I’m a little surprised no one has brought this up yet. Last night was Cecily’s final appearance on SNL, after ten years. I had hoped she’d go part-time, but at least stay on through the rest of the season.
The cast gve her a big goodbye at the end of the show.
I noticed that too, also a bit surprised at the lack of comment. She was one of the stronger SNL performers. The new folks, especially Sarah Sherman show a lot of promise but Cecily will be missed.
It’s a shame they didn’t make more of an effort to send her off with a strongly written episode.
I also have some hope for the newer cast members and think that she was great and will be missed. Still eleven years is a good run and it was widely publicized that she was finishing off sometime during this year.
Note that she apparently wanted to leave after this episode because she is now the female cast member with the most episodes, one more than Kate McKinnon.
Wasn’t she missing from a lot of last season’s eps due to appearing in plays? If not, she certainly belongs on Broadway. I hope she has an amazing career.
You just saying that because she hails from your town? 
She had been one of my faves, but over the past couple of years, I felt she was gravitating to the loud, brash characters - like Judge Pierre, or the character on this week’s Weekend Update. I hadn’t realized she had been on the show that long. My wife and I just started watching SNL again a maybe 5 years ago.
I always wonder what folks’ plans are when leaving a gig like this. No idea what the economics are, but it seems there are far fewer ex-SNL cast members whose fame grows, than those who seem to vanish.
She also got a goodbye on Weekend Update, which is how I first became aware that this would be her last show.
They seem to mostly have gigs. Some doing quite well.
One of SNL’s all time greatest performers. Immensely versatile and funny.
She was my favorite by far! She cracked me up with every role she played. She’ll be missed but I wish her well.
I did watch the first season of her show Shmigadoon. It was ok. I hope she gets something better.
Is this the first time that SNL has said a formal goodbye to a cast member in the middle of a season?
Thanks for the link. I found that interesting. A couple thoughts:
-MAN - a lot of folk have been on the show. Many I didn’t recognize, and many others I knew from other work, whom I’d never associated w/ SNL.
-During the first half of the run, they seem to have gone through A LOT more cast members than more recently - with more 1-yr for just the least couple of years.
-I didn’t count, but it seemed like there were more 1 yr and 4+ year folks, than 2-3 years. Seems if folk make it, they stick around for a while. Of the short-tiers, some just vanished b/c they didn’t work out. Others departed quickly for other pursuits.
-Does it seem like an unusually large number of former cast members have died?
-Like I said, I have no idea of the economics of much of show biz. It seems like veterans on SNL make pretty decent coin for a job that affords them off time to pursue other work. Would be tough to give up a regular paycheck…
-I agree some are doing quite well, but I’m not sure it is more than 50% of the >4 year folk.
Like I said, interesting link.
You might as well ask why someone like Shelley Long, David Caruso or Suzanne Somers would leave a lead role in a successful series for an uncertain future.
I love her Judge Pirro but she’s great in just about everything she did on SNL, I thought. Maybe not Weekend Update so much (she was OK, but it seemed like she wasn’t really happy doing it), but just about everything else. She’s a pretty good singer as well.
I did think it was a bit odd that she gets the goodbye. I remember Kristen Wiig got to dance with the cast while Mick Jagger sang to her but it doesn’t seem like cast members usually get an onstage farewell.
When did it become an SNL thing to have a big, tearful on-air goodbye to departing cast members?
Nothing against Cecily (always liked her), but I don’t think anyone would put her on any top-ten lists for the show. But did they do this sort of thing for Belushi or Chase or Ferrell or Radner?
The show has been on for nearly fifty years; one or two things may have changed in that time.
Who’s going to spit all over Colin Jost now?!
Oh wait, I forgot that he’s married now. I’m sure he has that covered.
Definitely not the norm for all cast members but she had been there for 11 years, and had the most episodes for a female cast member. Some people just don’t show up the next season and others get a very special send-off.
Hmmm…I might. I mean I would consider her miles better than Chase (never a big fan and I did watch the original cast as a kid) or Ferrell (limited range) for versatility alone.
I think the decision to leave (or be fired) used to be made between seasons so there wasn’t the opportunity for onscreen goodbyes. The first one I remember was for Phil Hartman on the Season 19 finale.