Saturday Night Live just announced several additions to the cast and writing staff. First up, Ego Nwodim has joined the SNL cast as a featured player and will make her onscreen debut during the season 44 premiere. In addition to her work at the Upright Citizens Brigade, Nwodim was named a New Face at Just for Laughs in 2016 and performed at the CBS Diversity Showcase the same year. She’s also made a handful of appearances on CollegeHumor as well as on television shows (2 Broke Girls, Do You Want to See a Dead Body?, Living Biblically) and podcasts including Comedy Bang Bang, Hollywood Handbook, and Spontaneanation.
Four new writers have also been added to the SNL writing staff: Alan Linic, Alison Gates, Eli Mandel, and podcaster–Vulture interviewer and recapper–lip-sync master Bowen Yang. The news follows our recent report that there’s been a small shuffling at the top of the staff, with longtime writer Bryan Tucker moving into a new senior writer position while Michael Che, Colin Jost, and Kent Sublette remain co-head writers.
SNL returns for its 44th season on September 29 with host Adam Driver and musical guest Kanye West.
