No matter how funny it seems live from New York, Saturday Night Live is a different story behind the scenes. During a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live, SNL cast member Bowen Yang spilled the details about a former male host, who allegedly made “cast members cry” before their table read. Bowen, 33, did not, however, name the host in question.
“This man who … this person, this host made multiple cast members cry on Wednesday during the, before the table-read, because he hated the ideas,” he said during his conversation with Andy Cohen. Bowen then added that the experience was “terrible.”
Elsewhere during his TV interview, Bowen described his biggest bomb with SNL sketches. He recalled one that was planned for host Ayo Edebiri.
“We wrote a live sketch where it took place in an elevator, and she and I were, like, telling everyone that we should all make out or something because the elevator got stuck,” Bowen explained. “Then, for some reason, it got turned into a pre-tape under our noses, and we had to adapt to that.
The Wicked actor added that the sketch “just didn’t go as well as [he] had hoped.”
“And you just deal with it,” he pointed out. “Comedy’s subjective, you never know how it’s gonna play in front of a specific audience. But it’s fine, you let it roll off your back.”
Bowen was first hired to be a writer for SNL in 2018. One year later, he was promoted as an on-air cast member for its 45th season. Among his most famous live sketches were alongside Colin Jost and Michael Che on the show’s “Weekend Update” segment. Bowen became the first featured player on the sketch comedy series to earn a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2021. Since then, he’s been nominated four additional times for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, including at this year’s upcoming Emmy Awards.
SNL is currently gearing up for its 50th season, which premieres on September 28. Since the show is known for its political satire, Maya Rudolph is expected to reprise her role as Vice President Kamala Harris amid her presidential campaign.
