With Saturday Night Live going into production on its Season 50 premiere early this week, we’re getting first official word on changes to the show’s writers’ room.
One week after reports first surfaced that comedian Carl Tart was joining the writing staff, Vulture’s Jesse David Fox has confirmed Tart’s addition alongside two others. Comedians Moss Perricone and Allie Levitan have also been hired as writers.
Perricone was previously a writer for all of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj and an executive story editor on The Other Two, the Max comedy series from former SNL head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. He was also a co-producer on Velma, starring Mindy Kaling, and used to co-host the live comedy show Puke Fest with Rachel Sennott (who is winning rave reviews for her role as SNL writer Rosie Shuster in Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night).
Levitan previously wrote for Our Cartoon President, the animated Showtime series executive produced by Stephen Colbert and spun off from his Late Show. (She also voiced Elizabeth Warren on the show.) She has written for The New Yorker, Nylon, and McSweeney’s, and recently co-wrote the film Small Parts with writer-director Molly Gordon. Her short film Flail, which she co-wrote and stars in, was an official selection at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Levitan is the daughter of Steven Levitan, creator of Modern Family and Just Shoot Me!
As we previously reported, Tart already has connections to several SNL cast members (past and present). He has regularly guested on Scott Aukerman’s Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast alongside current SNL cast member Ego Nwodim. Tart was also a writer and co-producer on Kenan, Kenan Thompson’s NBC sitcom (which Lorne Michaels produced), and a story editor on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which starred Andy Samberg.
Meanwhile, three other writers have left the show. SNL confirmed the exit of Alex English, who announced last month that he had been “relieved of [his] duties.” Vanessa Jackson, co-writer of sketches like “Amazon Go” and “Big Boys,” and Gary Richardson (“Lisa From Temecula“) have also left the show.
Vulture also reports that the lineup of co-head writers will remain as is, with Alison Gates, Streeter Seidell, and Kent Sublette sharing duties. Dan Bulla and Auguste White have been elevated to the team of writing supervisors, which already includes Gary Richardson, Will Stephen, and Celeste Yim. (Separately, Celeste Yim announced Sunday that they are taking temporary leave from the show for health reasons.)
Outside the writers’ room, SNL has shaken up its cast ahead of Season 50. Cast members Punkie Johnson, Molly Kearney, and Chloe Troast (who was a frequent collaborator of Perricone’s) have all departed the series. Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline were added as featured players.
Saturday Night Live’s 50th season premieres this Saturday, September 28.
