“Speaking for myself, I don’t know what the plan is,” Pete Davidson said to Gold Derby when discussing his future with Saturday Night Live. Pete, 27, sparked speculation that he was leaving the show after his heartfelt monologue during the season 46 finale. When asked if that was his way of saying goodbye, Pete said, “Everything is kind of up in the air right now, just depending on scheduling. It is my seventh year, and that’s what the contract is usually for.”
“It was really emotional,” said Pete about the atmosphere of the finale. “You know, I worked with these guys for a fourth of my life. I started there with acne and left with tattoos.” Later in the interview, Pete reiterated that “right now, it’s still – it’s all up in the air. I got to talk to Lorne [Michaels]. It’s a big cast; there’s a lot of new guys in there, and there’s a lot of great new talent that it’s their time to shine. I have no idea what’s going on right now.”
Towards the end of Pete’s appearance on Weekend Update (during the May 23 episode that concluded the SNL season), the King of Staten Island star reflected on the past year. “This pandemic has taught me that we never really know what the future holds. It also taught me to be grateful. I’m very grateful to be here, and it’s been an honor to grow up in front of you guys. So, thanks.” A few days later, while appearing during a comedy roundtable with The Hollywood Reporter, Pete indicated that he was eyeing the door. “I’m surprised I made it to seven. I’m ready to hang up the jersey. Kenan [Thompson]’s like f-cking Karl Malone out there.”
While speaking to Gold Derby, Pete said that the atmosphere during that show was “really emotional,” and that it was a “very crazy, long period of time, and I wasn’t ready for the season to end yet because I was really having so much fun.”
“The last show was a full audience for the first time, and just hearing that full laugh was so emotional,” he added. “It made me very emotional to be able to perform in front of a full crowd again.”
This was my favorite season so far,” he said, a choice of words that implies there may be more seasons in the future. Season 46, to Pete, was the season where everybody was just like, let’s put on a show and have fun and write some weird, silly s— because everybody’s so stressed out. It was definitely the weirdest batch of sketches I’ve ever seen. And the weirdest circumstances. But I think the most memorable season I’ve had there.”
Pete’s movie career is picking up, which might be the “scheduling” issues he spoke about. He will have an appearance in 2021’s The Suicide Squad, and according to IMDB, he’s currently filming/recording the voice of Marmaduke for the animated adaptation of the classic comic strip. He also landed parts in American Sole, The Things They Carried (adapted from Tim O’Brien’s book), and the role of Joey Ramone in I Slept With Joey Ramone, the Netflix biopic based on the memoir of the same name, written by Joey’s brother, Mickey Leigh.