Bill Hader Exiting ‘Saturday Night Live’

The man who has parodied James Carville for eight seasons tapes his final show on Saturday

The hottest New York City comedy show is no longer "Saturday Night Live" — at least not for Weekend Update city correspondent, Stefon.

Bill Hader, the man of a thousand voices and an inability to keep a straight face, will be leaving "SNL" after eight seasons. Hader's final episode will be the season finale airing on Saturday, which will be hosted by Ben Affleck.

"It was a hard decision, but it has to happen at some point,” Hader told the New York Times. "It got to a point where I said, 'Maybe it’s just time to go.'"

Hader, 34, joined "SNL" as a featured performer in 2005 and was promoted to a full cast member in 2006. He was nominated for an Emmy for supporting actor in a comedy series last year — a rarity for a show like "Saturday Night Live."

"He was so completely committed to the art of it and enough a student of it that there’s something strikingly original," executive producer Lorne Michaels said of Hader. "He didn’t explode onto the air, but gradually he found his voice, and that became a huge thing.”
 
Hader told the New York Times that his decision was motivated partly by seeing friends Andy Samberg and Kristen Wiig move on, and partly by a desire to move his family to Los Angeles. His wife, Maggie Carey, is a filmmaker.

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