Bill Hader is leaving SNL after eight years of domination. Rumors of why range from Stefon not being able to live without Seth Meyers to Lindsey Buckingham finally being sick of not getting his chance to shine on “What’s Up with That?”
“It was a hard decision, but it has to happen at some point,” Mr. Hader said in an interview. “It got to a point where I said, ‘Maybe it’s just time to go.’”
With Seth Meyers leaving for Late Night in 2014, Fred Armisen and Jason Sudeikis considering an exit, and the departures of Andy Samberg and Kristen Wiig last year, this is a rough stretch for SNL. They are losing most of the household names that guarantee viewers. There are plenty of brilliant comedians are writers out there though, so I wouldn’t worry about a dip in show quality. If anything, a new cycle of featured players should breath new life into a show that seemed to rely on another stupid game show every week.
The season finale this Saturday, May 18th, will be Hader’s last episode until he inevitably comes back as a host. I’ll miss Herb Welch and DJ Frontal Assault, but I have no doubt we’ll see plenty of Bill Hader going forward, not like that Norm MacDonald guy.
Good night and good luck [NYT]