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It’s the end of August, which comedy nerds recognize as the time Lorne Michaels starts to clean house. Ahead of each new season of Saturday Night Live, some cast members announce their exit from the show, with the more forthcoming ones usually explaining they were fired. This year, it seems Michaels felt his roster was too attractive as all the departures so far have been certified cuties.

Devon Walker, who gave SNL the gift of a beautiful smile for three seasons, was the first to announce he won’t be back at 30 Rock. In an Instagram post earlier this week, Walker shared a note titled “wait … did he quit or did he get fired?” in which he likened jobs in entertainment to “a bunch of little marriages.” “Some of em last for a long time if we’re lucky, but most of them are fleeting. Permanent until they’re not. That’s the deal. You know what it is when you sign up,” he wrote.

Next on the chopping block was Emil Wakim and his dazzling eyes. Wakim, who spent only one season on the show, is perhaps most notable for his “Weekend Update” appearances, during which he spoke about supporting Palestine and the evils of capitalism. “I won’t be returning to SNL next year. It was a gut punch of a call to get but i’m so grateful for my time there,” Wakim wrote in an Instagram post, adding that he was lucky to “say things i believed in” and that he looks forward to “making more art without compromise.”

Perhaps most shocking, Variety revealed, the latest cast member to get the boot is tall drink of water Michael Longfellow. The comedian reportedly screen-tested for “Weekend Update” back in May and he has a devoted army of young women making fancams about him. You’d think that would be enough to secure him at least another year, but alas. Longfellow has not yet commented on leaving the show.

With all love and respect to the rest of the SNL men, these departures are a huge blow to the cast’s crushability quotient. Thankfully, Ego Nwodim and Bowen Yang are still around, which means Lorne still has some idea of what the people want. If things keep heading in this direction, though, Andrew Dismukes will need to stay alert.

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