Fired From New York, It's Saturday Night
Former Austin comedian axed from Saturday Night Live after first season
Former Esther's Follies cast member and University of Texas at Austin alum Noel Wells will not be rejoining the cast of Saturday Night Live. According to Deadline, the stalwart late night show failed to renew the contracts of Wells, as well as first-year cast mates Brooks Wheelan and John Milhiser.
Wells, who was perhaps most well-known for her Lena Dunham and Zooey Deschanel impressions, failed to break out in the same way fellow first-year cast member Sasheer Zamata did. In a season where, pardon the pun, the women stole the show, Wells never received the big breakout role that could have catapulted her to SNL stardom.
The San Antonio-born comedian has not publicly commented on her departure, most likely do to a self-imposed "break from the Internet" she announced on her blog back in June. (Though she does list her current city as Los Angeles, about 3,000 miles from SNL's New York studios.) Wells also recently returned to her old Austin stomping grounds, appearing at the 2014 Moontower Comedy Festival.
In addition to Wells, Wheelan and Milhiser, it was also announced that Nasim Pedrad will not be returning to the cast. Pedrad, who has been with the show for five seasons, recently signed on to star in former SNL writer John Mulaney's new FOX sitcom, Mulaney.