The Future of the 6 New 'SNL' Featured Players

Over the past 38 years, there have been a number of “Saturday Night Live” cast members who have served the show well, each bringing their own unique humor and performance style. Unfortunately for viewers, not every longtime player has as few career options as Kenan Thompson. Over the last two years, “SNL” has lost no fewer than five star cast members, including Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, and Jason Sudeikis. In the show’s 39th season premiere, “SNL” alum Tina Fey introduced us to an unusually high number of new featured players, six in all. Now that the season is several episodes in, here’s our take on who will stay and who will go.

Beck Bennett

Bennett enjoys a bit of exposure in an airport sketch during the premiere. Though his character doesn’t claim any of the biggest laughs of the sketch, he supports it skillfully with his portrayal of an upper-middle class husband along with his more experienced cast-mate Kate McKinnon. Certainly one of the more comfortable freshman performers on stage, he could do very well. He seems malleable and he could enjoy great success in the near future as both an actor and comedian as he develops his comedic style over the coming season. Best case scenario, the fledgling straight man could do well as a Jason Sudeikis replacement.

John Milhiser

Milhiser was notably invisible for the entirety of the premiere and his sole appearance in the Miley Cyrus episode is a Jon Cryer impression in the “50 Shades of Grey” sketch. Milhiser is a gifted impressionist but his capacity as a cast member remains to be seen. For his sake, let’s hope he grabs Lorne Michaels’ attention, soon, or he could get taken off the air like last year’s Tim Robinson.

Kyle Mooney

Tina Fey calls out Mooney’s “deer in the headlights look” in the “New Cast Member or Arcade Fire” game show sketch. This is likely more intentionally ironic than an accident, since his performances are the most inspired out of the new cast by far. He turns his newcomer status into a real advantage, revealing a self-effacing humor, reminiscent throughout of the always-committed Vanessa Bayer, as he throws himself into his characters. He never wavered in portraying the awkward veteran stand-up comedian character Bruce Chandling on Weekend Update.

Michael O'Brien

O’Brien has been an “SNL” writer for the past few years and based on his performance, maybe the writers’ room is where he belongs. Even in the hilarious context of his 1950s try-hard car salesman sketch, O’Brien looks rigid at times. Though he has a few great moments in the sketch along with Tina Fey, his performance feels subpar. Hopefully this can be attributed to nerves; otherwise, he has a ways to go if he wants to grab the interest of the crowd like more confident ex-”SNL” stars such as Hader. Otherwise, he might have to prepare for a very short career as a cast member.

Noel Wells

One of the best new additions to the show, Wells’s impersonation of Lena Dunham (as well as of Emma Stone) is stellar. In the “Girls” parody sketch Fey steals the show; however, Wells’s performance holds its own as the duo elicits gut-wrenching laughter from the crowd. She should have no trouble holding—and keeping—America’s attention this year. There’s plenty of room for her to utilize her skills of uncanny character impersonation to reap the same success Will Ferrell did during his time on the show.

Brooks Wheelan

Wheelan does a solid job with his meth-head character early on in the show, and his nude scene (yes, he gets naked on his first show) is absolutely hilarious. He certainly holds character well to maximize the punch of that specific joke. If he can throw caution to the wind like Chris Parnell could on a regular basis, he could become one of the most recognizable performers on the show.