Live from New York, it’s… social media confusion.
Ashley Padilla is arguably having the best second year on Saturday Night Live since Bowen Yang half a decade ago. Yang was the first featured player in the modern era to be nominated at the Emmys; he received four Best Comedy Supporting Actor bids (2021, ’22, ’24, and ’25) and is eligible again this year despite leaving in December.
The term “featured player” is getting a lot of attention right now on social platforms, with some SNL fans outraged to discover that Padilla, who joined the show in 2024, is still not a repertory cast member.
But that’s completely normal. Here’s a brief explainer.
What are featured players?
Tommy Brennan, Jane Wickline, and Ashley PadillaWill Heath/NBC
Any time Lorne Michaels and the show’s casting department hire fresh talent, the newbies are credited as featured players for their first two seasons. Only once they make it to their third season does their designation change to a repertory player.
The original cast that began in 1975 were called “The Not Ready for Prime Time Players,” but that moniker was dropped in the show’s fourth season. Then in Season 5, a two-tiered casting structure was created for repertory and featured players, in order to distinguish between the established stars and the newbies.
However, as with every rule, there are exceptions. Performers like Harry Shearer, Eddie Murphy, Kevin Nealon, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, Julia Sweeney, Norm Macdonald, Ana Gasteyer, Tracy Morgan, Chris Parnell, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, and Kristen Wiig were all promoted to star billing before meeting the two-year threshold.
Most recently, in Season 39, Aidy Bryant and Cecily Strong became the latest outliers to receive repertory status after only one year on the show. Since it hasn’t happened in more than a decade, don’t expect Padilla or any of the entering cast to be given special treatment anytime soon.
What’s with the fan outrage?
Casual viewers of SNL may get the impression that Padilla is the show’s main character, thanks to how many sketches she’s been in during Season 51. Superfan Mike Murray crunched the numbers and found out she’s had one hour and four minutes of screen time this year so far, more than anyone else in the cast. Colin Jost is close behind in second place with a little over an hour — but he has a guaranteed presence as the host of “Weekend Update.”
That is why some viewers are scratching their heads each week when Darrell Hammond announces that Padilla, a former member of The Groundlings sketch comedy troupe, is “featuring” and in the second tier of cast members. Just give it time, fans — she should be promoted in Season 52, per tradition.
Saturday Night Live currently has seven featured players. Padilla and Jane Wickline are in their second years, while Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska are in their first years. Marshall was previously a staff writer and member of the on-screen comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy (with John Higgins and Martin Herlihy).
Here is just a small sampling of fan reactions regarding Padilla’s current “featured” billing:
it’s lowkey crazy to think ashley padilla is still a featured player because she carried damn near every sketch she was in this past weekend and has been doing so since the season began. pic.twitter.com/wDMfSI1tE6
— a (@ensaladadeflow) January 22, 2026
Ashley Padilla with her second EIGHT appearance episode of the season.
Greatest featured player of all time?
She now has 102 appearances and nearly 2 hours of screen time in her first 28 episodes 📊 pic.twitter.com/30YhZiZtcw
— mike murray (@snlmikemurray) December 14, 2025
ashley padilla should be a cast member and NOT a featured player as she is carrying every sketch she’s been in so far, that’s it. that’s the tweet.
— valeeen. à¨à§Ž orangowangotango !! (@saturdynghts99) November 2, 2025
Why is Ashley Padilla going viral?
With so many people leaving after Season 50 — including Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, Michael Longfellow, Heidi Gardner, and Ego Nwodim — it was Padilla’s time to rise to the occasion. And she did. Her breakout year is thanks to several instantly iconic characters and sketches, including the following.
Her acting performance was highlighted when she played one-half of Two People Who Just Hooked Up with Andrew Dismukes. First appearing on Nov. 1 during “Weekend Update” to discuss the government shutdown, the characters couldn’t stop flirting with each other to give Colin Jost a coherent answer. They returned on Jan. 31 to talk about the Super Bowl, and the same thing happened.
Also on Jan. 31, Padilla started earning awards buzz for a “Mom Confession” sketch in which she played a MAGA mother who hesitantly admitted to her family, “I may have changed my mind … about Trump.” Clayton Davis of Variety called her an “Emmy-worthy star” and heralded the scene as “the undeniable best moment of the season so far.”
On March 7, Padilla went viral with host Ryan Gosling in a “Passing Notes” sketch thanks to the writers switching out their jokes between rehearsal and the live show. The actors were cold-reading their lines, and couldn’t help but laugh along with the audience as they said silly things about a gynecology exam, Ken from Barbie, spaghetti noodles in a plastic baggie, and more.
The “Cyclops” sketch on March 7 also brought the laughs, both on-screen and off. Padilla and Slowikowska did their best to keep straight faces as the three dimwitted monsters — played by Gosling, Mikey Day, and Kenan Thompson — tried to push past them and open the vault to retrieve their treasure. “Stop! Go back!” Padilla repeatedly shouted while completely breaking character.
What’s next for Padilla?
Emmy Awards Nominations 2026
Comedy Series Comedy Actress Comedy Actor Comedy Supporting Actress Comedy Supporting Actor Drama Series Drama Actress Drama Actor Drama Supporting Actress Drama Supporting Actor Limited Series Movie Movie/Limited Actress Movie/Limited Actor Movie/Limited Supporting Actress Movie/Limited Supporting Actor
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
Vera Farmiga
Stephen Lovekin/TVLine
52.
Chloe Fineman
Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC
53.
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 14: Julia Duffy attends the World Premiere of Apple TV+’s “Palm Royale” at Samuel Goldwyn Theater on March 14, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images)
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images
54.
Ashley Park
Jeremy Smith/imageSPACE / MEGA
55.
Danielle Brooks
Stephen Lovekin/Variety
56.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 15: Stephanie Koenig attends Apple TV +’s Primetime Emmy Party at Mother Wolf on January 15, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
David Livingston/Getty Images
57.
Danielle Pinnock
Chelsea Lauren/Deadline
58.
Laura Dern
Rob Latour/Variety
59.
Rebecca Wisocky
Kathy Hutchins / Hutchins Photo/Newscom/The Mega Agency
60.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MAY 11: Leslie Bibb attends Apple TV+’s “Palm Royale” official Emmy FYC event at Hollywood Athletic Club on May 11, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
61.
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – JULY 11: Melissa Peterman attends Hallmark Media’s session during the Summer 2024 Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington in Pasadena, CA on July 11, 2024. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Hallmark Media)
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images
62.
Mj Rodriguez
OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Season 51 wraps in May, which is when the 2026 Emmys season starts heating up. Per the Gold Derby data, Padilla is in the conversation for Best Comedy Supporting Actress, and she has an 11 percent chance of receiving an Emmy nomination. If true, she’d be the show’s first female featured player nominee, and the second overall featured player nominee after Yang.
Recent SNL supporting actresses nominated at the Emmy Awards include Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Vanessa Bayer, Leslie Jones, Aidy Bryant, and Cecily Strong. McKinnon won twice, in 2016 and ’17. Will Padilla join that group? Find out when the Emmy nominations are announced July 8.