In brief
Bowen Yang, known for his notable characters and sketches on Saturday Night Live (SNL), announced he will leave the show after the season's latest episode. In a heartfelt Instagram message, he expressed gratitude for his experiences and the people he worked with during his time. Yang has been a significant figure at SNL since joining in 2018, becoming a celebrated contributor and making history as the first Chinese-American cast member.
Comedian Bowen Yang is leaving the cast of Saturday Night Live, and will no longer be part of the long-running sketch programme after the latest episode airs.
In a post on Instagram, Yang declined to share the reason for his departure, which comes in the middle of the season, but said he is grateful for every minute of my time there.
I loved working at SNL, and most of all I loved the people, wrote Yang, who started in 2018 as a writer for the NBC programme before joining the acting cast.
Yang, 35, is the first Chinese-American staff actor in SNL's history, and has become one of SNL's most prominent cast members in recent years.
In his Instagram post, Yang described the lessons he's learned while working at SNL.
I learned about myself (bad with wigs). I learned about others (generous, vulnerable, hot), he wrote.
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 best.
He also thanked other cast members, as well as Lorne Michaels, the long-time producer of the programme.
Yang was behind some of the programme's most memorable characters and parodies, including the iceberg that sank the Titanic and disgraced ex-Congressman George Santos.
Yang's final episode, airing on Saturday night, will be hosted by Ariana Grande, one of the stars of the film Wicked: For Good.
Yang also had a role in the film, and has starred in previous films including The Wedding Banquet, Fire Island, Bros, and the first Wicked film.
For his work on SNL, he has been nominated for five Emmy Awards. He also co-hosts the podcast Las Culturistas and is expected to voice a character in the Cat in the Hat animated film due to be released next year.
