Wait, ‘SNL’ chose to not renew Heidi Gardner’s contract?

It turns out Lorne Michaels’ big reinvention of the show going into Season 51 was just ... letting Gardner walk?

Wait, ‘SNL’ chose to not renew Heidi Gardner’s contract?
Heidi Gardner on SNL. / NBC

Unless there’s more news coming, it sounds like the massive reinvention of SNL that Lorne Michaels promised going into the upcoming season was just ... that he didn’t renew Heidi Gardner’s contract?

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OK, we also saw three other cast members leave the show, but Gardner is the only longtime SNL vet who we’ve learned is gone. (She was the longest-tenured female cast member.) And according to a new report, it wasn’t by her choice.

Heidi Gardner’s contract with Saturday Night Live was not renewed for Season 51, an insider exclusively tells The Post.

“It’s time for a new cast,” the insider said.

The New York Post also notes that Dana Carvey and David Spade discussed Gardner’s exit during their podcast, with Carvey noting that from “what I know as of this recording, that it was not her idea to leave.” (New York Post)

This Deep SNL Thoughts story appeared in the Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, edition of Popculturology.

Deep SNL Thoughts is written and produced by Bill Kuchman.
Copyediting by Tim Kuchman.

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