Taran Killam Finally Gets His Saturday Night Live Goodbye

Killam says farewell to the NBC sketch comedy institution with a new Twitter video

By Billy Nilles Sep 07, 2016 5:50 PMTags
Taran KillamDana Edelson/NBC

Saturday Night Live fans were stunned when Taran Killam, a six-season veteran of the sketch comedy institution, was unceremoniously released from his contract a year early. Where was the big send-off episode, a.k.a. the SNL equivalent of retiring an athlete's number? Where was the acknowledgement of his time on the show?

While the show has yet to formally acknowledge his—and Jay Pharoah's—departure from the series (and probably never will, to be honest), Killam has gotten to say goodbye to the series the best way he knew how: Via an adorable spoof of HBO's Hard Knocks.

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"Saturday Night Live has been a premiere sketch variety show for 41 years running. Comedians across the nation dream of getting the chance to make their mark on the hallowed stage of Studio 8H," the narrator intones. "But for one veteran, that dream is coming to an end."

As the clip, entitled Live Knocks: Saying Goodbye to SNL, continues, we catch a glimpse of Killam emptying out his office. "What comes next for Killam is anyone's guess," the narrator continues. "A broad character film, a Fox TV series, something on SeeSo? One thing's for sure: The relationships Killam made during his SNL run will last a lifetime." Aww.

Of course, we do know what's next for the comedian. Last month, Showtime announced that Killam had been cast in Mating, a comedy pilot from Jason Katims (Parenthood) and Stu Zicherman (The Affair). The first season of the series will focus on Killam as a recently divorced guy who married young and now finds himself unprepared for the current world of dating. Future seasons would tell different dating-related stories.

Meanwhile, the Killam-less 42nd season of Saturday Night Live will premiere on October 1.

Check out Killam's SNL farewell above and let us know if you'll miss him on the show in the comments below.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)