Bowen Yang joined Ariana Grande during her Saturday Night Live monologue for the highly anticipated Christmas episode, just in time for his final episode as a cast member on the sketch comedy series.
The Wicked: For Good star kicked off her hosting appearance by explaining that she’d been asked if she was planning on reprising any of her past roles from her previous SNL appearances.
“The last time I hosted was a year ago, and so many people have been asking me if I’ll revisit any of my sketches from last time, like, you know, Domingo. But I told them, ‘I don’t think so.’ When something is perfect, it doesn’t need a sequel,” she said. “That’s why I just finished filming Meet the Parents 4.”
Grande then performed her own spoof of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” where she sang about not knowing what to get her cousin’s boyfriend for the special holiday.
“I love shopping for all of my loved ones, but I have to admit, I get a little stressed shopping for certain other people in my life, you know what I mean?” she said before launching into song.
“I don’t know what to get for Christmas for my cousin’s boyfriend Steve,” Grande sang. “I don’t know a thing about him, only see him on Christmas Eve. … Is a gift card rude? What do I get for Christmas for this dude?”
“Haven’t shopped a lot for Christmas, ‘cause my schedule’s never free. Had so much press for Wicked, Jon Chu will not let me pee,” she continued to the classic tune. “I’m in a tough spot, what do I get for Christmas for Scott? Oh — Steve, Steve, I’m sorry, Steve.”
“All I want for Christmas is to know what to get for the people that I don’t know that well. All suggestions are welcome,” Grande spoke, as Yang appeared in the shot and was met with a massive wave of applause. “I can help you, Ari,” he said.
Yang appeared to be choked up when he joined Grande on stage, marking his first onscreen moment after it was announced he was exiting the series following Saturday’s episode.
“Can I just say how much I loved your line in Wicked?” Grande told Bowen. “Thank you,” he replied, prompting the singer-actress to say, “You’re welcome.” He added, “No, no, that was my line in the movie: Thank you.”
Yang offered a few suggestions for potential presents, including a back massage coupon (“That would probably freak him out,” Grande joked), as more cast members joined him and Grande on stage to offer their own gift ideas.
The cold open began with James Austin Johnson’s Trump mostly addressing the Epstein files. He explained that the Kennedy Center’s name was changing was connected partly due to the release of the files.
“I wanted to ramble to you tonight about the incredible things this administration is doing. We’re doing wonderful stuff,” he said. “We are renaming the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which will now be called the Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. … You know, people are saying, ‘Sir, why are you putting your name on so many buildings?’ And I say, ‘It’s because we had to take it off of so many files.’”
Johnson’s Trump also poked fun at the recently announced Patriot Games, that will tap one high school male and female to compete in an athletic event.
“I almost forgot I’m inventing my own Hunger Games. That’s right, the White House will be hosting the Patriot Games for high school athletes to compete,” he added. “Because I thought, What’s the best way to distract from the Epstein files? I know, invite a bunch of teenagers to my house.”
Former SNL cast member Aidy Bryant made a surprise cameo alongside Yang during the Weekend Update segment, where the two portrayed trend forecasters. Also in the Update portion of the night, Michael Che and Colin Jost partook in a one-sided joke swap. After telling Jost they weren’t doing the bit for this year’s Christmas episode, Che offered up a series of jokes he wrote for his co-host, as Jost had literally no jokes prepared for Che.
Notably, the Dec. 20 show served as Bowen Yang’s final episode as a cast member. On Friday, it was revealed that the comedian was leaving the sketch comedy series, which he confirmed on Instagram Saturday. There, he reminisced on his years working at SNL and thanked Lorne Michaels for the opportunity.
“I loved working at SNL, and most of all, I loved the people,” he wrote. “I was there at a time when many things in the world started to seem futile, but working at 30 Rock taught me the value in showing up anyway when people make it worthwhile.”
Coincidentally, Yang’s swan song was hosted by none other than his Wicked co-star Grande. In his farewell post, he also thanked the “Into You” singer “for sending me off in the dreamiest way I could imagine.”
Grande hosted the final SNL episode of the year, where she was joined by musical guest Cher — marking her first appearance on the show since 1987. The Oscar-nominated actress is no stranger to Studio 8H, with Saturday marking her second time solo hosting (her first was in Oct. 2024); she’s previously served as a musical guest on two occasions (in Sept. 2014 and March 2024), and doubled as the host and musical guest once in 2016.
Eight episodes of season 51 have already aired, as Bad Bunny, Amy Poehler, Sabrina Carpenter, Miles Teller, Nikki Glaser, Glen Powell, Melissa McCarthy and Josh O’Connor all took turns in the leading role.
SNL announced Saturday that Finn Wolfhard and A$AP Rocky will be the first host and musical guest of 2026 on Jan. 17.
More to come.
Read the full article here
