Bowen Yang couldn’t fairly maintain it collectively for his last Saturday Evening Dwell sketch — however he nonetheless bought some TLC from Ariana Grande and Cher.
Yang, 35, teared up throughout a vacation travel-themed sketch on Saturday, December 20, as Grande, 32, and Cher, 79, serenaded him with the festive traditional “Please Come Dwelling for Christmas.” The sketch referenced Yang’s real-life departure from Saturday Evening Dwell as he performed a Delta Sky Membership worker joined by outdated pals on his last-ever shift.
“I can’t consider you’re retiring,” Grande informed him, with Yang explaining: “I simply needed to exit on prime!”
Grande’s character then quipped: “Everybody is aware of you’re a backside, honey!”
Because the trio continued to sing, each Yang and Grande bought choked up and ultimately began to cry. Yang’s bittersweet last sketch closed with him pulling Grande and Cher right into a hug as he bawled.
Earlier within the night time, Yang joined his Depraved: For Good costar Grande for a sendup of Mariah Carey’s festive traditional “All I Need for Christmas Is You,” now retitled “What Do I Get for Christmas for This Dude” as an ode to the perils of vacation present shopping for.
Information broke on Friday, December 19, that Yang deliberate to go away SNL after its annual Christmas present, that includes Grande as host and Cher as musical visitor.
Yang opened up about his time on the present in a poignant goodbye be aware earlier than showtime on Saturday. He appeared again on becoming a member of SNL simply because the COVID-19 pandemic began in late 2019 and credited the present with educating him “the worth in exhibiting up anyway when individuals make it worthwhile.”
Bowen Yang and Ariana Grande carry out with “Saturday Evening Dwell” solid. Courtesy NBC
“I’m grateful for each minute of my time there. I discovered about myself (unhealthy with wigs). I discovered about others (beneficiant, weak, scorching). I discovered that human error might be nothing however right,” he recalled. “I discovered that comedy is usually logistics and that it’s going to often fail till it doesn’t, which is the besssst.”
Yang then thanked his many pals at SNL, including: “Thanks to each single one who confirmed up there: pals and coworkers and audiences and hosts … Thanks to each solid member for making me chortle and cry.”
There had been hypothesis that Yang would depart the NBC sketch present in Might when he was seen wistfully dancing with fellow solid member Sarah Sherman in the course of the season 50 finale’s goodnights phase.
Depraved costars Ariana Grande and Bowen Yang proved besties do it higher in the course of the Saturday, October 12, episode of Saturday Evening Dwell. Grande, 31, returned to host Saturday’s episode — her second time emceeing the variability present after 2016 — the place she confirmed off her enduring bond with Yang, 33. (Grande and Yang, after all, […]
Nevertheless, Yang determined to return again for season 51, explaining that SNL creator Lorne Michaels personally inspired him to stay round.
“I’ve at all times passed by the intuition of, do I’ve extra to do? And I really feel like I do,” Yang informed Folks in September. “Even Lorne and I talked about it, and Lorne was like, ‘You’ve got extra to do,’ and meaning rather a lot, as a result of I even confessed to him. I used to be like, ‘I really feel the viewers is possibly getting sick of me.’ And he was like, ‘That’s not true. There’s extra so that you can do. I would like you.’”
Yang went on, “I’ve to honor that. That man has modified my life, and I owe quite a lot of my life to that present. And I really like working there, the individuals are one of the best. I actually love every of them a lot.”
Previous to his exit, Yang missed an SNL season 51 episode in October to just accept the Vantage Award at an Academy Museum of Movement Footage gala held on the Academy Museum in Los Angeles.
Saturday Evening Dwell returns on NBC January 17, 2026, at 11:30 p.m. ET with Stranger Issues’ Finn Wolfhard as host and ASAP Rocky as musical visitor.
