Bowen Yang said goodbye to “Saturday Night Live” in the final sketch of the night, but it was also his last.
News broke Friday that Saturday’s episode will be Yang’s last appearance as a member of the “SNL” cast, after appearing on the show for eight seasons. He first joined Saturday Night Live as a writer in season 44 in 2018, and was later added to the cast as a featured player in season 45. She was promoted to main cast member in season 47.
In the sketch, Yang played a flight attendant on her last shift in the Delta One lounge with a broken eggnog machine.
“This is my last shift. It’s sad. I’m going to miss everything about this place. The smell, the celebrities that came. Just last week, Josh O’Connor came,” Yang said, referring to last week’s “SNL” host.
Tonight’s host Ariana Grande, who co-starred with Yang in the movie “Wicked,” also appeared to say goodbye to her friend. Grande, who played the family of Yang’s character, said: “I wish you were home, but I’m so proud of you and the eggnog you’ve made over the years. Some of it’s great, some of it’s rotten.”
“And a lot of that was cut,” Yang added. “But I think eggnog is for me. It’s not for everyone, but the people who like eggnog are like me.” They sang together, musical guest Cher (who plays the eggnog maker’s boss) also took to the stage, and Yang tearfully said goodbye.
“Oh, Rhonda, you should have come home sooner,” he said in a choked voice. “I feel really lucky to work here, and I wanted to enjoy it just a little bit more. I especially love the people. I love everyone who works here because they’ve been so good to me, especially my boss.”
During the final goodnight to close the show, Grande sent a special shout-out to Yang: “And Bowen Yang, we love you so much! Goodnight!”
Yang’s mid-season exit comes after several cast members left the show before Season 51 began, including Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, and John Higgins. Mid-season departures are rare but not unheard of, with Cecily Strong, Molly Shannon and Dana Carvey having done so in the past.
Outside of “Saturday Night Live,” Yang co-hosts the pop culture podcast “Las Culturistas” with fellow comedian Matt Rogers. For the first time, the two hosted the annual Las Culturistas Awards as a full awards show, broadcast on Bravo and Peacock. Yang also reprized her role as Fanny from “Wicked” in this fall’s hit musical “Wicked: For Good.” He and Rodgers are also writing and starring in a new comedy for Searchlight Pictures.
