These Major Stars Lasted One Season or Less on Saturday Night Live

Over the course of 50 years on the air, the show has helped launch the career of some major stars. But not all of these celebs made their mark during their time on SNL. In fact, some stars only spent one season as part of the cast before getting let go!

Regardless of how much time they spent as a featured player, these former SNL cast members went on to have super successful careers.

Find out why these celebs left SNL…

1. Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. joined the cast of SNL in 1985 but didn’t last very long on the show. In what he’s called “arguably the worst season in its history,” Robert says he quickly learned that he wasn’t meant for the sketch comedy show. At the end of the season, Robert and quite a few other young cast members were let go from the show.

“I learned so much in that year about what I wasn’t. I was not somebody who was going to come up with the catchphrase. I was not somebody who’s going to do impressions. I was somebody who was very ill suited for rapid-fire sketch comedy,” he told The Off Camera Show. “I was kind of like, ‘Wow this seems really hard and like a lot of work.’ But I would still say to this day that there’s not a more exciting 90 minutes you can have, whether you are any good or not, it’s just amazing.”

2. Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller didn’t even make it through an entire season of SNL. He had been brought on to the cast after he sold a satirical short film to the show and thought he could continue making films for the series. After joining the cast during season 14, he lasted only five weeks before deciding that he got too nervous before a live show to continue.

“At that point, I just wanted to make short films and I knew I wasn’t good live because I would get nervous,” Ben shared on The Howard Stern Show. “I just felt I couldn’t do well in that situation.”

Even though he’s now hosted the show and made many guest appearances, he says he still gets incredibly nervous when he takes the stage.

3. Sarah Silverman

In 1993, Sarah Silverman joined the cast of season 19 of SNL but was unfortunately fired by the end the following year. Although she admits she was really crushed to leave after just one season, she says it was an incredible learning experience.

“Looking back, it was a great experience. It was really like boot camp for so many things. And it was almost like New York itself, SNL, because it’s like, if you can make it there, everything else seems not so hard, you know?” Sarah told Collider.

She continued, “I never think I’m gonna get fired. I’ve been fired so much and I’m always surprised. I could tell you for everyone out there that gets fired, there was some time after SNL where I was like, ‘Am I in show business?’ You just go back to zero, and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m a comic! I can do comedy! That’s my whole thing.’”

After the “huge defeat,” Sarah ended up having the opportunity to host the show in 2022.

4. Jenny Slate

When Jenny Slate joined the cast of SNL in 2009, she didn’t start things off on a great note. During her first ever skit, she accidentally cursed — which is a big no no on live television. Jenny instantly looked distraught but she says she didn’t end up getting in trouble and it wasn’t the reason she got fired at the end of just one season.

“I had felt that it was a bad fit. I really liked all the people there a lot. I didn’t feel that they were a bad fit to be friends with but I don’t know. I was not able to adjust into…being relaxed in that atmosphere,” Jenny told Collider. “I was scared. I don’t think I liked it that much looking back on it. I also would have done anything to escape.”

While leaving SNL was hard and caused her to experience stage fright, Jenny says it forced her to “double down” on her own specific voice as a stand-up comedian.

5. Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal was set to appear in the premiere episode of SNL back in 1975 but his standup monologue ended up getting cut for time. He then got another chance to take the stage when he joined the cast of season 10. While he loved the experience, he only stayed one season.

“I think when I came to the show I was sort of a piñata of ideas and thoughts and characters, and all kinds of things happened,” Billy shared in Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. “Every day I was excited at the discovery of what we could do. I never put a time limit on how long I would be there or what it would give me or get me. I didn’t approach it like that. I just felt personally as a performer and as a creative person I had to give it my shot.”

6. Martin Short

Martin Short got his start on SCTV, a Toronto based sketch comedy show, and then was asked to join season 10 of SNL, along with a grouping of quite a few other talented comedians. Despite having a knack for sketch comedy, Martin says SNL had a completely different vibe from SCTV which he didn’t enjoy.

