Matt Rogers is in awe of Bowen Yang’s run on “Saturday Night Live.”
Yang’s final episode came on Dec. 20, in the midst of his eighth season on the long-running show. Rogers, who co-hosts the “Las Culturistas” podcast with Yang, can’t believe the legacy he leaves behind on “SNL.”
“I know a lot of people are surprised because they feel like he’s such a fixture,” Rogers said while guest co-hosting TODAY with Jenna & Friends on Jan. 5. “But seven and a half years on the show, five Emmy nominations, countless memorable characters and sketches, so many indelible — and he was there for the 50th (anniversary of the show).”
Yang went out in an episode hosted by “Wicked: For Good” co-star Arian Grande that featured musical guest Cher.
“What was he supposed to do? Stay?” joked Rogers.
Grande and Cher appeared in Yang’s final sketch, during which he grew visibly emotional.
“It was so beautiful,” Jenna Bush Hager told Rogers.
“You could feel that he was ready, but also that that show has given him so much,” she added.
Rogers said that moment illustrated how much Yang enjoyed “SNL,” but realized the time had come to say goodbye.
“I think that’s what makes it really hard to say goodbye, is you know that what you have in the day in and day out is so good, but sometimes you do have to leave the party just a little bit, like you don’t want to be the last one,” he said.
Rogers watched Yang’s final episode in a hotel room in Orlando and was struck by the enormity of what was taking place.
“I’m literally on my back watching this insane moment happen that is not only such a huge moment in ‘SNL’ and then in many ways, pop culture, but for us personally,” he said.
Rogers, who said he and Yang will work the upcoming Winter Olympics, also couldn’t help but think back to Yang’s early experience on “SNL.”
“I remember years ago auditioning for the show, like him going through it,” he said. “He screen-tested for that several times. (He) was a writer for a year before he went on the cast, and then, really, against a lot of odds, became the face of that show. And I told him at the end, I was like, ‘You know, not only did you succeed here. You thrived here.’ And I couldn’t be prouder of him. And the good news is, we’re busy as hell now.”
In the wake of his final episode, Yang reflected on what being part of the show meant to him.
“I loved working at SNL, and most of all i loved the people,” he wrote on Instagram. “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.”
