Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang Are Still Processing Heidi Gardner’s ‘SNL’ Departure

Now that the dust is settling from Lorne Michaels’ not-so-major reinvention of Saturday Night Live, its remaining cast members are still reeling from the news that some of their comedic compatriots won’t be returning. 

The “pretty wild” and “shocking” departure of comics like long-time SNL vet Heidi Gardner has Chloe Fineman feeling “a little heartbreak, sadness,” she told Extra TV, per Entertainment Weekly. “I haven’t fully processed anything, but I will say the show has such a turnover.”

At this point, Fineman is a veteran when it comes to saying goodbye. “I’m going into my seventh year,” she said. “I’ve like, done it. You always experience (turnover), but these people stay in your lives.”

Bowen Yang broke down his emotions about Gardner’s departure on a recent episode of Las Culturistas with his co-host Matt Rogers. “You are one of the greats,” Yang said to Gardner, no doubt listening somewhere out in the wild. “You will go down in history.”

Yang paid tribute to Gardner as a “true anchor on that show,” not only as a performer but as a writer as well. “It's always a very, very vulnerable thing as a cast member to put only your name on (a script),” he noted. “But anytime you saw just ‘Gardner,’ you knew you were in good hands. She would take it upon herself to write pieces for other cast (members).”

For example, Yang said, Gardner wrote a “whole-ass” Weekend Update feature for Punkie Johnson, who often had challenges getting airtime before leaving the show last year. “It was one of the most beautiful, kindest gestures I've ever seen at that show,” he said. “And her heart was so big, and clearly so fucking funny.” 

Gardner’s presence was especially felt during the lockdown days of COVID, Yang says. She was the cast member who suggested, “just to get through this,” texting each other each morning to preserve human contact and camaraderie. “That was this foothold that I had emotionally.”

With every departure comes a new freshman cast, and Fineman is jazzed “for the new people.” With seven seasons on SNL under her belt, she’s also noticing a growing age gap between the veterans and the rookies. “When I saw how young the new cast is, I immediately got a laser,” she joked. “I felt like I was in Death Becomes Her. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’” 

Yang and Rogers also waved goodbye to Emil Wakim, Devon Walker and Michael Longfellow. “Those are some A+ gents,” Yang said. “They were fantastic comedians going in, they are fantastic comedians coming out.”

But like Fineman, the duo also expressed excitement for the new crew of comics.

“This is gonna be great. Here we go!”