Devon Walker Leaves SNL
A three-year member of “Saturday Night Live” says he’s not returning for the fall season. Devon Walker joined the comedy sketch show in 2022 and was known for his impressions of Shannon Sharpe, Michael Strahan and New York Mayor Eric Adams, among others. On Instagram Monday, he announced he was leaving the show, and wrote, “sometimes it was really cool” and “sometimes it was toxic,” but “we made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction.”
In an Instagram Story posted alongside his announcement, Walker added, “Just to be clear, this is good news!! It was just time for me to do something different.”
Walker is the latest SNL cast member to announce his departure from the weekly variety show ahead of the next season, which premieres on Oct. 4 — and he likely won’t be the last.
Cast shakeups are not uncommon between seasons of SNL. Ahead of last season’s Sept. 28, 2024, premiere, NBC announced that Kearney, Punkie Johnson and Chloe Troast would not be returning to the show, while Jane Wickline, Ashley Padilla and Emil Wakim would be joining the cast. Two SNL writers have also recently announced they are leaving the show.
Comedian Rosebud Baker, who has worked on the show’s “Weekend Update” team since February 2022, confirmed this week that she won’t be returning for the next season in an interview with LateNighter contributor Jon Schneider.
Prior to the announcement, Baker talked about how stressful it was to write for “Weekend Update” in the Aug. 11 episode of David Spade and Dana Carvey’s podcast, Fly on the Wall. Spade and Carvey are former SNL cast members who overlapped for three seasons in the ‘90s.
“Deadline” says other cast members are also expected to leave SNL ahead of its October 4th season premiere.
