I am grateful to Lorne Michaels for a lot of things in my lifetime. However, Almighty Lorne can sometimes you let down, such as when it was recently revealed that he chose not to renew cast member Taran Killam's contract for Season 42. Since the unfortunate departures of Bill Hader, Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig (and others), Taran Killam has been one of the show's strongest and most consistent performers. Never mind the fact that he is utterly adorable and charming, Killam has given us countless spot-on impressions of celebrities, memorable original sketch characters, and incredibly accurate characterizations of political figures. While the rest of the SNL still holds some great talent and veteran cast members, I can't help but thinking of the many reasons to miss Taran when SNL returns to NBC without him this fall.

1. His Matthew McConaughey impression.

Killam stopped by Weekend Update in 2014 as Matthew McConaughey, who was fresh off of his Academy Award win. Dressed in a stark white tux, identical to the one McConaughey wore to the award ceremony, Killam goes off on a string of philosophical tangents, imitating the actor's passionate and slightly confusing Oscar acceptance speech. Killam encompasses the actor's well-known drawl perfectly, and ties together a bunch of random but weirdly inspirational dialogue that only McConaughey could be expected to say. He even finishes the impression off with a collective chest pound, reminiscent of The Wolf of Wall Street.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-matthew-mcconaughey/2755307

2. The Sloppy Swish

He was the star of The Legend of Mokiki, the story of a weird creature that lurks around NYC doing an original dance move. That dance move is none other than "The Sloppy Swish." This odd sketch was narrated by Keenan Thompson and also starred Anne Hathaway who falls for Killam's character, until she is turned into a Mokiki as well. Basically, "The Sloppy Swish" became the latest dance craze that swept the nation.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/mokiki/n28754

3. Jebidiah Atkinson won't be around to review things anymore.

Who can forget Killam's Weekend Update character, Jebidiah Atkinson? Based on a newspaper critic during the 1860s, Jebidiah was highly negative towards almost all famous speeches, delivering sassy comebacks in regards to each speaker. He flipped through his notecards swiftly, and had to take into account how the audience reacted to him roasting certain speeches. Speeches weren't the only thing that Atkinson reviewed either; he returned in 2015 to give his harsh opinion on popular television shows. This sketch highlighted Taran's seamless improvisational skills, and one of his best original characters.

4. His Ted Cruz impression.

I don't think we are really in dire need of this impression any longer, but Killam sure did the job this past year with his consistent and frequent impression of Senator Ted Cruz. Not only did he emulate his voice perfectly, but he embodied his mannerisms and quirks as well. From political debates, to self-deprecating cold opens, Killam poked fun at Cruz and his awkwardness as well as his slightly weasel-like demeanor.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/message-from-ted-cruz-cold-open/2981465

5. He knows all of the choreography to Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend."

Technically, this wasn't part of a live broadcast of SNL, but you haven't seen Taran at his best until you have watched him recreate Robyn's music video in the writers room. It all occurred at 4:30 in the morning, where Vanessa Bayer, Abby Elliott, and Bobby Moynihan were supposed to be writing a sketch for the episode with musical guest, Robyn. Instead, Taran decided to recreate the music video himself. He literally knows all of the choreography and dedicated every ounce of himself to it. The performance is complete with strobe lights and a writer who looks completely unfazed by all of this. Basically, it shows how fun it is to be a writer at Studio 8H at 4:30 in the morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47MRqc5CzRY

6. Andrew from Best Buy.

This sketch is all about workers roasting their coworkers before they get fired. So many people relate to this sketch, because of the array of strange coworkers that Cecily Strong and Bobby Moynihan shed light upon in front of everyone. There's a guy with Cheetos smeared all over his face, Edward who doesn't cut his nails, and Andrew–who always looks like he has just murdered someone. Killam dons a bad bowl cut as he creepily peers into the camera. He doesn't say a word but he gets laughs just from his facial expressions. If you watch until the end of the sketch, you'll see how he steals the show.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/best-buy/n43610

7. His dancing.

This isn't a specific sketch or moment in Killam's career on SNL, rather a generalization of his comedic dancing ability throughout the show. From the sketch, "Les Jeunes De Paris" with Emma Stone, to "Boy Dance Party," his dance moves are on fire. I also remember him dancing in various cold opens and monologues, which definitely included some theatrical tap numbers.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/boy-dance-party/n41903

8. He's the only cast member from "Stuck In The Suburbs."

Okay, this has nothing to do with SNL, but I think it's pretty cool that pop singer Jordan Cahill (played by Taran Killam), made it all the way to New York City to star on a live sketch comedy television show. I don't know about you, but I loved having a little reminder of my Disney Channel childhood within the cast of Saturday Night Live. Or, I've just loved blowing people's minds by telling them that it was Taran who starred in that DCOM years ago.

Taran Killam has been a cast member since 2010, so it will definitely be strange not to hear his name announced in the opening sequence every Saturday night. Even though his contract wasn't renewed, he has tons of projects going on at the moment, so this won't be the last we see of him. We SNL fans will miss you, Taran. Thanks for being so effortlessly hilarious.