Bowen Yang has barely been gone from Saturday Night Live for a month, and not surprisingly, he’s already all up in his feelings about the departure. The popular cast member, who had an extremely well-received, Emmy-nominated run as writer, featured player and full cast member, stepped away from Studio 8H before the Christmas break. Now, watching the show without any direct involvement, he’s fully grasping the pros and cons of being gone.
The topic came up during an interview Yang gave to publicize his new Super Bowl commercial. During the chat, he was asked about his take on SNL now that he’s gone, and he said it’s a relief not to have to worry about the actual process of putting together the show. He’s still texting with his friends who work on SNL all the time, but according to him, it’s “bizarre” but also “alleviating” to not be so involved in the details of everything that needs to be done.
That being said, there’s also a sadness, or at least a feeling of missed opportunities. Yang said he’s hit with longings about how fun it would be to share the stage with new guest hosts. Here’s a portion of the quote he gave People…
Now I'm getting [feelings] like, ‘Oh, it would've been fun to do a sketch with Teyana Taylor or Alexander Skarsgard… Now all my friends of course are like, ‘God, I wish you were still working there. I really want to come see Connor Storrie. I’m not the plug anymore.
Yang’s absence has definitely been felt over the last month or so. He has a very distinctive type of humor that other cast members can’t really replicate, but thankfully, like every other big name departure in SNL’s history, the show should be able to ride out the storm. Ashley Padilla has emerged as a breakout Not Ready For Primetime Player this season, and others like Marcello Hernández continue to develop into big stars. The future is very bright for the show.
It’s also very bright for Bowen Yang, who no doubt left at least partially because he’s an extremely in-demand actor. He was able to balance SNL was a bunch of key supporting roles in movies (including the Wicked franchise) during his tenure, but now that he’s not trying to put together an episode of live television on short notice, he should be able to take on some creatively interesting projects and more than likely, much bigger parts.
I’m excited to see him hopefully develop into an even bigger star, but that being said, I wouldn’t mind an appearance next season as a host or at least a fun surprise cameo. Given how much everyone seems to love him over at 30 Rock, I don’t think that should be too hard to hook up.
