She Might Not Come Back to 'SNL' Next Season

Arianna Huffington, you can breathe a sigh of relief: the comedian who famously portrayed the media mogul on live TV, Nasim Pedrad, is likely not coming back to Saturday Night Live next season. Rumors that Pedrad, who will star on FOX's Mulaney next fall, wouldn't be returning for SNL 's 40th season had been floating around for awhile, and while speaking at the ATX Television Festival with her Mulaney castmates on Sunday, Pedrad addressed them head on.

"I haven’t heard any official word so far, but I love this show so much,” Pedrad said of Mulaney. “I have an apartment in L.A. and, as far as I know, I’m in L.A. now.”

If it was possible do both Mulaney and SNL, she would, she said, and earlier in the panel, Mulaney said that Pedrad had been able to briefly film both shows at once when their productions scheduled overlapped. That isn't expected to be the case for the long term, however.

"I think we're all in with this show," Pedrad said.

Mulaney, a sitcom premiering this fall, centers around a New York City comedian (John Mulaney) and his roommates, played by Pedrad and Seaton Smith. Pedrad's character, Jane, is a personal trainer, and a friend of John's from college. The actress joined the show back in December, soon after FOX announced that the series had been picked up for the fall season.

Although NBC hasn't made any official casting announcements for SNL's upcoming season, it seems all but certain that Pedrad won't be returning to the series. Her absence will be felt deeply; not only was she one of the show's funniest performers, but she was also one of its only non-American members, as well as the longest-tenured female member of the current cast. In just five years, Pedrad has had a huge impact on the show, and it'll certainly be sad to see her leave, even if it is to star in a major TV show. SNL just won't be the same without her.

At least we can always re-watch Pedrad's Weekend Update impression of Arianna Huffington to cheer us up once she's gone; SNL has had a ton of great impressions over the years, of course, but there's something about Pedrad's Huffington that will always have a soft spot in our hearts.