A 20-year-old college dropout just got his big break. Up-and-coming comedian Pete Davidson has officially signed on to be a Saturday Night Live featured player, Deadline.com reports.
Davidson, who appeared on FOX’s hit comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine in 2013, performed stand-up on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in April, joking, “I just moved out of my mom’s house and I just turned 20. It’s over. I’m not going to make it.” But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The stand-up comic and actor has also been featured on MTV’s Wild ’N Out and Guy Code.
The young newcomer is joining the cast as the hit NBC sketch comedy show is in the middle of making some major changes. After bringing on seven new featured players last season — Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett, Noel Wells, John Milhiser, Brooks Wheelan, Michael Patrick O’Brien, and Sasheer Zamata — the show fired three — Wells, Milhiser, and Wheelan — this summer.
Two-year castmember Cecily Strong was also recently moved off of the Weekend Update desk and replaced by comedian Michael Che.
“I don’t see this as me leaving update, just as me being on update in a looser, goofier way that is a lot more fun for me and in a way I think I’m better at. And now I get to do features with the very funny and wonderful Michael Che!” she wrote on Instagram earlier this month.
Tell Us: What do you think of Pete Davidson as a new castmember on SNL?