Saturday Night Live will feature a nonbinary cast member for the first time in its nearly 50-year history.
On Thursday, the long-running NBC late-night sketch comedy show announced four new featured players joining the cast of its upcoming 48th season. Molly Kearny, who uses they/them pronouns, is among the new talent.
The previously L.A.-based stand-up comic celebrated the news with a post on Instagram, where they post as @meatbrickmolly.
“MEATBRICK MOVED TO NEW YORK !!!!” Kearny captioned a post featuring their official SNL photo.
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“Head exploding!!” they wrote in an Instagram story slide reposting the SNL account’s official announcement. “Thanks for all the love everyone.”
Kearney was previously selected for Comedy Central’s “Up Next” showcase in 2019. They’ve also appeared in Disney+’s The Mighty Ducks reboot, and most recently starred in Amazon’s very queer update of A League of Their Own.
Kearney’s League co-stars Abbi Jacobson and D’Arcy Carden were among the comedy luminaries to congratulate them, posting comments on their Instagram post alongside out comedian Matteo Lane and others.
“This is such huge news. Molly is the FIRST ever out, gender non-binary #SNL cast member in the show’s 48 years of history,” the tweeted SNL fan account @standbyline. “We wish them all the best of luck!”
This is such huge news. Molly is the FIRST ever out, gender non-binary #SNL cast member in the show's 48 years of history. We wish them all the best of luck! 😍 https://t.co/vSmLvJOobP
— The SNL Standby Line ⇾ Saturday Night Live (@standbyline) September 15, 2022
Kearney joins the cast alongside Marcello Hernandez, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker. SNL’s 48th season premieres October 1.