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Saturday Night Live Adds Three New Cast Members Ahead of Season 43

And seven new writers!

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Megan Vick

There will be three new faces on the iconic 30 Rock stage when Saturday Night Live serves up its 43rd season premiere.

NBC announced Tuesday that three new cast members are joining the upcoming season: Heidi Gardner, Luke Null and Chris Redd. Chris Redd might be a familiar face to some after appearing in Andy Samberg's Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Heidi Gardner is a Groundlings improv school alum, and Luke Null came up in the comedy scene at Chicago iO (Improv Olympics), according to Deadline. They are replacing former cast members Bobby Moynihan, Vanessa Bayer and Sasheer Zamata, who all departed last season.

The series is also beefing up its writing staff with seven new additions: Sam Jay, Gary Richardson, Erik Marino, Andrew Dismukes, Steven Castillo, Claire Friedman and Nimesh Patel.

Trump Helps Catapult Saturday Night Live to Emmys Success

The new additions come less than two weeks after Saturday Night Live had its best Emmys night in decades, taking home nine awards including Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Variety/Sketch Series. The show's 42nd year was one to be remembered as it consistently topped headlines with its election and President Trump inspired cold opens. Twitter wars with the Commander in Chief boosted ratings and gave SNL one of its most talked about seasons ever.

The newcomers are coming in at an amazing renaissance for the show and they'll get their first taste of madness with Saturday's premiere hosted by Ryan Gosling and musical guest Jay Z. It really doesn't get better than that.

Saturday Night Live Season 43 premieres Saturday at 11:30/10:30c on NBC.