Bowen Yang praises Heidi Gardner from “Saturday Night Live” after coming out of the series after eight seasons.
“You’re one of the great people. You fall into history,” Yang said of Gardner on his podcast, “Las Culturista,” with Matt Rogers.
Yang’s return to the seventh season with “SNL” was announced earlier this week. The NBC sketch comedy series has abandoned a handful of players, including Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, Emile Wakim and John Higgins, whilst welcoming five new cast members. “I miss people who don’t come back very often,” Yang said.
Yang picked out Gardner as one of the only cast members of “SNL” who can trust pen sketches on his own without a co-writer. “As a cast member, it’s always very vulnerable to post only your name,” Yang said. “But whenever you just saw ‘Gardner’ you knew you were in good hands. She takes it to herself to write it for the other cast. ”
Recalling Gardner’s favorite work, Yang said he once wrote the “Weekend Update” segment of Panky Johnson, who left “SNL” in 2024. “The true anchor of that show.”
He also spoke about Gardner’s off-screen presence at Studio 8H, saying he helped lift the spirits of the cast and crew on the day of the pandemic lockdown. Gardner encouraged his castmates to provide Yang with an emotional “scaffolding” and text each other every day about what made them smile. “A truly beautiful person,” he added.
Jan and Gardner appeared in countless sketches over the years, including “secretary” with Pete Davidson and the food-focused Gardner showcase “The Mile High Burger Challenge.”
“Saturday Night Live” will return on NBC on October 4th.
