Niki Cruz
For years, Bowen Yang has been one of the unique bright lights that reignited the excitement around watching Saturday Night Live. For longtime viewers of the show, now entering its 50th season, it’s more of an institution with natural ebbs and flows. This past season, it’s been on an upswing. Bowen, who’s now a veteran of the cast and at the writer’s table, is celebrating his fourth Emmy nomination for the show.
One of the most enjoyable things about watching Bowen on SNL is his incredible comedic range and how he’s effortlessly able to shift from different formats, from digital shorts to traditional sketch comedy, and even cementing a place with different rotation of characters behind the Weekend Update desk (think “A Guy Named Ethan” “Truman Capote on Women’s History Month” “Jafar On Ron DeSantis” “The Iceberg that sunk The Titanic,” and that’s just a handful.)
When we talked over the phone, he mentioned that this is also a signature ability of this current cast.
“I think a lot of the cast right now is very good at being versatile; either they’re comfortable being in a cold open, or leading a pre-tape, or driving a live sketch, and I think all of us have gone on Weekend Update at least once. I think we’re jacks of all trades and masters of all as well. I don’t think there’s no compromise there.”
Even though SNL is in its off-season, Yang stays busy. He has a podcast called Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and five projects in various stages of production, including the blockbuster juggernaut Wicked, which is due out on November 22nd.
I recently spoke with Bowen Yang about his beginnings on SNL and his thoughts about the Emmys, and of course, we also talked about some pop culture, too.
You can listen to our interview below:
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