Saturday Night Live announced three new cast members for their 43rd season set to premiere on September 30th, and the fresh additions include two members of Chicago’s exciting comedy community.

Chris Redd has been quickly ascending in showbiz for a while now with a starring role in the Andy Samberg comedy ‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping’, FOX’s ‘Empire’, and a recent role in the Netflix pot comedy series ‘Disjointed’. His stand up has been blowing up recently as with headlining live shows around the country including Second City’s UP Theater. Redd is featured this season on Comedy Central’s ‘Stand-Up Presents’. I was lucky enough to work with Chris years ago on the pilot taping of ‘Fourstar Standups‘, watch his entire killer set from that here. And now he joins the cast of the most prestigious comedy TV show.

Last year it was briefly reported that Redd would join SNL before it’s highly rated season with massively successful satire of the 2016 Presidential Campaign but this time it seems official.

Whew, it's real this time. This feels better.

— Chris Redd (@Reddsaidit) September 26, 2017

Luke Null is another Chicago hire for ‘SNL’ whose improv and musical comedy chops were honed at iO Theater. Null performed in the film ‘The Heart: The Final Pulse’. Watch Null lay down some hilarious tunes on the ‘Chill as F*** Show’. 

Actress Heidi Gardner comes from the Bryan Cranston’s animated series ‘SuperManison’ and she will star in upcoming Melissa McCarthy-penned movie ‘Life of the Party’. She cut her teeth on the stages on Los Angeles’s Groundlings.

The first episode of SNL Season 43 airs on September 30th with Ryan Gosling hosting and musical guest Jay-Z.