After four members announced they were leaving (some voluntarily, others not) and five new comedians were recruited, it seemed like Saturday Night Live‘s Season 51 cast shakeups were over. However, heads were turned when Ego Nwodim, who’s been with the show for seven seasons, announced that she’s not returning for Season 51 of the long-running sketch show. The comedian shared the news on September 12 on her Instagram story, with a message that read:
“The hardest part of a great party is knowing when to say goodnight. But after seven unforgettable seasons, I have decided to leave SNL. I am immensely grateful to Lorne for the opportunity, to my castmates, the writers, and the crew for their brilliance, support, and friendship. Week after week on that stage taught me more than I could have ever imagined, and I will carry those memories (and that laughter) with me always.”
Nwodim will certainly be missed. She was one of the show’s funniest cast members, known for popular sketches like “Lisa from Temecula.” Her departure might be disappointing to fans, but it could also pose a problem for SNL, as the show will no longer have a Black woman in its cast.
Ego Nwodim Was Brilliant When Playing Characters
Ego Nwodim was a vital part of SNL‘s cast. She had the power to help carry sketches, even when she was just a supporting character, which was far too often. Her comedic strengths really shone when she committed to outrageous characters. These characters sometimes came in the form of Weekend Update segments. Leading up to Prime Day, Nwodim appeared as an energetic Amazon worker. Ahead of the holiday season, Nwodim showed up as a rich aunt with no kids. Other times, her characters were just celebrity impressions. Nwodim had a recurring sketch titled “Dionne Warwick Talk Show,” where she played Dionne Warwick as someone who’s hilariously out of touch with her guests.
Nwodim had another popular character who appeared in multiple sketches, “Lisa from Temecula.” In all three of her sketches, Lisa from Temecula managed to become the center of attention during dinner in extreme ways. In the first of these appearances, Lisa from Temecula does strange things like ordering a steak extra-extra-well-done or shaking the whole table while she cuts the steak. The first sketch was particularly memorable because she made almost all of her cast members break character, especially the episode’s host, Pedro Pascal.
One of her most memorable characters on the show was actually just a version of herself. When the White House Correspondents’ Dinner announced that it would no longer host a comedian, Ego Nwodim joined Weekend Update as her alternate stand-up comedian persona, “Miss Eggy.” Miss Eggy performed a stand-up routine about the Correspondents’ Dinner, while also making up facts about herself, such as claiming to be a 50-year-old mother. The best part came when she asks the audience, “These men ain’t what?” and the audience responds with an expletive that later had to be censored. “We finna get fined for that,” Ego Nwodim responded in shock. Nwodim brought the persona back for a segment in her final episode, the Season 50 finale, where Miss Eggy jokes about airplane food.
During the casting shakeup for Season 51, Saturday Night Live lost quite a few of its cast members who represented minority groups. Devon Walker, a Black comedian, was the first to announce his departure after three seasons with the show. Emil Wakim, the first Lebanese-American to join SNL‘s cast, was told via a phone call that he wouldn’t be returning for his second season with the show. On the writing team, Celeste Yim, who was the first out transgender writer on SNL, also announced they were leaving heading into Season 51.
Ego Nwodim’s departure makes this even more concerning. Throughout its history, the sketch show has featured only eight Black women in its cast. No Black women were hired heading into Season 51, and Ego Nwodim was the only Black woman in the cast when Season 50 ended. This will be Saturday Night Live‘s first season without a Black woman since Season 38, which ran from 2012 to 2013. The way SNL‘s Season 51 cast looks right now isn’t representative of the real world’s diverse population.
That’s a major problem for SNL. The show relies on sketches based on popular culture, which means cast members often have to portray real-life figures. Ego Nwodim was one of the go-to choices to portray famous Black women on the show. During her time, she played Diana Ross, Halle Berry, Candace Owens, and many more. If Saturday Night Live needs a sketch in Season 51 with a Black woman, the show’s producers will have to look outside the cast for an actor to portray her. There’s always the chance that Lorne Michaels and his team could hire another Black woman for the cast, but with the show premiering on October 4, Michaels doesn’t have much time.
Saturday Night Live
- Release Date
-
October 11, 1975
- Network
-
NBC
- Directors
-
Dave Wilson, Don Roy King, Liz Patrick, Andy Warhol, Linda Lee Cadwell, Matthew Meshekoff, Paul Miller, Robert Altman, Robert Smigel
- Writers
-
Will Forte, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Chris Parnell, Asa Taccone, John Lutz, Tom Schiller, Simon Rich, Michael Patrick O’Brien, Nicki Minaj, Herbert Sargent, Matt Piedmont, John Solomon, Chris Kelly, Alan Zweibel, Kent Sublette, Ari Katcher, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schnedier, Scott Jung, Justin Franks, Jerrod Bettis, Rhiannon Bryan
-
-
-
Andrew Dismukes
Self (archive footage)
-
Chloe Fineman
Self / Margaret Jo McCullin / Various
