- - Bowen Yang confirms “SNL” exit with heartfelt goodbye: 'Grateful for every minute of my time there'

Wesley StenzelDecember 21, 2025 at 12:23 AM

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Bowen Yang on 'Saturday Night Live' on Nov. 15, 2025Key points -

Bowen Yang confirmed that he is leaving SNL after six and a half seasons.

The comedian shared an Instagram post expressing his gratitude toward his colleagues and collaborators.

Yang first joined the show as a writer in 2018 and became a featured player in 2019.

Bowen Yang has confirmed that he's saying goodbye to Saturday Night Live.

Following multiple reports of his midseason departure, the comedian shared a lengthy Instagram post confirming that Saturday's episode of the NBC sketch series will be his last.

"I loved working at SNL, and most of all I loved the people," said Yang, who first joined the show as a writer in 2018. "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."

Yang, who became a featured player in season 45 and was upped to a cast member in season 47, went on to offer a few lessons from his time in Studio 8H.

"I'm grateful for every minute of my time there," he wrote. "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."

Rosalind O’Connor/NBC

Cher, Ariana Grande, and Bowen Yang promoting 'Saturday Night Live' on Dec. 18, 2025

The comedian went on to thank the SNL writing staff as well as "every cast member for making me laugh and cry," "the crews, the pages," and "every single person who showed up there: friends and coworkers and audiences and hosts."

Yang also expressed gratitude to his Wicked costar Ariana Grande for hosting Saturday's show, which will be his last as a cast member. "Thank you to Ari for sending me off in the dreamiest way I could imagine," he wrote.

Last, Yang paid respect to his longtime SNL boss Lorne Michaels. "Thank you to Lorne for the job. For the standard. And for bringing everyone at work together," he wrote. "They all care deeply about people in the room, any room, enjoying themselves. I can't believe I was ever included in that."

Yang concluded, "The show doesn't go on because it's ready, but s-------, I hope I am."

Yang's post included clips of him performing alongside Keke Palmer and Jenna Ortega, a photo of himself behind the "Weekend Update" desk, and pics of him with Sandra Oh, Julio Torres, Celeste Yim, Cecily Strong, and Ego Nwodim.

The comedian received an outpouring of support in the comment section of his post.

Sarah Sherman, who joined SNL in 2021, responded, "Sisterrr."

Yim, who wrote alongside Yang on the show from 2020 to 2025, wrote, "Clear a path, clear a path!!!!!!!!!!!"

Chris Redd, who was part of the SNL cast from 2017 to 2022, wrote, "Love you, B, and congrats."

Cindy Ord/WireImage

Bowen Yang in New York City on Dec. 2, 2025

West Side Story star Rachel Zegler commented, "Oh, I love you. I am so proud of you, babe."

Jake Tapper commented, "You did an amazing job and made us laugh and for that we're grateful."

Yang was the first Chinese American cast member in SNL's history and one of the only openly gay cast members in the show's 50-year history.

Before his time on SNL, Yang had already made a name for himself in the comedy world as a cohost of the Las Culturistas podcast with Matt Rogers. He also appeared on episodes of shows like Broad City, 2 Dope Queens, and High Maintenance.

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Yang received five Emmy nominations during his SNL tenure and became the first featured player in the show's history to receive a Primetime Emmy Award nomination when he snagged an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nod in 2021. He was nominated in the same category in 2022, 2024, and 2025, and also received a nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series in 2019.

After fans observed that Yang and Sherman appeared visibly emotional during the goodnights portion of the season 50 finale, Yang denied that he was immediately exiting the show in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

"Every finale at goodnights, something leaves my body because I'm just relieved from all that happened in that season, and this was a big one," he explained in May. "We went through a lot, so many fun memories. I think that was probably what was registering. I was just like, 'Oh, I need to savor these moments before I don't have them anymore."

Yang's final episode of SNL will see Grande host for the third time, and it will feature performances by musical guest Cher. The show airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.

on Entertainment Weekly

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