Leading up to the 51st season of "Saturday Night Live" premiere on October 4, 2025, showrunner Lorne Michaels teased a "shake-up" at the late night sketch show (via Puck ). After making good on that promise by axing cast members like Devon Walker , the Norm Macdonald-esque Michael Longfellow , and single season featured player Emil Wakim , one of the biggest changes yet came with word that longtime cast member Heidi Gardner would not be returning to "SNL."

Vulture was the first to report on Heidi Gardner's departure from "SNL." As for the reasoning, it's not clear whether Gardner wasn't asked back or if she chose to leave the show after eight seasons. However, we're betting it's the latter, especially since Gardner has been popping up in a variety of other projects in recent year

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