'Saturday Night Live' season 42 cast news 2016: Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah land lead roles on Showtime

Following the news of the departure of three of its cast members, "Saturday Night Live" has announced that it has promoted writers Sarah Schneider and Chris Kelly as co-head writers for the sketch comedy's upcoming season 42.

Schneider has written and acted for CollegeHumor while Kelly directed "Other People" (2016) and is a writer and consulting producer on "Broad City."

Prior to their promotion as head writers, the pair wrote the "Saturday Night Live" sketches "Bar Talk," "The Beygency," and "(Do It On My) Twin Bed."

NBC has not explained how the elevation of Schneider and Kelly affects the positions of last year's head writers, Bryan Tucker and Rob Klein.

Last week, it was confirmed that "Saturday Night Live" had not picked up six-year vets Jay Pharoah and Taran Killam, as well as newcomer Jon Rudnitsky, for its upcoming season.

Pharoah and Killam each had a year left on their seven-year contracts with the long-running late-night live TV comedy/variety show. Apart from Killam's statement that he was not given a reason for why he was not asked back, it was assumed that the comedian's departure had to do with his other projects. Pharoah and Rudnitsky have not commented on their "SNL" exits.

This week, the reason for Pharoah and Killam's departure from "Saturday Night Live" appears to have come to light.

According to E! News, the two have landed lead roles for their own pilots on Showtime. Both pilots are set to debut in 2017. The outlet notes that filming for the Showtime pilots would have taken place before "Saturday Night Live" season 42 concludes.

Killam is set to star in "Mating," an anthology comedy about a recently divorced man who finds himself having to navigate the complicated and much-changed world of dating.

Meanwhile, Pharoah will headline "White Famous," a comedy about a young black comedian who makes it big and finds himself struggling to maintain his credibility while also being "white famous."

"Saturday Night Live" season 42 is expected to debut later this year.