Bowen Yang is revealing his fate on Saturday Night Live.
It’s been a cut throat month for the beloved sketch comedy show as MAJOR changes are taking place amongst the cast. If you haven’t been following along, familiar faces like Emil Wakim, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, Heidi Gardner, and Ego Nwodim have all confirmed their departure from the show within the last several weeks. It’s all reportedly part of a mass exodus initiated by boss Lorne Michaels… Earlier this month, an insider told DeuxMoi that the 80-year-old only plans on “keeping four cast members.”
So that means names like James Austin Johnson, Marcello Hernandez, Kenan Thompson, Ashley Padilla, Sarah Sherman, Michael Che, Colin Jost, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, and Bowen are all on the chopping block…
We’ve heard many of them will be staying on for season 51, but what does Bowen’s future specifically look like? Well, Lorne apparently had a private conversation with him about it, and he’s spilling the tea!
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On Friday, the Wicked actor told People he feels like he has “more to do” on the show:
“I’ve always gone by the instinct of, do I have more to do? And I feel like I do. Even Lorne and I talked about it and Lorne was like, ‘You have more to do,’ and that means a lot because I even confessed to him. I was like, ‘I feel the audience is maybe getting sick of me.’ And he was like, ‘That’s not true. There’s more for you to do. I need you.’”
Fans rejoice! Bowen ain’t going anywhere!
On Lorne’s kind sentiments, Bowen said he has “to honor that.”
“That man has changed my life, and 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.”
On that front, the 34-year-old revealed he’s “absolutely” emotional to be saying goodbye to longtime co-stars and friends, but that he understands the circumstances:
“What I’ve always thought, what I think everybody knows, is that SNL is this boot camp and that implies that there is a next phase you train for something else. It’s always a transitional place, and I think it is always a launching pad. Even for people who stay on the show, like Kenan, let’s say, he has still used that show to help expand his possibilities.”
He added:
“I think that’s going to be true for all of the people who aren’t coming back. I’m so excited to see what they do. I’m excited for the new cast.”
Even though for many of them, it sounds like it wasn’t THEIR first choice to leave? We certainly hope things will work out for them!
Now, as Bowen prepares for season 51 — his sixth season — he revealed he no longer goes into episodes “with a game plan.”
“I let that go and I think it served me well. I like having no road map. If there’s any place to do that, it’s SNL, where it’s week to week. Sometimes you’re up for the challenge. Sometimes you show up even if you aren’t, and that’s kind of what makes interesting things happen.”
Maybe that’s what’s helped keep his position on the show secure??
What are your thoughts, Perezcious readers? Are you happy to know Bowen is safe? Let us know in the comments down below!
[Images via NBC/YouTube & MEGA/WENN]
