Bowen Yang is getting real about dating while managing a busy schedule.
Yang, one half of the hosting duo for iHeartRadio's reigning Podcast of the Year Las Culturistas, spoke to People about how starring on Saturday Night Live impacts his free time, especially his dating life, as the demands for the long-running sketch comedy show keep him occupied for months on end. Yang has appeared in more than 100 episodes since joining the cast in 2019.
"The new season of SNL, I'm just like, 'Oh, right. My time isn't my own.' And I tell my friends, 'I'm not going to really see you guys until June,'" he said, adding that it even extends to dating. "And people that I've gone on a couple solid dates with I'm like, 'Hey, it's not for lack of interest. My time is really slipping away from me and I'm so sorry and it's not a you thing, it's a me thing.'"
The Wicked actor is even looking ahead to what his future post-SNL could look like as he plans to leave "at some point." Yang has gotten a glimpse as to what it may entail seeing how past cast members have seen their careers explode after leaving the show, which was highlighted as former stars returned to celebrate during the show's 50th anniversary special.
"Especially after the 50th, I'm seeing what life after the show is like and how beautiful it is, and how so many people, no matter how long they were at the show, are just with their families and loving their lives and not letting the years take away any of that experience for them," he said.
Yang, who stars in the remake of the 1993 film The Wedding Banquet, also said that leaving the show allows more space for new cast members to make their mark as it is constantly evolving.
"And then with SNL, like I said, it's this growing, living thing where new people come in and you do have to sort of make way for them and to grow and to keep elevating themselves," he said. "And that inevitably requires me to sort of hang it up at some point — but I don't know what the vision is yet."