Ahead of the premiere of Saturday Night Live season 48, the late night comedy show lost eight of its castmembers, the biggest cast overhaul in a generation.

At the end of season 47 in May, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Pete Davidson signed off of the sketch series for the last time. Their departures were followed by Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseñor and Aristotle Athari in the summer and, finally, Chris Redd in September.

A few weeks before season 48 premiered in October, SNL shored up its ensemble with four new castmembers, who would join the show as featured players for the 2022-23 season: Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker.

According to standout Bowen Yang, having the new castmembers around has been “so seamless.”

“They’re just such a burst of fresh energy and also something familiar in terms of how quickly they’ve become part of it,” Yang told The Hollywood Reporter. “I look around, and I see Marcello, I see Michael, I see Devon, I see Molly, and I’m like, ‘Oh, these are my new friends.’ I feel they’ve been here forever.” He added that they’ve each also had great moments in the first few shows of the season.

Kenan Thompson echoed that sentiment, explaining that by the second half of the season, the four of them will already have a great deal of experience. “It’s a lot, and I’m glad that they have each other to kind of come into the storm with,” he told THR. “They’ve been navigating pretty good together.”

Mikey Day, who’s been on SNL since 2013, thinks the new castmembers are “really cool” but admitted it has been an adjustment, sharing that it’s different but also exciting.

“I definitely miss my friends and seeing them every week, but all our new castmembers are really cool,” Day told THR. “[It] feels like you bond very quickly on that show. In the summer, you’re like, ‘We’re gonna have new kids. Will it be the same?’ But then, a few days in, you’re like, ‘Oh OK, it’s this show again.’ So you know, it’s fun. Every season, you just keep going. You just get in the grind of it, and everything kind of starts to feel like the show.”

As for the new members, joining SNL has been an emotional experience in which they’ve already learned a lot. Walker noted that probably once a week he gets “misty” thinking about the fact that he made it onto the show. He’s also been given a helpful piece of advice, which is that there’s always another episode, so it’s not worth taking anything to heart.

“The words I’ve been living by are to be patient and to work,” Hernandez told THR. “And I love Kenan and Colin [Jost] for being there and being the veterans that talk to you and give you good advice. So yeah, I’m grateful.”

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

Broadway actor Quentin Oliver Lee has died following a battle with stage 4 colon cancer. He was 34. 

Lee’s wife, Angie Lee Graham, confirmed his death Thursday in an Instagram post, saying, “He had a smile on his face, and was surrounded by those he loves. It was peaceful, and perfect.” 

Lee’s Broadway credits included the 2017 production of Prince of Broadway and the 2021 revival of Caroline, or Change. He played the title role in a national tour of The Phantom of the Opera, and earlier this year was part of an Off-Broadway production of Oratorio for Living Things that had a two-month run after opening in March.

The Phantom of the Opera posted a tribute to Lee on its Instagram account: “The Phantom family is saddened to hear of the passing of Quentin Oliver Lee. Quentin brilliantly lead our North American tour in 2018. Our hearts are with Quentin’s family and friends.” 

In June, the performer shared in a Caring Bridge journal entry that he was diagnosed with colon cancer at the end of May. Lee said he had COVID-19 at the beginning of May, but after two weeks, his symptoms didn’t go away, which led him to see a doctor. After his cancer diagnosis, he continued to post updates about his health journey. 

After his death, Lee Graham took to the journal to post the same message she shared to Instagram to announce his passing. It read, in part, “He was an incredible man, husband, father, son, brother, friend, singer, actor, and disciple of Christ with great faith in his Father in Heaven. To say ‘he will be dearly missed’ doesn’t reflect the scope of the people and communities he has created and touched.” 

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

Cher knows her 40-year age difference with new boyfriend Alexander “AE” Edwards is making headlines, but she doesn’t mind at all.

The 76-year-old icon stopped by The Kelly Clarkson show this week, where she talked about her relationship with the 36-year-old artist. “On paper, it’s kind of ridiculous,” she admitted. “But in real life, we get along great. He’s fabulous. And I don’t give men qualities that they don’t deserve.”

She added that Edwards is “very kind, very smart, he’s very talented, and he’s really funny,” before adding, “And I think he’s quite handsome.”

Clarkson then asks Cher if it’s true that she’s always thought older men were “intimidated” by her, to which the “Believe” singer replied, that she “would’ve never had a date” if there weren’t younger men in her life. “Older men just didn’t like me all that much,” she explained. “Do you know what I mean? I have had a couple boyfriends that were hovering around my age, but they just didn’t like me for some reason. And maybe younger men don’t care if you’re funny or outrageous and want to do stupid things, and you have the strong personality. I’m not giving up my personality for anybody, okay?”

Cher and Edwards met at Paris Fashion Week in September, and were later spotted holding hands. The rapper and music executive was previously linked to Amber Rose, with whom he shares three-year-old son Slash Electric.

Watch the full clip of Cher on The Kelly Clarkson Show below.