An impressive run.
Photo: Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Here’s some titanically sad news: Vulture has heard that Bowen Yang is leaving Saturday Night Live after seven and a half seasons. This weekend’s holiday episode hosted by his good Judy Ariana Grande and featuring musical guest Cher will mark Yang’s grand finale at the NBC sketch-comedy series. It seems entirely appropriate that the man who invented the pop music-obsessed Iceberg would go out on an episode featuring two separate pop icons. He leaves the show having earned four Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Yang was first hired at SNL as a writer in season 44 in 2018 before joining the cast as a featured player the following season. From the outset, he made history as the first Asian and second openly gay male cast member in the show’s history. He quickly defined himself outside his identity on “Weekend Update,” where he made waves as Chinese trade representative Chen Biao and the aforementioned Iceberg That Sunk the Titanic. Some of his most popular sketches include “Bowen’s Straight,” “Straight Male Friend,” and “Charades with Mom.” He’ll also be remembered for his impression of political fraudster George Santos, whom Yang played as a chronic liar and consummate showman.
Yang has built a remarkable career for someone still on SNL. Over the course of his tenure, his podcast cohosted with Matt Rogers, Las Culturistas, has gone from alt-comedy favorite to mainstream hit, even creating their own awards show that aired on Bravo this year. He also starred in films including Fire Island and The Wedding Banquet and appeared in both Wicked films. Next, he and Rogers are writing and starring in a movie based on the podcast Search Engine’s episode “Why didn’t Chris and Dan get into Berghain?”
Ahead of the season 51 premiere, Yang discussed his decision to stay at the show. “I’ve always gone by the instinct of, do I have more to do? And I feel like I do,” he told People in September. “Even Lorne and I talked about it, and Lorne was like, ‘You have more to do,’ and that means a lot, because I even confessed to him. I was like, ‘I feel the audience is maybe getting sick of me.’ And he was like, ‘That’s not true. There’s more for you to do. I need you.’” Well, now his work there is done.
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