It’s almost time for fall television to finally return, and Saturday Night Live is gearing up for its 41st season by adding a new cast member. The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Jon Rudnitsky, a 25-year-old stand-up comic from New York City, will join the show as a featured player this year.
Saturday Night Live has been shaking up its cast lately, with tons of new faces added in recent years. Sometimes the newbies tend to get lost in the crowd, so hopefully Rudnitsky will be more of a Beck Bennett than a Brooks Wheelan, even though he, like Wheelan, comes from stand-up and not improv — the more typical pathway to SNL.
On Rudnitsky’s side, though, is his experience writing and performing in comedy sketches, so he should be a good fit for the show. SNL has been criticized recently for the lack of racial and gender diversity in its cast, so we’ll have to wait and see how the internet reacts to the addition of another young white guy. While it’s possible that SNL could add more to the cast, with no departures announced to this point, the cast is quite robust with the addition of Rudnitsky.
You can check out more of his stuff on his YouTube channel to get a better idea of what Rudnitsky will be bringing to the table.
Saturday Night Live will be back on Oct. 3 with Miley Cyrus hosting.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter and Splitsider)