Leslie Jones Leaves SNL, Signs On For Game Show Reboot
After five strong seasons with Saturday Night Live, Leslie Jones has opted to leave the show a month before the season 45 opener. Jones is leaving prior to the end of her initial seven year deal to pursue other high profile projects. The move makes sense, Jones is at the peak of her popularity and reportedly ready to take on other challenges.
The news had already broke that Jones would star in Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America sequel, and she’ll also be hosting and executive producing a reboot of the Supermarket Sweep game show, which is being discussed with all five major networks and Netflix. The original Supermarket Sweep aired on ABC from 1965-67 hosted by Bill Malone, followed by revivals hosted by David Ruprecht on Lifetime in 1990 and in 1999 with Pax.
Jones initially joined the cast as a writer in 2012 after an article written by Kerry Coddett put pressure on Lorne Michaels to bring more black women on board. After becoming a featured cast member in 2014, Jones became well known for her Weekend Update appearances, and her flirtation with Colin Jost. Jones knew how to build on her SNL fame and soon grabbed attention for her social media posts that led to appearances at the Olympics, lead roles in several films including Top Five, Ghostbusters, the upcoming Queenpins, and Coming to America 2 movies, and a high profile stand up career, which now includes an upcoming Netflix special.
