Lorne Michaels welcomes change as he opens up for the first time about Saturday Night Live‘s recent cast shake-up, admitting that “it’s always hard when people leave,” but change is what keeps the show thriving.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the Emmys red carpet on Sunday (September 14), the executive producer was asked about the SNL exits and new additions, saying, “The show has always brought people in from different ages and different generations and it’s how it revives itself.”

He added, “It’s always hard when people leave, but there’s a time for that, and our audience has always stayed relatively young, and more so now with TikTok.”

Michaels’ comments come after regulars Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, and Michael Longfellow announced their departure from the long-running sketch series in recent weeks. In addition, last Friday (September 12), SNL veteran Ego Nwodim, who had been reported as staying with the show, announced she was leaving.

SNL is bringing aboard several new faces for the upcoming 51st season, including Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska., many of whom made their names on TikTok.

“Change is good,” Michaels continued. “The people we’re bringing in, I’m really excited about.”

“It’s essential that we bring new people in every year,” he added in another red carpet interview with Extra, noting how the show’s demographic has an influence on casting.

“The longest four years of your life are high school, and I think that’s when people tend to attach to a cast, and that is the age of our audience in a way,” he explained. “The old audience is there, but they fall asleep early.”

Those returning for Season 51 include Michael Che, Colin Jost, Chloe Fineman, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, Ego Nwodim, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Marcello Hernandez, James Austin Johnson, and Sarah Sherman, as well as existing featured players Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline.

Michaels also touched on SNL50, telling ET that while he was proud of the celebratory season, “when it was finally over, that was both exciting and something of a relief.”