“Saturday Night Live, if you were a writer/performer — like I was on the show — it could be Monday and it would be like, ‘I don’t have any ideas.’ The host comes in and you fake your way through that meeting. Now it’s Monday night and you can’t think of anything,” he told HuffPost.

He continued, “And you wake up and you have that feeling in your stomach on Tuesday, ‘What am I going to write?’ Because you had to slide the script underneath the door by 6 a.m., so the typist could type it for the read-through at 11 a.m. or 1p.m., or whatever it was. The point was that it was final exams, every week. So, that was a big difference.”

Martin has since hosted the show on three occasions.

7. Laurie Metcalf

Laurie Metcalf was one of the most short-lived cast members in SNL history. After joining the show in 1981, she only appeared on one episode where she portrayed a Weekend Update reporter and took part in a pre-taped sketch. After the episode aired, the WGA went on strike and the show went on hiatus. When the show finally resumed filming, Laurie was not asked to return.

“You know, it seems like a dream because it was so long ago and it was a whirlwind five days I spent in New York. I think it was my first trip to New York ever,” she told Vulture.

She continued, “I was so out of my element; I had no idea what I was doing. But I know that I did it because there is proof, there is footage. When I see that, I realize I was very naïve and brave about it in a way. Like, ‘Okay, you want me to do this? Okay, let’s go.'”

8. Joan Cusack

Joan Cusack was cast on SNL in 1985 alongside Robert Downey Jr. and ended up also being cut at the end of season 11. While the season is widely regarded as one of the worst in history, Joan says it wasn’t the right fit for her either.

“It wasn’t working. And it wasn’t working for me too. I was miserable. I think I wound up in the hospital, actually. I had, like, some surgery, and it’s, like, horrible,” she said on Fresh Air with Terry Gross & Tonya Mosley. “I don’t think anyone watched that year at all. They were going to cancel the show, actually, that year, and Lorne Michaels at the last minute decided to come back. And I think maybe they had two months to kind of get everything together … No one got a chance to get to know each other that much beforehand.”

9. Anthony Michael Hall

Anthony Michael Hall also joined SNL in 1985, becoming the youngest person to ever join the cast at just 17-years-old. While he admits he was “scared s–tless” to appear on the show, he says it “meant so much to” him to be cast after being a lifelong fan. Looking back, he says he understands why he was cut at the end of the season.

“To be very honest and candid with you, it was not great — it was a shaky-legs season,” he told the Independent. “I’m grateful for the experience, but I didn’t have a breakout season. I didn’t even have any breakout characters or anything like that.”

10. Damon Wayans

Damon Wayans was also an addition to the cast in 1985 but he didn’t even last the entire season. Looking back, Damon says he wasn’t happy that he wasn’t being used to his full potential on the show and after some lackluster skits, he decided to take matters into his own hands. During a sketch called Mr. Monopoly, he changed his cop character to be extremely flamboyant — and it didn’t go over well and he was let go.

“I rebelled. I, you know, I wasn’t happy with one, the way that I was being used on the show, and two, just I didn’t think the show had the right edge,” he explained in 1992. “But in looking back, this was Lorne [Michaels] first year back and he had a whole new cast, all new writers and new producers and everybody was like jacking for position. So, you know, maybe I shouldn’t have rebelled. I should have waited but I’m glad I did.”

11. Rob Riggle

Rob Riggle was a featured player on SNL from 2004 to 2005, which he later called a “dream come true.” But at the time, the cast was stacked with fan favorites and he was the only new guy added that season. He ended up finding it hard to get screen time and eventually wasn’t asked back the next season.

“The year I was hired, I was the only guy hired. The cast was massive. Fifteen people on the cast and I’m the only new guy,” he shared on The Daily Beast’s Last Laugh podcast. “Well, you know Darrell Hammond’s getting his, Tina Fey, Amy [Poehler] is getting hers, Maya Rudolph is getting hers, Will Forte, go down the list, they’re all getting their time. I’m going in there and I’m drinking out of a firehose.”