Bowen Yang has broken his silence following the announcement that he will be leaving Saturday Night Live after the episode airing on December 20th, 2025. The comedian took to Instagram on Saturday to pen a heartfelt message to his fans.
"I loved working at SNL, and most of all I loved the people. 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," he began alongside a carousel of image taken from his time on the show.
"I'm grateful for every minute of my time there. 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 best.
Thank you to every single person who showed up there: friends and coworkers and audiences and hosts. thank you Celeste, Sudi, Will, Alison, Julio, Fran, Drez, Bulla, Marty, John, Ben, Jimmy, Ceara, Deetch, Jake, Asha, Jack, Auguste, Tucker, Kent, Streeter, James, Alex, Jasmine, Gary, and Billy for writing with me. Thank you to every cast member for making me laugh and cry. To Liz and Don. Tom, Jodi, Louie, Eamon. Gena, Chris, Eddie. The crews, the pages and to Audrey, Jameson, Cassandra and Chris for the fastest, funnest quick-changes in all of showbiz. Thank you to ari for sending me off in the dreamiest way I could imagine."
He concluded: "Thank you to Lorne for the job. For the standard and for bringing everyone at work together. They all care deeply about people in the room, any room, enjoying themselves. I can't believe I was ever included in that. The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready, but [expletive], I hope I am."
Bowen's exit comes ten weeks after season 51 premiered on October 4 on NBC. The sketch show saw Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and John Higgins all depart in the weeks before its return.
Ariana Grande will host the December 20 episode, while Cher is the musical guest. HELLO! contacted NBC and representatives for Bowen for comment but they declined to comment.
Bowen joined the series as writer in 2018 but a year later became a featured player and was promoted to join the main cast in 2021. His offbeat, surreal comedy has fueled some of the most iconic moments in recent years, redefining Weekend Update through concept-driven characters rather than impressions and earning him an Emmy nomination.
While uncommon, Yang’s decision to exit “SNL” before the end of Season 51 is not entirely without historical parallels. The show has seen several notable cast members depart midseason over the years, including Cecily Strong, Molly Shannon, Dana Carvey, and Eddie Murphy. Norm Macdonald also left during a season.
Outside of SNL, Yang has built a strong profile across film, television, and podcasting. He cohosts the pop culture podcast Las Culturistas with close friend and fellow comedian Matt Rogers and starred in Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens from 2020 to 2023. His film résumé spans projects such as Fire Island (2022), Dicks: The Musical (2023), and The Wedding Banquet (2025), alongside upcoming roles in Wicked and Wicked: For Good.