It's a dream to get on Saturday Night Live, and it's something that up-and-coming comedians work really hard for. Now, as we get ready for Season 51 to premiere on the 2025 TV schedule, and we wait to see who will be back and who exits the series, Bowen Yang has shared how his involvement on the show was predicted from a young age. And that's all because he was voted most likely to be on SNL in high school.
Yang joined SNL as a writer for Season 44 before officially joining the cast the following season. His hiring was historic because he was the first Asian actor cast on the series, and in the years he's been on the show, he's solidified himself as a star. Now, even though he never expected to work in 30 Rock, his high school classmates might have had an inkling that he could make the impact he's made, as he told NPR:
They put the verbiage of 'Most likely to be on SNL.’ And it was — I think it's totally incidental. It's their way of calling me a hammy kid, basically, which I was. I never, ever, ever set my sights on SNL, but I was only the most enthusiastic fan. I would bring VHS tapes to school, to, like, put them in.
Whether it was just because of his big personality or because they genuinely thought he would be great on SNL, it is pretty great to know that Yang’s classmates manifested his future. It just shows that things work out in the end, even when you least expect it, because Yang was not shooting for SNL, it sounds like.
Additionally, the Wicked actor was pretty obsessed with the late-night variety sketch show while in school, which could also account for his superlative, and it really just makes it even better:
And I would just bring those in and just, like, show people when there was a substitute teacher in class one day or something. Like, 'Hey, I brought, like, this past weekend's SNL, if people want to watch it. And somehow these teachers let me play it a handful of times, and I can't believe I got away with it. But I was just very granularly obsessed with comedy and with SNL especially.
Even if Yang didn’t exactly picture himself realistically being on Saturday Night Live, it’s fun to know how big a fan he was and kept bringing tapes of episodes to school. He certainly manifested his career without even knowing it, and it just shows that if you work hard enough at your dream, anything is possible.
SNL might be the cringiest thing in show business, but there’s a reason that it’s gone on for 50 seasons and continues to bring on A-list hosts and musical guests. It's proven to be an important space for comedy legends, like Yang, to grow, and it's home to some major viral moments -- like Yang's iceberg sketch. It's a place that really lets artists like him thrive, and it seems like his classmates knew that.
Now, Yang’s schedule is as busy as ever, and he’s been able to really branch out beyond SNL as well. For example, he starred in Wicked and Wicked: For Good after Ariana Grande convinced Lorne Michaels he could do both.
So, all around, it feels like this high school prediction did more than just come true as Yang has solidified himself as an incredible working comedian and actor.
Now, unless something changes in the next month and a half, it feels likely that Yang will be returning for Season 51. SNL likely won't return to the 2025 TV schedule until early October, so it’s quite possible that casting changes will be announced before then. For now, though, it’s all speculation, and fans can watch their favorite sketches from the man who was voted "Most Likely to be on SNL" with a Peacock subscription.
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