Saturday Night Live Sees a Shift in Co-Head Writers, With Two Departing

You may not recognize their names and faces, but two of the co-head writers of Saturday Night Live, Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, had key roles in last year’s successful season. In a television season with American turmoil and strife in the background, SNL heaved on, and stayed relevant and (mostly) funny to produce some memorable sketches. However, it appears that after a year as head writers, Kelly and Schneider are moving on, per Variety.

The duo have a Comedy Central pilot in the works with Broadway Video, the production company of SNL creator and kingmaker Lorne Michaels. The other two co-head writers from season 42, Bryan Tucker and Ken Sublette, will stay on the show in their positions. The departure of Kelly and Schneider, who both have been on the show since 2011, was quite low-key, with no real explicit confirmation until their names were mysteriously omitted from the credits of the Season 43 premiere. Outside of SNL, Kelly also wrote and directed the film Other People.

Season 42 of SNL struck ratings and Emmy gold, earning trophies for Best Variety Sketch Show and acting awards for Alec Baldwin, Melissa McCarthy and Kate McKinnon. Along with three new cast members, the show added seven new writers for season 43, which kicked off on Saturday, Sept. 30. Check out our mixed thoughts on the Ryan Gosling-hosted premiere here.