View gallery
Saturday Night Live had a extra emotional vibe than common on its Dec. 17 present because it was the final efficiency as a forged member for the inimitable Cecily Strong. The 38-year-old actress mentioned goodbye to the famed comedy sequence after making her first look at Studio 8H again in 2012. Per common, Cecily did quite a lot of heavy lifting by performing within the majority of sketches, however this time, she did it whereas holding again tears, as she was flanked on stage by host Austin Butler and musical visitor Lizzo for her ultimate bow.
We love you, Cecily pic.twitter.com/XmQUpOOqgD
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) December 18, 2022
The information got here just a few hours earlier than the present went stay, shocking longtime followers as Cecily is without doubt one of the strongest gamers within the forged, which noticed an enormous shakeup on the finish of final season, with Kate McKinnon and Pete Davidson saying goodbye. “Tonight we send off one of the best to ever do it. We’ll miss you, Cecily!” the Michael Lorne-led manufacturing wrote on its official Instagram, alongside {a photograph} of an indication that learn, “We’ll miss you, Cecily.”
Cecily’s tenure made historical past, because it was the longest of any feminine in Saturday Night Live historical past. After becoming a member of the forged a decade in the past, Cecily grew an enormous fan base together with her hilarious off-the-wall characters, just like the recurring phase on Weekend Update because the Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With, and together with her spot-on impersonations, comparable to Liz Cheney, Melania Trump and Fox News anchor Jeanine Pirro.
In one in all her ultimate performances, Cecily tackled fan-favorite character Cathy Anne, a middle-aged lawbreaker residing on the road. She informed Michael Che that this was her final look on Weekend Update as a result of she had agreed to a lifetime jail sentence. “I feel real lucky that I got to have so many of the best moments of my life with these people I love so much,” Cecily mentioned in Cathy Anne’s signature husky voice. Later, she was serenaded by Austin and the remainder of the forged with an emotional model of “Blue Christmas,” seen above.
Even earlier than Saturday’s episode, Cecily has indicated a ultimate curtain name for her days at 30 Rockefeller. “I’ll be thrilled if I go back, I’ll be thrilled if that was my last show,” she informed Entertainment Tonight in June, a month after season 46 wrapped. She additionally confused that “things are a bit more up in the air, and I’m OK with that. My lesson from last year is sort of see what happens,” she informed ET.
At the time, a supply EXCLUSIVELY additionally informed HollywoodLife that Cecily was nonetheless undecided. “Everyone has been welcomed back from Lorne and the show if they decide that is best for them, but contracts are still going through as Cecily for one hasn’t decided that she wants to return yet or not or even return part time.”
Fortunately for followers, Cecily did return for the primary half of Season 48. And they will proceed to cheer her on as she returns to the display within the second season of the AppleTV+ sequence Schmigadoon!, which is govt produced by Lorne. Cecily additionally serves as a producer on the present.