Saturday Night Live just added its first Asian-American cast member
Live from New York, it's ... long overdue.
Saturday Night Live announced three new cast members Thursday, including Bowen Yang, whose hiring makes history, as NBC News writes he's the show's first full-time East Asian cast member. Yang joined SNL in 2018 as a writer and has appeared on the air, in March playing Kim Jong Un in a sketch, TV Lines notes.
Before Yang's hiring, Vanity Fair notes there was former cast member Fred Armisen, who is one-quarter Korean, while Deadline notes former cast member Rob Schneider is a quarter Filipino and former cast member Nasim Pedrad is of Iranian descent.
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As Yang is openly gay, IndieWire writes that he is also "only the third out gay male cast member in the show's history," with the first two being Terry Sweeney and John Milhiser.
Alongside Yang, Chloe Fineman and Shane Gillis were also tapped as cast members Thursday. These announcements come as the show was in need of some new talent, with comedian Leslie Jones announcing last month her departure after five seasons. The premiere of SNL's 45th season, which will be hosted by Woody Harrelson, is set for Sept. 28.
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