TV Shows

‘SNL’ Loses Major Player After 20-Year Run

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Just a few months after Pete Davidson announced his departure from Saturday Night Live, the longtime late-night sketch comedy show is losing another key player. Producer and talent chief Lindsay Shookus will depart her spot at the NBC show after 20 years. She made the announcement in an Instagram post. “After 20 seasons at Saturday Night Live (and 415 live shows โ€“ I counted!), I have decided to trade in the wild late nightlife and move on from the show,” she wrote in part. “When I started in 2002, I was a baby from Buffalo, NY who didn’t know anything about the business, except that I so badly wanted to be somehow part of it. I found my place at SNL and I’ve spent the past two decades developing the most incredible friendships and memories alongside some truly brilliant and talented people.”

She sent a special shoutout to the famed SNL creator Lorne Michaels. “I will be forever grateful to Lorne for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunityโ€ฆthank you for your support, encouragement and freedom to bring my voice to this legendary stage,” she added. She also hinted that doesn’t have a definite next step. “I don’t know exactly what else the future holds for me, but I’m a big believer in letting the universe unveil itself to you, and allowing that goodness in. It may not be perfectly written yet, but I know I’m headed someplace good. And I can’t wait to share it,” she noted.

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Shookus has won six Emmy Awards in her time at SNL. Shookus also reflected on her time spent with her ex-husband and fellow producer on the show, Kevin Miller. “I also met the man with whom I would have my beautiful daughter Maddie โ€“ and what could be a greater gift from my time at the show than my sweet, funny girl who makes every day brighter,” she added.

Ironically, she was previously linked to Ben Affleck, who wed Jennifer Lopez in their official ceremony at his estate in Savannah, GA on Aug. 20. It was alleged that Affleck and the SNL staple were having an affair while she was still married to Miller, and he was married to Jennifer Garner.ย