Saturday Night Live Fires Parnell, Sanz, and Mitchell

Saturday night live will begin next season minus several regulars.

After nearly a month of speculation that the fates of several Saturday Night Live cast members were up in the air comes confirmation from NBC that regulars Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz and Finesse Mitchell will not 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 MIA cast and svengali producer Lorne Michaels or that their departure was the result of a firing.

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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 up until now has pegged fellow cast member Kenan Thompson, who will return 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.

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The triple departure adds to something of a mass exodus from the show of long time cast, though the others, at least from the outside, appear to be slightly more voluntary. Over the summer, Tina Fey and
Rachel Dratch confirmed that 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 of the 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, no new projects appear to be in the works.

The cast was bloated with so many members that it was hard to keep them straight. The show works better with a smaller ensemble.

There were seven full-fledged cast members that constituted the Not Ready for Prime Time Players: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner. The show frequently deteriorated into gigantic repetory casts with no identity and then settles down into a more managable pattern.

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Saturday Night Live Fires Parnell, Sanz, and Mitchell

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