Grace Reiter and Saidah Belo-Osagie are joining the NBC sketch comedy series, which returns on Sept. 26 with host Jalen Brunson. This is the final “SNL” casting announcement of the season, Variety has learned, with all remaining members of the Season 51 cast returning for Season 52. Of course, that does not include Chloe Fineman, who announced her departure in July, or Bowen Yang, who left mid-season in December.
Variety also reported that Martin Herlihy of Please Don’t Destroy is leaving his post as a writer. Reiter is a Wisconsin-born stand-up comedian and actor who amassed a large following on TikTok and YouTube before she went on to star in Tim Robinson’s HBO comedy series “The Chair Company.” She’s also a member of American High’s sketch team and stars in the upcoming series “Minimum Wage.” Earlier this year, she was listed as one of Variety‘s 10 Creators to Watch. Belo-Osagie is a Nigerian American filmmaker and comedian from Queens, who is now based in Brooklyn.
She is the creator of the event series Afrobeats Futura and the solo show “Saidah Gets Closure.” In 2020 she wrote and directed a short film called “Tinge.” It was reported earlier this summer that both Reiter and Belo-Osagie participated in auditions that took place across Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, where “SNL” executives evaluated more than a dozen comedians. The casting announcement comes later than usual for “SNL,” which typically solidifies its troupe in early September. The next episodes are headlined by Dakota Johnson and Turnstile on Oct. 3, Shane Gillis and Rosalía on Oct. 10 and Inde Navarette and Gracie Abrams on Oct. 31.
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