Leslie Jones' absence on SNL will be especially felt if Lorne Michaels doesn't shake up the cast

The Atlantic

For the past five years, Jones has been a breath of fresh air for a creatively stagnant show. Entering election season, it looks like Saturday Night Live will be even more stale with Jones' absence, says David Sims. "There’s still time for (Lorne) Michaels to overhaul the cast—though the host and musical guest of the 45th season’s first episode on September 28 (Woody Harrelson and Billie Eilish) are already set," he says. "New cast members have been known to join at the last minute, or even during the season as Jones did, and SNL still has a strong pool of writers who could easily make the leap to performing. But with (Kate) McKinnon and many of her contemporaries sticking around, and Alec Baldwin likely to reprise his recurring role as President Donald Trump (despite the actor’s continued public grousing about it), SNL figures to stay relatively static going into a big election year. If that’s the case, Jones will be especially missed, since she was such a vital spark plug for the show. Her 'Weekend Update' appearances, which served as extensions of her stand-up comedy, were welcome bits of provocation that frequently got a rise out of (Colin) Jost (a host who sometimes struggles to gin up onscreen chemistry with his castmates). Her sketch performing was shaky at first, with Jones occasionally flubbing lines or missing cues, but she quickly settled in as a fan favorite, parlaying the experience into roles in major movies such as Ghostbusters."