As Bowen Yang bids adieu to Saturday Night Live, he leaves Studio 8H having made a memorable mark on the long-running sketch comedy show.
Yang’s progression to one of SNL’s key players began off-camera, spending a year as a writer for Season 44 before being elevated to cast member. Along the way, the comedian and actor delivered many memorable firsts. Every graduation needs a highlight reel, so as we bid Yang farewell, let’s look back at the tentpole moments that marked his ascent from SNL featured player to a fan-favorite face.
First Sketch as a Writer
The first time Yang got a piece he wrote on the air came in his second episode at SNL, hosted by Awkwafina. Yang co-wrote the host’s monologue for the October 2018 episode with writer Anna Drezen.
That same night, Yang also got his first proper sketch on the air: “The Hidden Tales of Egypt,” a Cleopatra makeover co-written with Fran Gillespie and Sudi Green.
First Cameo
Yang’s face appeared on SNL before his writing ever did. In just his first episode, Yang could be seen in Kyle Mooney’s meta behind-the-scenes short “A New Kyle.” The writers room scene—in which Mooney demands that they include his new girlfriend, Wendy Williams, in his sketches—even nets Yang his first SNL close-up.
First Impression
Yang’s first episode as a cast member also brought his first-ever impression—and a high-profile political one at that. Yang portrayed Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang in a sketch that lampooned a CNN town hall. While Yang would only deliver one line in his debut, he’d go on to reprise the Andrew Yang impression three more times during the election cycle, and one last time on a “Barry Gibb Talk Show” sketch in 2024.
First Weekend Update
From the iceberg that sank the Titanic to Moo Deng, Yang contributed many memorable character correspondent pieces to “Weekend Update,” but it all started with Chen Biao. In just his second episode as a cast member, Yang appeared as the Chinese trade representative to discuss the trade war between the United States and China. The appearance was co-written by Yang, with Sudi Green and Jasmine Pierce.
First Recurring Character
Yang’s turn as Chen Biao was more than just his first “Update” appearance. Just seven episodes later, Chen Biao would officially become Yang’s first recurring SNL character when he returned to discuss a trade deal signed between the U.S. and China. Yang performed the character a total of six times on SNL. That’s an impressive run—especially considering that the character marked the first time Yang had written for himself on the show.
First Appearance as Himself
Yang had one more “first” to score that could be seen as a rite of passage for cast members: appearing not as a character, but as himself. Yang’s first significant example of this was in a March 2021 “Weekend Update.” Yang was in the back half of his second season as a cast member when he appeared on “Update” to address the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes being seen in the U.S.
Technically, this was Yang’s third “out-of-character” appearance. The first two were wordless appearances that came during the pandemic-era SNL At Home shows: first when the cast kicked off that pre-taped series by logging onto Zoom, and again when the cast closed out that era with the sketch “Dreams.”
What have been your all-time favorite Bowen Yang SNL moments?
