Kate McKinnon wrapped up what is reported to be her last season of Saturday Night Live with a teary farewell on May 21. The season 47 finale featured Kate playing Ms. Rafferty, a “tough broad who is prone to being abducted by aliens,” describes EW, for the final Close Encounter sketch.
The Close Encounter sketch has been a part of SNL since December 2015. Kate’s physical comedy in the role has been so hilarious that seasoned actors have broken character around her. In the final episode, Kate acted alongside Cecily Strong and the week’s host: Natasha Lyonne.
Once again, Rafferty shared her bizarre extraterrestrial experiences. But this farewell episode ended differently: the “tough broad” left Earth to “permanently” be with her alien captors.
Kate became emotional as she said her last words while entering the spaceship: “Well, Earth, I love ya. Thanks for letting me stay a while. Live from New York, it’s Saturday night.” The studio audience errupted with applause.
Kate’s first episode of SNL was in season 37, 2012. She’s been nominated for nine Emmys for the show since, and has won two of them. She’s known for her super-accurate impressions of public figures, including Ellen Degeneres, Kellyanne Conway, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and Hillary Clinton. She is the longest-reigning female cast member in SNL history.
Why did she leave?
On May 20, ahead of the final episode, Variety reported that Kate McKinnon was among four stars to leave the comedy show and that NBC refused for SNL producers to comment.
“I really don’t see the point of watching Saturday Night Live anymore if Kate McKinnon isn’t there,” one viewer wrote on twitter.
We don’t know why Kate’s leaving SNL for sure but Distractify suggests she simply outgrew it: “There isn’t a definitive reason for her leaving, but we assume she wants to take bigger risks and expand her resume outside of the late-night variety series.”
“Although she starred in several films and other television shows while working on SNL, we believe exiting the show will allow Kate to explore even more opportunities and try different things.”
Another reason could be the network’s desperation to keep things fresh: SNL’s success has been incredibly important for the NBC as many viewers have migrated to streaming services in recent years. SNL’s 2020-2021 season “was the most-watched entertainment program on TV among viewers between 18 and 49, the demographic most preferred by advertisers.” The show is bound to be the network’s focus.
Now that SNL runs live across the U.S. at once, it airs at primetime in some timezones. Considering that Kate is one of four stars leaving the show – and that her contract ended back in 2019 – perhaps the network isn’t waiting until things get dry before they spice things up. SNL going stale isn’t an option for the network.
It’ll be interesting to see how ratings go without the hilarious lesbian, however!
What’s next for Kate? From what we know so far, she’ll be appearing on the live-action Barbie movie and a voice part in DC League of Super-Pets.
