Bowen Yang is here to stay at “Saturday Night Live.”
Ahead of Season 51 of the late-night sketch comedy show, several cast members confirmed their departure, including the show’s mainstays Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim.
Yang opened up to People about why he’s decided to stick around for another season and the words of wisdom he received from the show’s creator, Lorne Michaels.
He told the outlet, “I’ve always gone by the instinct of, do I have more to do? And I feel like I do.”
“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,” Yang explained. “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.’”
Yang said that he has “to honor that,” adding, “That man has changed my life, and I owe a lot of my life to that show. And I love working there, the people are the best. I really love each of them so much.”
The comedian became a writer on the show in 2018 before joining the cast the next year in 2019. During his time on “SNL,” he’s become a versatile cast member, including several memorable moments at the “Weekend Update” desk as the iceberg that sunk the Titanic and Moo Deng.
As for how Yang feels going into a new season with several of his cast members not returning, he shared, “What I’ve always thought, what I think everybody knows, is that ‘SNL’ is this boot camp, and that implies that there is a next phase you train for something else.”
“It’s always a transitional place, and I think it is always a launching pad,” he added, using co-star Kenan Thompson as an example. “I think that’s going to be true for all of the people who aren’t coming back. I’m so excited to see what they do. I’m excited for the new cast.”
In an August interview with Puck News, Michaels teased an impending shakeup after the show’s landmark 50th season.
Subsequent weeks revealed the results, including the departure of new cast members Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim, and writers Ben Higgins and Celeste Yim.
Gardner, who joined the show in 2017, has not acknowledged her departure publicly yet.
Nwodim, who joined in 2018, announced her departure from the show on Sept. 12 after the cast had seemingly been solidified.
The comedian shared a statement on Instagram that she would be leaving “after seven unforgettable seasons,” writing in part, “Week after week on that stage taught me more than I could have ever imagined, and I will carry those memories (and that laughter) with me always.”
Chloe Fineman, who is entering her seventh season on the show, told Extra TV on Sept. 11 that the shakeups at “SNL” were “pretty wild.”
“Some shocking stuff,” she added. “A little heartbreak, sadness. I haven’t fully processed anything, but I will say the show has such a turnover.”
“SNL” returns on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, for the Season 51.
While the new season brought a series of departures, it also included several new cast members: Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska. Ben Marshall, who is part of the comedy group “Please Don’t Destroy” and joined the writing staff in 2021, is also being promoted to a cast member.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
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