India, Dec. 20 -- Bowen Yang is set to leave Saturday Night Live after seven years at the long-running NBC sketch show, with his final appearance expected to be this weekend. According to reports, Yang will exit midway through season 51 following the December 20 episode, hosted by his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande, with Cher as the musical guest.

Yang, 35, joined SNL as a writer in 2018 and was promoted to the cast the following year. While neither Yang nor the show has publicly detailed a single reason for his departure, comments he made earlier this year and recent developments around the series provide insight into the timing of his exit.

In a September interview with People, Yang said he had been weighing whether it was time to move ...