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Bowen Yang made his on-camera debut on the first episode of Season 45, with Vanity Fair<\/em>‘s Karen Valby<\/strong> noting then<\/a> that \u201cthe show\u2019s first East Asian cast member was saddled with a dispiriting first line of \u2018Wazzzzzzup!\u2019 as Kim Jong-un<\/strong>, who [once and future President Donald Trump<\/strong>] called for advice on getting rid of whistleblowers<\/a>.\u201d But he quickly hit his stride, creating iconic characters such as Chinese trade rep Chen Biao, whose \u201ca tariff is like a tax but it\u2019s a little bit bitchy\u201d was a chillingly prescient quip when uttered in 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n With Yang’s Wicked<\/em><\/a> and Wicked: For Good<\/em><\/a> cast mate Grande in the host slot for the third time<\/a> Saturday, Yang’s decision to make the last SNL<\/em> of 2025 his final turn already feels poetic in its symmetry\u2014and then there’s musical guest Cher<\/strong>, who Yang has attempted to lure to the show<\/a> for years. “I would do anything with her,” Yang said of the icon in 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n Those seated in Studio 8H were clearly clued in on tonight’s news: When Yang joined Grande on stage during her monologue (a gift frustration spin on \u201cAll I Want For Christmas\u201d), the cheers threatened to drown out the singing. There was a similar uptick in audience energy when Yang appeared oh-so-briefly in a pre-taped take on Home Alone.<\/em> In the SNL<\/em> version, Grande’s Kevin failed to remove his booby traps before his family’s return, leading to (among other gory disasters) Yang’s double amputation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n