--- title: 3 Things to Know About Saturday Night Live's 3 New Members description: Saturday Night Live has announced three new cast members for its upcoming 42nd season canonical: https://time.com/4488190/snl-new-cast-members-bio/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-12T19:55:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:40.021Z og:title: 3 Things to Know About Saturday Night Live's New Cast Members og:description: The cast additions follow the departure of Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah og:url: https://time.com/4488190/snl-new-cast-members-bio/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e6968e3f521bff7/6988a59ba988cab29e6b95fc/mikey-day.jpg?branch=production&width=839&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 839 og:image:height: 472 og:image:alt: mikey-day og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 3 Things to Know About Saturday Night Live's New Cast Members twitter:description: The cast additions follow the departure of Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e6968e3f521bff7/6988a59ba988cab29e6b95fc/mikey-day.jpg?branch=production&width=839&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 3 Things to Know About _Saturday Night Live's_ 3 New Cast Members ## Video: Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah Are Leaving SNL [Watch (HLS stream): Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah Are Leaving SNL](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vXsvekz3.m3u8) (0:33)  _Published 2016-08-09. Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah, two longtime Saturday Night Live cast members, are leaving the show ahead of its 42nd season premiere this fall._ by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Sep 12, 2016 7:55 PM UTC  Mikey Day in Los Angeles, Sept. 18, 2008. Mikey Day in Los Angeles, Sept. 18, 2008.Mark J. Terrill—AP by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Sep 12, 2016 7:55 PM UTC [_Saturday Night Live_](http://time.com/4336429/drake-snl-black-jeopardy/) has announced three new cast members for its upcoming 42nd season. Comedians Mikey Day, Melissa Villaseñor and Alex Moffat will join the sketch show, which premieres its new season on Oct. 1 on NBC, according to [Mashable](http://mashable.com/2016/09/12/saturday-night-live-cast-additions/#WWCA.C01rOqj). **Mikey Day** Day becomes a featured player after spending three years on _SNL’s_ writing staff and a recent writing and acting gig on the NBC variety show _Maya & Marty_. Before joining _SNL_, he [performed with Groundlings](http://www.groundlings.com/performers/performer-details.aspx?performerID=109#) in Los Angeles, a sketch comedy theater that boasts Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig among its alumni. **Melissa Villaseñor** Stand-up comic Villaseñor is known for her on-point celebrity impressions on her [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/user/melissav87) channel. She was a top finalist on _America’s Got Talent_, and has lent her voice to animated shows like _Adventure Time_ and _Family Guy_. **Alex Moffat** Moffat, a [Chicago-based improv and sketch performer](http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-saturday-night-live-adds-alex-moffat-of-chicago-20160912-column.html), joins the institution after working with the iO Theater, Annoyance and Second City, the last of which kickstarted the careers of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray, among several _SNL_ legends. The cast additions follow the [sudden departure](http://time.com/4444651/taran-killam-jay-pharoah-saturday-night-live/) of stars Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah in August. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4488190/snl-new-cast-members-bio/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4488190/snl-new-cast-members-bio/"},"headline":"3 Things to Know About Saturday Night Live's 3 New Cast Members","datePublished":"2016-09-12T19:55:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:47:40.021Z","description":"The new additions follow the departures of Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah","url":"https://time.com/4488190/snl-new-cast-members-bio/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","Saturday Night Live"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e6968e3f521bff7/6988a59ba988cab29e6b95fc/mikey-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e6968e3f521bff7/6988a59ba988cab29e6b95fc/mikey-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"mikey-day","caption":"Mikey Day in Los Angeles, Sept. 18, 2008.","creditText":"Mark J. 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