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All About SNL's New Cast Members, Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline
The long-running sketch series has announced a new a trio of Featured Players ahead of the show's September 28 premiere.
A new season of Saturday Night Live often brings the announcement of new cast members. And when SNL returned for Season 50 on September 28, three fresh faces made their debut following the cold open.
The show has added three new Featured Players for Season 50: Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline.
The show announced the new additions on September 9, confirming the premiere date and the coming three-hour special marking 50 years on NBC. Here's what to know about the new additions to the Season 50 cast, and where you might have seen them before.
RELATED: Everything to Know About SNL Season 50
Ashley Padilla
A Bay Area native, Ashley Padilla has been a member of the Groundlings Main Company since 2021. Original SNL cast member Laraine Newman was one of the founding Groundlings performers before Lorne Michaels came calling, and subsequent SNL stars including Phil Hartman, Maya Rudolph, Jon Lovitz, Cheri Oteri, Will Ferrell, Ana Gasteyer, Mikey Day and Heidi Gardner got their start there.
Padilla guest-starred on Season 2 of Night Court, playing a public defender named Mitzi in the episode, "Broadway Danny Gurgs." She also guested on Curb Your Enthusiasm's final season, and had a small role in the 2024 movie Summer Camp.
RELATED: Saturday Night Live Is Celebrating 50 Years with a Three-Hour Primetime Special
Emil Wakim
Emil Wakim is a Brooklyn-based writer and stand-up comedian who has opened for comedians like Nikki Glaser and Hasan Minhaj. Born in Chicago and raised in Bloomington, Wakim was a 2022 New Face of Comedy honoree at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal.
The Lebanese-American comedian made his NBC late night debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with an April 2022 stand-up set.
In a "New Cast Q&A" video, Wakim revealed that he was "freaking out" on the phone when he got the call that he had been cast for Season 50. Wakim and Padilla saw each other on the street and hugged after they each got the news. "Then I FaceTimed my dad, and then everyone conferenced everyone," said Wakim.
Jane Wickline
Like Please Don't Destroy, Jane Wickline built her fanbase through videos posted on social media, particularly TikTok — you can watch them here. In addition to performing sketches across the country on tour, Wickline was also part of the cast of "Stapleview," a TikTok comedy series.
Wickline was in Times Square in midtown Manhattan when she got the life-changing call that she had been cast. "I was like, 'This is so on the nose,'" she joked. "It was amazing. I started violently sobbing on the phone and then I called my mom also."
Watch Padilla, Wakim, and Wickline on Saturday Night Live at 11:30/10:30c on NBC and Peacock, streaming next day on Peacock.
Originally published Sep 11, 2024.
