Just over a month out from the forthcoming season premiere, Saturday Night Live appears to be close to filling some vacancies in its cast.

With high-profile exits the past two seasons (Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader and Fred Armisen), Deadline is reporting that comedian John Milhiser and actress Noël Wells—both Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre vets—are being eyed as new hires.

Upright alumni have previously been reliable players for the long-running comedy sketch series. Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Bill Hader, Fred Armisen and current players Bobby Moynihan and Kate McKinnon all came from UCB.

Although an official casting announcement hasn't been made, deals for the pair are reportedly likely to be locked in soon.

As we've mentioned in previous years, hopefully the new cast includes a minority female. Sure, Wells might be able to pull off a great Zooey Deschanel. But Kenan Thompson, now the longest-running cast member, can only play every black female for so long. Come on, Lorne Michaels! Fingers crossed.

Updated (08.23.13, 12:30 p.m. EST): Not really the diversity many were hoping for, but Deadline is now reporting that the annoying guy (aka Beck Bennett) from the AT&T commercials featuring all those cute kids is in the running as a top candidate to join SNL, along with comedian Kyle Mooney. The pair, like Wells and Milhiser, are Upright Citizens alumni. (Bennett and Mooney are pictured below, in addition to video reels.)

See Wells as Zooey Deschanel below (or Kristen Stewart here and Mary-Kate Olsen here). Click here for Mooney and here for Milhiser's reel.

{youtube}YqtUcQ2u5BM|600|338|{/youtube}