Missing Your Favorite ‘SNL’ Alums? Here’s What They’re Up To

NBC’s iconic show proves yet again its power to churn out A-list entertainers

Nicholas DeRenzo,

AARP

Published April 14, 2023

(Left to right) Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Pete Davidson

Evans Vestal Ward/NBC via Getty Images; Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

From the beginning, Saturday Night Live developed a reputation for churning out A-listers, and pop culture this spring is rife with projects by popular alums: Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso) and Bill Hader (Barry) are wrapping up their respective, Emmy-winning series; Tina Fey, 52, and Amy Poehler, 51, are going on a comedy tour together; and Adam Sandler, 56, continues his impressive run at Netflix with Murder Mystery 2. With the casts churning the past few seasons, more recent but equally beloved alums, from Kate McKinnon to Cecily Strong, have pivoted to post-SNL projects like their predecessors. See where the funniest kids on TV are turning up, from memoirs and musical comedies to even a Broadway debut.

Aidy Bryant holds an umbrella in a scene from the Hulu series Shrill

Aidy Bryant in "Shrill."

Photo by: Allyson Riggs/Hulu

Aidy Bryant (2012-22)

Best known for playing: Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Ted Cruz, travel expert Carrie Krum

Her latest project: An Emmy nominee for both SNL and her own sitcom, Shrill, Bryant stars in Netflix’s adult animated series Human Resources, a raunchier version of Pixar’s Inside Out. A workplace comedy spin-off of Big Mouth, it’s set in a world of imaginary beings who control human behavior — Hormone Monsters, Shame Wizards, Depression Kitties and Bryant playing a Lovebug named Emmy Fairfax. The first season premiered last year, and the show has been picked up for more episodes, which are expected to stream this year.

Watch it: Human Resources on Netflix

Alex Moffat attends the premiere of the film 80 For Brady at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles

Photo by: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

Alex Moffat (2016-22)

Best known for playing: Eric Trump, Joe Biden, Guy Who Just Bought a Boat

His latest project: After leaving SNL in 2022, Moffat is making his Broadway debut in The Cottage, which is set in the English countryside in 1923 and inspired by the works of Noël Coward. Moffat isn’t the only person from the NBC family to be involved in the production, which runs from July through October: Seinfeld alum Jason Alexander, 63, is directing, and Will & Grace’s Eric McCormack, 59, costars. Next up, Moffat is set to join Vince Vaughn, 53, in the Apple TV+ adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s Bad Monkey, produced by Ted Lasso cocreator Bill Lawrence, 54.

Watch it: Buy tickets to The Cottage at thecottageonbroadway.com.

Chris Redd sitting in a chair during his appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen

Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo

Chris Redd (2017-22)

Best known for playing: Kanye West, Eric Adams, Lil Wayne

His latest project: A 2018 Primetime Emmy winner for cowriting the song “Come Back, Barack,” Redd appeared in this spring’s Spinning Gold, a musical biopic about Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, who discovered Donna Summer, the Village People and Kiss. Redd also recently costarred with Kenan Thompson (who continues to bring joy on SNL) on his eponymous NBC sitcom.

Watch it: Spinning Gold in theaters

Kate McKinnon stars as Carole Baskin in the Peacock series Joe vs Carole

Kate McKinnon in "Joe vs Carole."

Photo by: Mark Taylor/Peacock/Photo Bank

Kate McKinnon (2012-22)

Best known for playing: Hillary Clinton, Kellyanne Conway, Ellen DeGeneres, Elizabeth Warren

Her latest project: A two-time Emmy winner, McKinnon has proved particularly successful after her decade-long run on SNL. Last year, she starred as the controversial animal rights activist Carole Baskin in the Peacock limited series Joe vs Carole and as a studio executive in The Bubble, a Judd Apatow–produced comedy about a blockbuster action franchise shooting during the pandemic. Next up, she’ll appear as the ultra-flexible Gymnast Barbie in Barbie, the Greta Gerwig–directed ode to the Mattel fashion dolls, which hits theaters July 21.

Watch it: Joe vs Carole on Peacock

Cecily Strong at the photo call for the television series Schmigadoon

Photo by: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Cecily Strong (2012-22)

Best known for playing: Jeanine Pirro, Cathy Anne, Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party, Melania Trump

Her latest project: One of the longest-tenured female cast members in SNL history, the self-described “theater geek” often showed off her impressive vocals on the show. Comedy lightning struck twice in 2021 with the Apple TV+ musical spoof Schmigadoon!, in which she and Keegan-Michael Key, 52, star as a pair of New York City doctors who get lost in a magical town stuck in Golden Age musicals, complete with show-stopping songs inspired by Oklahoma!, Carousel, The Sound of Music and more. In Season 2, they try to recapture the magic but instead find themselves in “Schmicago,” based on the darker, sexier musicals of the 1960s and ’70s, such as Cabaret, Pippin and Sweeney Todd.

