Overview

• Four performers confirmed they will not return next season: Devon Walker, Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow and Emil Wakim.
• Walker told Rolling Stone the departure was a mutual decision after three seasons, following an Instagram post describing his experience as sometimes "toxic."
• Entertainment Weekly reports writers Celeste Yim and Rosebud Baker are also leaving, extending the off-season resets beyond the on-air cast.
• James Austin Johnson is confirmed to return to portray President Donald Trump, according to comments cited by Entertainment Weekly and Newsweek.
• Announcements were made largely on social media, drawing immediate reactions from fans and alumni such as Punkie Johnson as NBC readies the show’s Oct. 4 return on Peacock and broadcast.