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Gardner's departure from &34;Saturday Night Live&34; was announced in August, ahead of the new season. Heidi Gardner lands first role after surprise SNL exit —

Gardner's departure from "Saturday Night Live" was announced in August, ahead of the new season.

Heidi Gardner lands first role after surprise SNL exit — and she'll be among comedy greats

Gardner's departure from "Saturday Night Live" was announced in August, ahead of the new season.

By Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum is a staff writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2019 and is a published author. Her work has previously appeared in *TV Guide Magazine*, E! News/E! Online, *The Hollywood Reporter*, Mashable, Bustle, IGN, DCComics.com, Inverse, *The Daily Northwestern*, and more.

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October 17, 2025 3:58 p.m. ET

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Heidi Gardner on 'SNL'. Credit:

Live from New York, it's Heidi Gardner ... on Broadway.

The *Saturday Night Live* alum has landed her first role since her surprise exit from the NBC comedy series. Gardner will star in Broadway's *All Out: Comedy About Ambition* alongside some major comedy legends, as first reported by PEOPLE.

The new play from former *SNL *writer Simon Rich will also star Jon Stewart, Ray Romano, and many more A-list comedians who will rotate in groups of four through the 12-week limited run, reading the author's hilarious stories about ambition, ego, envy, greed — "basically just New Yorkers in general," according to the official press release.

Gardner will be making her Broadway debut with *All Out. *Her run will begin Jan. 20 and also feature *The Good Place *star Jason Mantzoukas, *The Office*'s Craig Robinson, and fellow *SNL* cast alum Sarah Silverman.**

Heidi Gardner and Colin Jost on 'SNL'.

The show will also feature original music from band Lawrence, led by Gracie Lawrence, who was nominated for a Tony for *Just In Time* and starred on *Sex Lives of College Girls.*

*All Out: Comedy About Ambition* is a companion to Rich's previous hit show, *All In: Comedy About Love*, from last season.

Ego Nwodim lands first gig since shocking 'SNL' exit

'SNL' cast changes: Here's everyone leaving, returning, or new for season 51

See the full cast list below:

- Eric Andre (Dec. 12 — 28)

- Jim Gaffigan (Dec. 12 — Jan. 11)

- Abbi Jacobson (Dec. 12 — 28)

- Jon Stewart (Dec. 12 — 21)

- Ben Schwartz (Dec. 22 — Jan. 11)

- Wayne Brady (Dec. 29 — Jan. 18)

- Cecily Strong (Dec. 29 — Jan. 18)

- Mike Birbiglia (Jan. 13 — 18)

- Heidi Gardner (Jan. 20 — Feb. 15)

- Jason Mantzoukas (Jan. 20 — Feb. 15)

- Craig Robinson (Jan. 20 — Feb. 15)

- Sarah Silverman (Jan. 20 — Feb. 15)

- Nicholas Braun (Feb. 17 — March 8)

- Ashley Park (Feb. 17 — March 8)

- Ray Romano (Feb. 17 — March 8)

Gardner's surprising exit from *SNL* was announced in August, ahead of the show's 51st season, which began Oct. 4. She starred on the NBC sketch series for eight seasons. The comedian has not yet publicly addressed her departure.

After Gardner's exit was announced, Bowen Yang praised his former castmate on his *Las Culturistas* podcast alongside cohost Matt Rogers.

"You are one of the greats," Yang said. "You will go down in history."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

In addition to her work on *SNL*, Gardner had a standout role on Apple TV+'s *Shrinking* and has appeared on episodes of *You*, *Superstore*, *Veep*, *The Other Two*, and* Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt*, as well as in Adam Sandler's *Hustle*.

*All Out: Comedy About Ambition* will begin performances on Friday, Dec. 12 at the Nederlander Theatre in New York City.**

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