Watch it: Schmigadoon! on Apple TV+

Leslie Jones wearing a red dress at the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony honoring Kenan Thompson

Photo by: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

Leslie Jones (2014-19)

Best known for playing: Herself on Weekend Update, Whoopi Goldberg, She-Rock Obama

Her latest project: At 47, Jones was the oldest person to ever join the SNL cast, and in the years since she left the series in 2019, she’s worked steadily, appearing in the comedies Coming 2 America and Out of Office, hosting a rebooted Supermarket Sweep and recurring on the HBO Max comedy Our Flag Means Death as a pirate captain with 19 husbands. She made a splash this year as a popular guest host on The Daily Show, and this September, she’ll tell her hilarious and inspiring life story in her memoir, Leslie F*cking Jones.

Watch it: The Daily Show on YouTube

Pete Davidson in a scene from the Peacock series Bupkis

Pete Davidson stars in "Bupkis."

Photo by: Heidi Gutman/Peacock

Pete Davidson (2014-22)

Best known for playing: Himself on Weekend Update, Andrew Cuomo, Chad

His latest project: Even though he has a tendency to gently mock his hometown of Staten Island, Davidson has also been a bit of a cheerleader for the perpetually undervalued New York City borough. After his starring role in Judd Apatow’s 2020 comedy The King of Staten Island, Davidson goes home again for Bupkis, his new eight-part Peacock series, which premieres May 8. Described as a “heightened, fictionalized version” of his life, the show costars Edie Falco, 59, as his mom and Joe Pesci, 80, as his grandfather, with an impressive roster of guest stars that includes Ray Romano, 65, and Brad Garrett, 62.

Watch it: Bupkis on Peacock

Kyle Mooney at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Jamojaya Premiere at Eccles Center Theatre in Park City, Utah

Photo by: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Kyle Mooney (2013-22)

Best known for playing: Baby Yoda, Pope Francis, bad comedian Bruce Chandling

His latest project: One of the most offbeat presences on SNL in recent years, Mooney is set to appear in the Jennifer Lawrence sex comedy No Hard Feelings, which hits theaters on June 23. His career will get an even bigger creative boost soon: He’s making his directorial debut with the disaster comedy Y2K, which is set during a high school party on New Year’s Eve 1999 and imagines what would have happened if the dreaded computer bug actually did wreak havoc that night.

Watch it: No Hard Feelings in theaters June 23

Melissa Villaseñor attends TheWrap's 5th Annual Power Women Summit in Santa Monica, California

Photo by: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Melissa Villaseñor (2016-22)

Best known for playing: Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton, kid genius Riley Jenson

Her latest project: The quirky comedian never quite got her due on SNL, but in the year since she left, she’s absolutely flourished: touring with her musical stand-up act, selling her drawings and prints online and hosting her Laughing With Myself podcast. In the fall, Villaseñor released Whoops… I’m Awesome: A Workbook With Activities, Art, and Stories for Embracing Your Wonderfully Awesome Self, which gives readers fun-to-complete tasks such as listing your favorite childhood snacks or taking a “do you need a nap?” quiz.

Read it: Whoops… I’m Awesome: A Workbook With Activities, Art, and Stories for Embracing Your Wonderfully Awesome Self on Amazon

Beck Bennett at the Season 3 Premiere of the HBO series Barry in Culver City, California

Photo by: Araya Doheny/FilmMagic

Beck Bennett (2013-21)

Best known for playing: Mike Pence, Vladimir Putin, Mitch McConnell

His latest project: During his eight seasons on SNL, Bennett made a name for himself playing goofy versions of world leaders, dad figures and overly confident jocks. Since last year, he’s played against type on a very different kind of show — one your grandkids might know better than you do. He voices the titular rodent in Disney Channel’s Hamster & Gretel, a cartoon about a girl and her pet who get powers and become superheroes.

Watch it: Hamster & Gretel on Apple TV, Disney+, Prime Video

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Nicholas DeRenzo is a contributing writer who covers entertainment and travel. Previously he was executive editor of United Airlines’ Hemispheres magazine and his work has appeared in the New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure, Sunset and New York magazine.