‘This is my last shift’: Bowen Yang says farewell to ‘SNL’ as Ariana Grande hosts

The Bowen Yang era of SNL has come to a close.

When the news broke on Friday that Yang was going to depart SNL after this episode, it was both surprising — the show had already seen big names like Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim removed from the SNL roster before this season started — but it also made total sense. It was only a few seasons ago when Cecily Strong retired from SNL after the Austin Butler-hosted Christmas episode.

I’d love to know if Yang always knew he was going to call it a career after the Christmas episode or if the fact that Ariana Grande was hosting made it the perfect moment to say goodbye.

Yang and Grande’s stories are intertwined beyond just being costars in the two Wicked movies. When Grande hosted SNL last season, that night was Yang’s 100th episode in the cast. And now, with her by his side on multiple moments this episode — the monologue, in sketches and during goodnights — Yang closed out his time as an SNL cast member.

Most SNL cast members don’t get to go out like this. Sometimes we know someone won’t be back before a season finale. Maybe they’ll get a tribute from their fellow cast members like Will Ferrell did. Maybe they’ll get to dance with Lorne Michaels like Kristen Wiig did. But more often than not, cast members and fans don’t get this kind of closure. SNL coldly chose to not renew Gardner’s contract after Season 50, robbing us all of the chance to pay tribute to her contributions to the show. (To this day, Gardner has not publicly made any kind of direct statement about leaving SNL.)

Yang confirmed that he was leaving SNL earlier on Saturday, removing any mystery surrounding the news.

SNL cast members past and present then spent Saturday posting tributes to Yang.

• Chloe Fineman: 🥺🥺🥲 So endlessly proud of you friend ❤️ BRAVO
• Ashley Padilla: A very very very bright and shining star is leaving this building. ⭐ I LOVE YOU [Bowen Yang] ⭐ Congratulations on being literally perfect.nYou wear it very well!!!!
• James Austin Johnson: I love you [Bowen Yang] onward and upward, I have been changed for good, etc.
• Ego Nwodim: wow ❤️
• Seth Meyers: Cheers to [Bowen Yang] for one of the all-time great SNL runs!

Again, I wish we would could see this kind of goodbye for every SNL cast member who left their mark on the show. Their castmates and fans should have a chance to recognize what they’ve contributed to the show while also being able to take in these accolades.

This feels like it could be a moment for Michaels to make some tweaks to SNL before the show returns in 2026. With Yang gone, the cast is down to 16 people. Will it add a woman of color to the cast? Maybe promote Ashley Padilla from featured status?

Grande returning to host SNL for her third time kind of gets lost in the news that Yang is leaving. I guess this is a testament to how skilled of a host Grande is, making the job look easy while being at the center of most of the episode’s sketches.

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COLD OPEN

Trump Christmas Address Cold Open

This was a low-energy cold open. I’m a broken record on this, but I’m going to say it again ... James Austin Johnson is the best Donald Trump the show has ever had, but SNL really doesn’t know what to do with the character anymore.

Johnson’s Trump checked off a few headlines, made some comments about renaming the Kennedy Center and the partial release of the Epstein files. None of those jokes blew me away, and they were all kind of low-hanging fruit.

• “Big Elphaba”: Our first Wicked reference of the night.
• Remember that guy? It struck me a few days ago that SNL hasn’t featured Yang as Vice President JD Vance at all this season. The show never missed a chance to poke some fun at Joe Biden when he was vice president — why is Vance not in the mix?

THE MONOLOGUE

Grande kicked off her monologue with a comment about not wanting to revisit previous sketches that she’s done (sorry, Domingo), before launching into a predictable singing monologue.

It’s too bad Grande hasn’t reprised some of her characters from when she pulled double duty in March 2016. Her Pandora sketch and portrayal of Jennifer Lawerence during a Family Feud sketch were pretty great.