It seems the Saturday Night Live (SNL) shakeup has at least one silver lining, with staple castmate (and general icon) Bowen Yang revealing that he is thankfully still on board for season 51.
The new instalment of the sketch show is set to hit screens later this month, but in anticipation of the premiere, we’ve witnessed multiple castmates either be axed or announce their departure after years-long stints.
Ego Nwodim — who was on the show for an impressive seven-season run — was the most recent comedian to bite the dust, joining the likes of fellow departing castmates like Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Heidi Gardner, among others.
Naturally, the seismic shakeup — which was teased by top dog Lorne Michaels weeks ago — had fans nervous that other veterans like Yang were on the chopping block, especially considering he’s now among the longest-standing castmates with a five-season run.
Addressing those concerns, however, Yang answered our collective prayers by officially confirming he’s returning to SNL for the next season — and thank the good lord for that!
“I’ve always gone by the instinct of, ‘do I have more to do?’ And I feel like I do,” Yang told PEOPLE of his SNL return.
“Even Lorne and I talked about it, and Lorne was like, ‘You have more to do,’ and that means a lot,” he added.
Yang said he almost wasn’t going to grace the SNL stage again because he was concerned “the audience is maybe getting sick of me” (LIES!), to which Michaels reminded him “‘that’s not true, there’s more for you to do. I need you.’” Speak on it, Lornie!
Fans of the show will know this is welcome news, with Yang being responsible for some of the most viral SNL skits in recent memory — including his impersonations of Charli xcx and Chappell Roan, as well as Moo Deng (yes, the hippo) and Glinda from Wicked.
Speaking of the mass departures, Yang said he has always thought of SNL as a “transitional place” and a “launching pad” where castmates can go on to explore other projects, but admitted he’s “emotional” about farewelling some of his colleagues.
“I owe a lot of my life to that show and I love working there, the people are the best. I really love each of them so much,” he said.
While he was complimentary about SNL, some reports emerging after the shakeup claimed working on the show is not always a barrel of laughs, with Walker himself describing the experience as “toxic as hell” when announcing his departure on Instagram last month.
Yang will be joined in the season 51 cast by newcomers like Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska, the last of whom I simply cannot wait to see make the transition from TikTok to the silver screen.
Lead images: YouTube
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