bobby Moynihan
Cecily Strong
Kenan Thompson
Sasheer Zamata
Michael Che
Pete Davidson
Leslie Jones

In addition to casting shakeups, writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider have also taken over as head writers for the next season. No new cast members have been announced as of yet, but after the loss of several of the show’s biggest stars, SNL has some big gaps to fill.

Season 42 of SNL premieres on Oct. 1. Until then, check out Kelly and Schneider’s most famous sketch, “The Beygency,” below.