EXCLUSIVE: We have our first cast since season 51. Saturday Night Live, and it’s big. Chloe Fineman, one of NBC’s standout sketch comedy performers of the past few years, is leaving after seven seasons.
Fineman has already lined up her next project: She’s in talks to join Colin Woodell, KJ Apa and Diana Guerrero. Myron BolitarNetflix drama series inspired by Harlan Coben’s book series, sources said. A representative for the streamer declined to comment.
“It’s very difficult to leave SNL but I think now is the right time,” she said.
Fineman joined SNL as a starter at the start of the 2019-20 season, which was interrupted by the pandemic. She came into her own in the show’s remote episodes in the spring of 2020, when her home segments showcased her superb disguise skills, which became her SNL business card.
The list of celebrities she memorably portrayed on the show includes Drew Barrymore, Britney Spears, Nicole Kidman, Timothée Chalamet, JoJo Siwa, Sydney Sweeney, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Coolidge, Phoebe Dynevor, convicted felon Anna Delvey, and SNLKate McKinnon’s own.
Other sketches of her that have gone viral include: Snack Homes, Forever 31, Maybelline and the series “Domingo” with Marcello Hernandez. (You can watch some of her best performances below.)
UPDATE: Following a Deadline report, Fineman announced her departure from SNL with a heartfelt Instagram note alongside a carousel of photos and videos from her time on the show, calling her tenure “the greatest privilege of my life.” She listed the highlights (and lessons learned) from her stay, thanked SNL boss Lorne Michaels and vowed to “never stray too far.”
After 7 wonderful seasons in SNL I decided it was time for my next chapter.
It’s trite to say so, but working on SNL has been the greatest privilege of my life. I still can’t believe that I got to be a part of this. I fell in love with this place as soon as I walked in the door. Lorne (if you’re reading this on your disposable account) I want you to know that I am forever in your debt.
Every day I am fortunate to be surrounded by some of the best people in the business and am constantly amazed by how they work. Sewing a JoJo Siwa costume in 10 hours. Opening a cold email on Saturday at 14:00. Finishing the visual effects of the video a few minutes before the dress (I don’t know if “finalizing the visual effects” is the correct technical term, but you get the idea).I’m definitely not the first to make this observation, but it’s really fun to look back on it now because on the show you get so invested in everything you work on. You sob uncontrollably when your sketch is not selected. You storm into the producers’ office and tell them they’ve just made the biggest mistake of their lives. You call everyone you know and complain. And then, a few years later, you look back and it was a sketch called “Lipstick for Fat Dogs.”
But it’s just a show. You respect him so much that you give him absolutely everything you have, even when it’s incredibly stupid. So, you’re elated when things work out, and you feel most devastated when they don’t. And in the end it doesn’t really matter, but in the moment it did.
It’s very difficult to leave SNL but it seems like now is the right time. I’ll miss this very much. But the people who work there are my family, and this place is my home, and I know I’ll never be too far away.
And I swear to God, one day, someday in the future, they WILL MAKE lipstick for fat dogs.
In his final 51 seasons, Fineman was the longest-tenured player. SNL female cast following the departures of Ego Nwodima and Heidi Gardner last summer.
In leaving, Fineman is following the standard trajectory of success. SNL actors who leave after the end of their initial seven-year contract.
The practice has evolved over the past decade, with some established performers staying longer. For example, Weekend update hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che have been on the series for 13 and 12 seasons, respectively; Mikey Day, author of some of the SNLmost popular sketches in recent years – 10. Then there’s Kenan Thompson, the longest-running cast member ever and SNL institution, at 23 years old (and growing).
While she was on SNLFineman has done voice work, including on Netflix Big mouth and in Despicable Me 4. She also made an arc on Paved and appeared in Freaky Friday And Megapolis.