Bowen Yang breaks his silence on SNL exit mid-season

Yang’s final episode of ‘Saturday Night Live’ will be on December 20 with host Ariana Grande and musical guest Cher

Bowen Yang has broken his silence on his imminent exit from Saturday Night Live after seven years.

The actor and comedian, 35, shared a carousel of images on Instagram Saturday, the day of his last episode on the show. The images show Yang at 30 Rock alongside his fellow cast members.

“I loved working at SNL, and most of all i loved the people. 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,” his lengthy caption began.

“I’m grateful for every minute of my time there. i learned about myself (bad with wigs). i learned about others (generous, vulnerable, hot). 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.”

He continued by thanking all of the writers and cast members, in addition to all of his loved ones, for attending the show.

Actor and comedian Bowen Yang expressed how grateful he was for his time on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in an Instagram post ahead of his final episode on December 20 (Getty Images for Girls Write Now)

Yang also thanked his Wicked co-star, Ariana Grande, for being the host of his last episode as he wrote, “thank you to ari for sending me off in the dreamiest way i could imagine.”

Many people commented on the post, expressing how excited they were for Yang’s next step and how much they will miss seeing him on the show.

“Happy for your new path because i'll always be a fan, but will really miss seeing you every week,” one comment read, while another agreed, writing: “I am going to miss you terribly - but I’m so excited for your next chapter! You deserve all the success in the world!”

Variety first reported Friday that Yang would be leaving SNL. He joined the show in 2018 as a writer before being promoted to a cast member the following year.

Throughout the last few years, Yang has worked outside of the sketch show in other acting roles, such as appearing in Wicked and this year’s sequel, Wicked: For Good. He also starred in the romantic comedy,The Wedding Banquet. He is set for a voice role in next year’s animated adaptation of The Cat In The Hat.

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Yang’s departure from SNL, midway through a season, is unusual but not unprecedented, with the likes of Cecily Strong, Molly Shannon, Dana Carvey and Eddie Murphy also leaving midseason in past years.

In an interview with People in September, Yang said he felt he had “more to do” at the show but also worried the audience was “getting sick” of him.

“I've always gone by the instinct of, do I have more to do? And I feel like I do,” he said of his decision to stay at the time.

“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.’”