"SNL" Drops Sanz, Parnell, Mitchell
By Gina SerpeWed Sep 20, 7:25 PM ET
Come next week, Studio 8H is going to be a little emptier than usual.
After nearly a month of speculation regarding the fates
of several Saturday Night Live castmembers, roundabout confirmation finally arrives from NBC: Regulars Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz and Finesse Mitchell won't be returning to the
late night staple.
The non-announcement was made by simply omitting the players' names from a press release touting the start of the show's 32nd season, though a rep for the network denied there was any bad blood between the M.I.A. cast and Svengali producer Lorne Michaels--or that their departure was the result
of a firing.
"I believe there were mutual choices made," NBC rep Marc Liepis told E! Online. "When you're on the show for eight years, I don't think you look at it as a firing."
Parnell, Sanz and Mitchell, who have been part of the show for eight years, eight years and three years, respectively, have yet to comment on their non-return, though if past remarks are any indication, the decision to part hardly seems mutual.
"I haven't been approached with anything that's led me to believe I won't be back," Sanz told the Chicago Sun-Times less than a month ago. "I definitely enjoy the job and would like to stick with it."
As for Mitchell, his alleged axing is the most surprising, as speculation has pegged fellow castmember Kenan Thompson, who returns this fall, as the third man out. Darrell Hammond, whose 11 seasons on the show mark a series best, is also in the clear, returning to the show despite murmurs that he, too, may have performed his last impression.
The triple departure creates something of a mass exodus from the show of longtime cast, though the others appear to be slightly more voluntary--at least on the surface.
Over the summer, Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch confirmed they were leaving the show to star in the NBC comedy 30 Rock, set behind the scenes at a SNL-like variety show produced by Michaels and costarring fellow alum Tracy Morgan.
Of course, some departees are bouncing back quicker than others.
According to NBC's Website, Parnell, whose "Lazy Sunday" rap with Andy Samberg was one of last season's highlights, is currently shooting the sitcom Thick & Thin for the Peacock net. As for Mitchell and Sanz, neither appears to have a new project in the works.
While Rockefeller Center will be without five of its most familiar faces this fall, there are no current plans to fill the gap.
According to a statement from NBC, no new regular players have been added to the late night mix, though several of the remaining funnymen and women will see various changes to their onscreen roles.
Fey's departure paves the way for a new face to join Amy Poehler at the "Weekend Update" desk, and while no successors have been formally named, early reports peg Jason Sudeikis and Seth Meyers as the top candidates.
Meyers also returns as head writer for the show, a title he previously shared with Fey.
Saturday Night Live kicks off its new season Sept. 30, with host Dane Cook and musical guest The Killers.
Three Heads At The Real 'SNL' Finally Roll
Perhaps sensing a chance to finally seize back some of the attention lavished on Aaron Sorkin's behind-the-scenes-at-SNL drama Studio 60, nonfictional late-night variety show strongman Lorne Michaels made public some behind-the-scenes drama at the actual, constantly churning SNL, announcing that longtime cast members Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz, and Finesse Mitchell won't be back for the new season.
(But unlike the recently departed Tina Fey and quickly demoted and recast Rachel Dratch, it doesn't appear that they've got gigs on NBC's other behind-the-scenes-at-SNL series, 30 Rock, to cushion their departures.)
For those looking to keep their scorecards up-to-date, surviving the annual, bloody player-purge are Fred Armisen, Will Forte, Bill Hader, Darrell Hammond, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson and Kristen Wiig, with Meyers potentially taking over Fey's Weekend Update chair.
The story gives no indication how Michaels plans to eventually fill the Straight Man, Fat, Ethnic-Enough Guy, and The Other Black Guy roles vacated by Parnell, Sanz, and Mitchell, but the cost-cutting network probably prefers that he find a single, shape-shifting Groundling who will work for scale to plug those holes in the pared-down ensemble.
