Saturday Night Live fans were met with some major (and admittedly, surprising) news this past week. It was reported that veteran cast member Bowen Yang would exit the show amid Season 51, with the program’s December 20th telecast being his final episode. When the news initially broke, Yang hadn’t publicly spoken about his decision to leave the sketch comedy institution. However, the comedian is now speaking out, not only sharing gratitude for his time on the show but also opening up about what he learned.
Bowen Yang took to Instagram to share his thoughts on his imminent SNL departure. The fan-favorite comic and podcaster shared a massive carousel filled with awesome photos and video clips that represent different moments from his tenure on the NBC show. Yang also shared a lengthy caption and kicked it off by explaining just how much he’s relished his time being on the beloved series. From there, he also laid out some of the most important lessons he picked up from his experiences:
I loved working at SNL, and most of all, I loved the people. I was there at a time when many things in the world started to seem futile, but working at 30 Rock taught me the value in showing up anyway when people make it worthwhile. I’m grateful for every minute of my time there. I learned about myself (bad with wigs). I learned about others (generous, vulnerable, hot). I learned that human error can be nothing but correct. I learned that comedy is mostly logistics and that it will usually fail until it doesn’t, which is the besssst.
Yang joined Saturday Night Live as a writer in 2018 during Season 44 and, during the following season, he became a featured player. It was in Season 47 that Yang reached repertory status, and he made history as the first Asian cast member in the show’s history and its sixth LGBTQ cast member. Throughout his tenure on the show, the Nora from Queens alum carved out a lane for himself by playing over-the-top characters. In his post, Yang also thanked friends and co-stars and shared some words for EP Lorne Michaels:
Thank you to Lorne for the job. For the standard. And for bringing everyone at work together. They all care deeply about people in the room, any room, enjoying themselves. I can't believe I was ever included in that.
All in all, this is an incredibly sweet message from Bowen Yang, and it’s lovely to hear that he appreciates his time working at SNL. Check out his full post below to read his full message and to see all of the photos and videos he shared:
This latest development marks yet another Saturday Night Live cast exit, as multiple stars either exited the show or were let go ahead of Season 51, like Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim. Ironically, just months ago, Bowen Yang was praising Gardner and others after their exits were confirmed. What’s also interesting, though, is that this past September, Yang spoke about having conversations with Michaels about his future on the show. And, at that point, Yang said Michaels believed there was still more for him to do.
Nevertheless, Yang’s career has been flourishing outside of Studio 8H over the past few years. He landed a role in the two Wicked films (and needed permission from Lorne Michaels to take part in them). Some of his other credits are Fire Island, Dicks: The Musical and the (well-received) Wedding Banquet remake. He also co-headlines the Las Culturistas podcast and, just recently, he lined up a movie with Matt Rogers, his podcasting co-host.
It’s great to see Bowen Yang is thriving, but it’ll certainly take a little while to get used to him not being on SNL. On the bright side, his final episode should be one of the books, as his Wicked co-star and good friend, Ariana Grande, is hosting, and Cher is serving as musical guest. I can’t think of a better send-off for Yang, as he closes out this portion of his career.
See Yang’s final episode as a main Saturday Night Live cast member when it airs tonight at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC amid the 2025 TV schedule. Anyone feeling nostalgic for Yang’s classic bits can also see those by streaming past episodes of SNL with a Peacock subscription.
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