GOSSIP & RUMORS: Heidi Gardner lands first role after sudden ‘SNL’ exit

The show must go on.

Heidi Gardner has landed her first role since her sudden and surprising exit from “Saturday Night Live” in August, and the project is being produced by none other than her old boss, Lorne Michaels.

The “Shrinking” star, 42, is set to join other A-list comics in Broadway’s “All Out: Comedy About Ambition,” a new production kicking off a 12-week limited run at the Nederlander Theatre on Dec. 12.

Described as a companion piece to short story writer Simon Rich’s last season hit “All In: Comedy About Love,” the play will feature Gardner and 14 other comedians rotating in groups of four to read “hilarious stories” about “ego, envy, greed, and basically just New Yorkers in general,” per the show’s official release.

Directed by Tony Award-winning director Alex Timbers with original music performed by the pop group Lawrence, “All Out: Comedy About Ambition” is being produced by Michaels, 80, and the Broadway production company Seaview.

While Gardner will appear on the stage for four weeks from Jan. 20 to Feb. 15 alongside Jason Mantzoukas (“The Good Place”), Craig Robinson (“The Office”) and fellow “SNL” alum Sarah Silverman, other stars participating include Jon Stewart, Ray Romano, Jim Gaffigan and more.

The Post has reached out to Gardner’s rep for comment.

The “Hustle” star, who first joined “SNL” as a featured player in 2017, abruptly exited the NBC comedy series in August, just weeks before Season 51 kicked off on Oct. 4.

Although Gardner has still not addressed her departure, an insider claimed that her contract was not renewed.

“It’s time for a new cast,” the source shared.

Bowen Yang, Gardner’s former “SNL” colleague who returned for the new season, praised his former castmate as “one of the greats” who “will go down in history” during his “Las Culturistas” podcast last month.

Other featured players to fall victim to Michaels’ surprising pre-season shakeup, which he teased as a cast change during an interview over the summer, included Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow.

Walker, 34, was the first to announce his exit after three seasons on the show. Wakim, 27, and Longfellow, 31, followed suit shortly after.

“It was the most terrifying, thrilling and rewarding experience of my life, and I will miss it dearly and all the brilliant people that work there that made it feel like a home,” Wakim announced in August.

“Will not be returning for a 4th season at SNL,” Longfellow later added. “Wish I was but, so it goes. It was the best three years of my life so far.”

Five new featured players, meanwhile, joined “SNL” for Season 51, including Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Please Don’t Destroy’s Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska.

But as for who among the new cast will become this season’s breakout star, that is still to be revealed.

“Every week there are only so many minutes of airtime … there can be almost a ‘Game of Thrones’ aspect to how the week unfolds, and who is left standing by Saturday night,” biographer Susan Morrison, who wrote “Lorne: The Man Who invented Saturday Night Live,” told The Post last month.

“That’s probably what gives the show its adrenaline,” she added. “Lorne would say this is what makes it work.”