Bowen Yang’s 5 Best ‘SNL’ Sketches

Bowen Yang will take the Studio 8H stage for the final time on Saturday’s “SNL.”

The beloved cast member will exit the NBC sketch show after this Saturday’s episode on Dec. 20, which will feature Ariana Grande as a host and Cher as musical guest. In a lengthy post shared on Instagram Saturday, Yang penned an emotion goodbye to his time on the iconic sketch show.

“I loved working at SNL, and most of all I loved the people,” Yang’s message read. “I was there at a time when many things in the world started to seem futile, but working at 30 rock taught me the value in showing up anyway when people make it worthwhile. I’m grateful for every minute of my time there. I learned about myself (bad with wigs). I learned about others (generous, vulnerable, hot),” he continued. “I learned that human error can be nothing but correct. I learned that comedy is mostly logistics and that it will usually fail until it doesn’t, which is the besssst.”

This is a surprise exit for Yang, who first joined as a writer in 2018 for Season 44. After one season as a writer, Yang joined the cast as a featured player for Season 45 and was promoted to the main cast for Season 47. Yang has earned five Emmy nominations during his time at “SNL,” including four nods for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and one for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series.

Before Yang makes his final “SNL” appearance take a look back at some of his most iconic sketches.

The Iceberg That Sank the Titanic

Yang brought the iceberg that sank the Titanic to life during the 46th season of “SNL” — a move that even he was surprised by. While speaking to Jimmy Fallon in May 2021, he explained how the sketch came to life.

“[Drezen] texts me in February, ‘Hey, maybe for the April 10 show, for the Titanic anniversary, you can play the iceberg who sank the Titanic,'” Yang began. “And I was like, “Yeah… Cool… Maybe. Sure.’ April rolls around I text her, ‘Hey, were you serious about that iceberg idea?’ And she was like, ‘I completely forgot about it. Let’s do it. Why not?’”

“The entire week we did it, we were losing our minds a little bit, because we just kept looking at each other and bursting out laughing,” he added. Despite the fact that the pair both though the sketch wouldn’t make it to air, it ultimately did.

“That was a really long time ago. I’ve done a lot of reflecting to try and move past it,” Yang told Colin Jost as the iceberg during the episode. “It’s one very small part of me, but there’s so much going on beneath the surface that you can’t see.”

George Santos: Scandal in the Wind

Yang portrayed former Congressman George Santos for the final time in December 2023, delivering a cold open set to “Candle in the Wind” in the style of his character.

In an episode of “SNL Sketch Rewind,” Yang explained of his portrayal of Santos: “George Santos happened in January 2023. I had done very bashful shopping around the office that Monday where I was like, ‘Is anyone going to play him?’ I went to the ‘[Weekend] Update’ desk and I was like, ‘I think I have an idea.'”

Straight Male Friend

Yang joined forces with Travis Kelce for the “Straight Male Friend” sketch during the football player’s hosting stint back in March 2023. Yang played a gay man who felt overwhelmed by his friendships with straight women, and who decided to reach out to a straight man instead.

What followed was a pitch-perfect inversion of familiar rom-com dynamics, with Yang’s character marveling at the low-maintenance ease of the friendship while Kelce’s straight male buddy offered blunt honesty, emotional simplicity and an almost comical lack of introspection.

The pairing also highlighted Yang’s knack for elevating guest hosts by giving them roles that lean into their public persona without overwhelming the joke. Kelce’s laid-back charm played perfectly off Yang’s anxious, hyper-verbal energy, resulting in one of the season’s most memorable sketches and another example of how Yang had become one of “SNL’s” most reliable comedic anchors by that point in his tenure.

Moo Deng

In the sketch, Yang appeared as Moo Deng, the beloved viral baby pygmy hippo, though his performance was less an animal impersonation than a sly send-up of pop star Chappell Roan. At the time, Roan had been openly discussing the intense pressures that accompanied her rapid rise to fame, and Yang’s character clearly mirrored that experience.

“For the past 10 weeks, I have been going nonstop. Running around, eating lettuce, trying to bite the water from a hose,” Yang’s Moo Deng said. “Reminder, women owe you nothing. When I’m in my enclosure tripping over stuff, biting my trainer’s knee, I am at work. Do not yell my name or expect a photo just because I’m your parasocial bestie or because you appreciate my talent.”

Colin Jost underscored the comparison during the sketch, telling Moo Deng, “I have to say, Moo Deng, your our life sounds a lot like Chappell Roan’s lately. Do you know Chappell Roan?”

“I’m 10 weeks old, Colin. Of course, I know Chappell Roan. And by the way, leave her alone. Let her take as much time as she needs for her mental health,” Yang replied. “This is what society does. It puts young women on pedestals only to knock them down with shellfish.”

Soul Cycle Instructor

Yang memorably skewered the sometimes cultlike absurdity of a SoulCycle class in a 2019 sketch that quickly became one of his early breakout moments on “Saturday Night Live.” Appearing during his first season as a featured player — after spending Season 44 on the writing staff — Yang played one of the hyper-intense instructors leading a room full of riders through an aggressively motivational workout. As the class pedaled, the instructors offered increasingly bizarre and overshared personal anecdotes.

The SoulCycle parody became a defining moment of Yang’s debut season, helping cement him as a featured player with real staying power and signaling the beginning of his ascent as one of “SNL’s” most distinctive voices.

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