The entire cast of the previous year returned for season 34. Added to the cast was
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performer
Bobby Moynihan. Longtime cast member
Amy Poehler went on maternity leave during the season, after giving birth to her son hours before the October 25, 2008 episode hosted by
Jon Hamm. Shortly after Poehler's leave, the show added two new female cast members:
Abby Elliott, daughter of former
SNL cast member
Chris Elliott, and
Michaela Watkins of
The Groundlings both joined the show as featured players on November 15, 2008. Poehler, who had been with the show for 7½ seasons since
2001, returned for the December 6 episode hosted by
John Malkovich, and made her final appearance as a cast member the following week on the December 13 show hosted by
Hugh Laurie. Poehler announced it would be her final show at the end of
Weekend Update, leaving
Seth Meyers to anchor
Weekend Update on his own from the remainder of this season, until the end of
Season 38. At the time of her departure, Poehler's eight-season run was SNL's longest for a female cast member, having surpassed
Molly Shannon and
Rachel Dratch. It would also be the final season for longtime cast member
Darrell Hammond, who was the last remaining cast member to have joined in the 1990s. Hammond had been on the show for 14 seasons since
1995 and was holding the distinction of the longest tenured cast member until fellow Season 34 member
Kenan Thompson surpassed him in
2017. Following Hammond's departure, featured players Watkins and Casey Wilson were both let go following the end of the season.
Cast roster Repertory players •
Fred Armisen •
Will Forte •
Bill Hader •
Darrell Hammond •
Seth Meyers •
Amy Poehler (final episode: December 13, 2008) •
Andy Samberg •
Jason Sudeikis •
Kenan Thompson •
Kristen Wiig Featured players •
Abby Elliott (first episode: November 15, 2008) •
Bobby Moynihan •
Michaela Watkins (first episode: November 15, 2008) •
Casey Wilson bold denotes Weekend Update anchor ==Writers==