Writer and comedian Bowen Yang is joining the cast of “Saturday Night Live” for its upcoming 45th season, making him the show’s first full-time fully East Asian cast member.
🚨 Season 45 Alert 🚨
Welcome to the cast, @chloefineman, @Shanemgillis, and @bowenyang!
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) September 12, 2019
Yang joined “SNL” as a staff writer in 2018, and is also the host of “Las Culturistas” podcast, according to BuzzFeed News.
In more than 40 years of airing, the late-night variety show has cast only a handful of full-time cast members of Asian descent, notably Rob Schneider, who is one-quarter Filipino, Fred Armisen, whose grandfather was Korean, and Nasim Pedrad, who was born in Iran, according to The New York Times.
Yang who is based in Brooklyn, NY, is the son of Chinese immigrants and reportedly studied chemistry at NYU.
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Aside from “SNL,” Yang has also worked on “Broad City,” as well as “High Maintenance,” and “Isn’t It Romantic.”
Feature image via Instagram / fayedunaway
