Bowen Yang lifts lid on ‘Saturday Night Live’ exit: “I never felt like I was that central”
Bowen Yang has opened up about his exit from Saturday Night Live, citing that he was not “central” to the show.
Yang served on SNL for seven-and-a-half series before departing halfway through season 51 at the end of 2025.
During his final episode, which aired on December 20th, 2025, Yang was able to say a proper farewell on air, which saw the comic tear up.
Now, in the latest edition of Variety and CNN’s Actors on Actors with Rachel Sennott, Yang explained of his exit, “I was kind of resolute the season before, about leaving. There was a lot of uncertainty about what the show would look like after Season 50. I was like, ‘I think the show is in a great place without me.’ I never felt like I was that central to it, to be honest.”
When Sennott said she strongly disagreed that Yang was not a central part of the long-running sketch show during his tenure, Yang explained his perspective, adding, “Well, I feel like there was a weird utility to me. I was like, ‘OK, I’ve accepted this.’ I never played the dad or the straight-man teacher. I was always there as the seasoning.”
However, for a long time, Yang was fine with this role, saying of his thought process, “‘That’s great. I’m so lucky. I can’t believe I have a steady job in comedy. I will cherish it for the rest of my life.'”
Initially, he planned to wave goodbye after the end of season 50, which felt like the end of an era at Saturday Night Live, before an intervention from Lorne Michaels got him to delay his departure by a few months.
Yang recalled that Michaels contacted him to say on the phone, “‘Listen, you should come back. These are the people I’ve hired. It’s a lot of new kids, and a lot of people left. You should be there to set an example for them, at least in the first half of the season. I’m telling you, it would be very important.'”
Speaking about the impact of the phone call, Yang said, “It was the first time I felt someone who made so many things possible for me being like, ‘I need you.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m not going to turn that down.'”
Season 51 of Saturday Night Live wrapped up on May 16th, which saw alumni Will Ferrell return to Studio 8H on hosting duties and Paul McCartney serve as musical guest.
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