Former Saturday Night Live and Wicked star Bowen Yang has been open since his departure from SNL about his conflicting love for the work and feeling that it was time to go.
Yang initially opened up about this on his podcast, Las Culturistas, opposite Matt Rogers, in which he admitted to feeling sort of like a one-note actor on the show.
Yang reflected:
"I feel like I was really bogged down the entire time I was there about the idea that there was no range in anything I did."
"It's a sketch show; each thing is, like, four minutes long. It is short and collapsed by necessity, so, therefore, it plays on archetypes."
After working as a writer and actor on the show for seven seasons, and then sticking around for the first half of Season 51 to introduce the range of new actors to the stage, Yang stepped away after a collective eight years, feeling like he had much more to give.
He explained:
"I have this very beautiful thing where I get to say that I stayed on exactly as long as I wanted to."
During his latest interview with Variety, on their Actors on Actors series opposite fellow comedian Rachel Sennott, Yang opened up further about his decision to step away from the show.
This time, Yang further elaborated on his feelings about feeling limited in his performances, even going so far as to say that he never felt "central" to the show, implying that it would be easy enough to lift him out without impacting SNL.
Yang reflected:
"I was kind of resolute the season before [Season 50], about leaving."
"There was a lot of uncertainty about what the show would look like after Season 50, and I was like, 'I think the show is in a great place without me.'"
"I never felt like I was that central to it, to be honest."
Sennott attempted to lighten the moment, side-eyeing the camera and simply saying:
"Disagree!"
But Yang insisted, saying:
"Well, I feel like there was a weird utility to me."
"I was like, 'Okay, I've accepted this.' I never played the dad or the straight-man teacher."
"I was always there as the seasoning."
In comedy, "straight" can literally mean "heterosexual," but it can also be the "straight and serious" figure that the comedy ricochets off of. Skits with this dynamic often turn that character into the butt of a series of jokes that the other characters and the audience are in on, while the straight character remains blissfully, hilariously unaware.
Nonetheless, Yang continued to voice his gratitude for his time on the show.
"I was like, 'That's great! I'm so lucky. I can't believe I have this job.'"
"'I can't believe I have a steady job in comedy.' Wow, amazing, I will cherish that for the rest of my life."
"But I just felt like it was the right time."
You can watch the segment here:
Instagrammers were supportive of Yang, arguing that he was always central to the show.
@variety/Instagram; @fayedunaway/Instagram
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@variety/Instagram; @fayedunaway/Instagram
@variety/Instagram; @fayedunaway/Instagram
@variety/Instagram; @fayedunaway/Instagram
@variety/Instagram; @fayedunaway/Instagram
@variety/Instagram; @fayedunaway/Instagram
@variety/Instagram; @fayedunaway/Instagram
@variety/Instagram; @fayedunaway/Instagram
But viewers on X were less sympathetic.
It's sad that Yang didn't recognize his impact on the show. It would have been interesting to see more of his range, but the work he did was impactful, effective, and deeply funny.
We can't wait to see what he does next and where he takes himself and his talents.
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