Saturday Night Live Just Lost Its First (And Only) Nonbinary Cast Member

Before the milestone 50th season of "Saturday Night Live" begins, it seems like the late night sketch series is having trouble holding onto its most diverse cast members. Hot on the heels of the departure of comedian Punkie Johnson, the show's first openly queer Black woman to ever be in the cast, Molly Kearney has officially announced that they're leaving "SNL." Kearney became the show's first nonbinary cast member, joining the series at the beginning of season 48 along with Marcello Hernandez, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker.

In a post to Instagram on Friday, Kearney accompanied several photos from behind the scenes of "SNL" with this sentiment:

Y'all that's a wrap on my time on SNL! Reflecting on the amazing 2 seasons I got on this show, it was such a dream come true. So incredibly grateful for this period in my life. So much love to all my big hearted buddies behind the scenes who make the magic happen every week. So many bald caps, so little time. It was a true honor to work with such a talented group of writers and DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE CAST. Special shout out to my day 1 crew [Marcello Hernandez], [Devon Walker] and [Michael Longfellow]. Head up and heart out! Harold forever!!!!!

One of the photos appears to show Kearney in a sketch that never made it to air, featuring host Ayo Edebiri ("The Bear") conducting interviews on a school bus. There's so much from behind the scenes of the show that we don't get to see! But what we got to see from Molly was a promising comedic performer who, like Punkie Johnson, had a challenging time finding a niche at "SNL" that would allow them to thrive.

Honestly, it's a shame Molly Kearney only got a couple seasons at "SNL," because I think they could have blossomed into a valuable performer. With an energy that was like Chris Farley meets Kate McKinnon, they disappeared into a wide variety of characters, from people in the real world to pop culture figures and beyond. Granted, their impression skills weren't necessarily top notch like James Austin Johnson or Chloe Fineman, but one of my favorite bits (watch above) had Kearney at the Weekend Update desk as Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, who had to address getting caught commenting on and liking gay thirst trap posts on Instagram. Kearney did such a good job projecting this faux, silly, boyish innocence as a grown man, and it was just perfect.

Kearney also landed another memorable moment at the Weekend Update desk when they addressed anti-LGBTQ legislation in quite the hilariously grandiose fashion, by being flown in and out of the bit through a harness. It was one of those bits where a comedian gets to speak on something that's genuinely close to their heart but with just the right amount of satire and silliness to still bring some laughs.

But I think Kearney arrived at a time when there were already several unique voices thriving at "SNL," such as Sarah Sherman, and they were eventually outshined by a couple of the fellow cast members who arrived along their side. Hernandez, in particular, has become a breakout cast member, and Longfellow is on the verge of joining him. As for Devon Walker, well, part of me wonders if he could end up leaving the show before season 50 begins too. Stay tuned.