Bowen Yang is to leave 'Saturday Night Live' after eight seasons

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Bowen Yang, a fan-favorite cast member of “Saturday Night Live,” is expected to leave the series after this week’s episode.Representatives for Yang and “Saturday Night Live” did not comment on the move Friday.

There has been recent speculation about whether he would finish the current season of the show.He has appeared on the show since Season 45 after a year of working on the writing staff.Yang took on a variety of roles in the NBC sketch comedy series, including impersonating Vice President J.D.

Vance, Fran Lebowitz and pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng.Yang received his fifth Emmy nomination for his work on “SNL’s” historic 50th season.Yang is expected to appear in Saturday’s episode, hosted by his “Wicked” co-star and friend Ariana Grande with musical guest Cher.

Awards Yang has emerged as a fan favorite on the venerable NBC sketch show, for which he just received his fourth Emmy nomination, by creating unexpected viral moments.Outside of “SNL,” Yang has appeared in several other projects recently.He co-hosts the popular podcast “Las Culturistas,” with fellow comedian Matt Rogers, and their seminal Las Culturistas Culture Awards was televised for the first time this year, airing on Bravo and streaming on Peacock.

Yang also appeared in the “Wicked” film and its recent sequel, “Wicked: For Good,” and has starred in several other feature films, including “The Wedding Banquet,” “Fire Island” and “Dicks the Musical.”In early December, Yang confirmed he and Rogers would be co-writing and starring in an untitled comedy for Searchlight Pictures.The movie will reportedly follow two Americans who fly across the world to try to get into the exclusive Berghain nightclub in Berlin.

Yang is not the first “Saturday Night Live” cast member to leave midseason — he joins the company of past “SNL” greats like Cecily Strong, Molly Shannon...