Michaela Watkins, Casey Wilson Dropped From Saturday Night Live

by candice.tsuei | September 8, 2009 at 09:49 am

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With the recent addition of two new cast members, Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad, to Saturday Night Live comes the cut of Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson.

Watkins joined SNL in less than a year ago and quickly quickly became a featured player due to her impressions of Hoda Kotb, Barbara Walters, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. On Aug 28, Watkins was notified that her contract with SNL was not renewed.

Speaking of “SNL,” Ms. Watkins said: “I’ve been watching that show forever and I know to get stuff on as a featured player, people aren’t used to you yet, your face, your voice. They’re still figuring out whether they like you or not.”

When asked about her dismissal from the show,

"Shock. And sadness [because] it just felt premature. But on some level I feel like there are so many opportunities and things that I want to do in the future and now they’ll just happen sooner rather than later."

When asked about the SNL boss, Lorne Michaels, Watkins said,

“I have a ton of respect for the man...He’s also a businessman and he thinks about things that I don’t think about and that might be reflected in this decision. I think this was more of a business decision than it was about talent. I know how much [airtime] featured players get and I surpassed my own expectations.’’

Casey Wilson has also been cut from the long-running show. Her manager and her agent did not immediately return calls or emails for comment.

SNL will have its premiere on September 26.

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