Bowen Yang announced he won’t be in studio for Saturday Night Live on Oct. 18.The episode is hosted by Sabrina Carpenter also doing double duty as musical guest.EW has confirmed Yang did film a pre-taped piece for the show.<\/p>\n
Those hoping to see Bowen Yang<\/a> back in character as disgraced politician George Santos on Saturday Night Live<\/a> tonight may be out of luck, as the comedian has announced that he won’t be in the studio.\n<\/p>\n “Missing the show tonight but it will be sooooo fun sab is amazing,” Yang wrote on Instagram Stories<\/a> alongside a photo of the top of a palm tree on Saturday afternoon, referencing Oct. 18 host and musical guest Sabrina Carpenter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Although the Wicked star didn’t give any other details, a source close to the show confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that Yang’s absence tonight was pre-planned so that he could accept an honor from the Academy Museum during a gala taking place in Los Angeles this evening.\n<\/p>\n Bowen Yang on ‘SNL’.<\/p>\n Will Heath\/NBC via Getty<\/p>\n But all hope of seeing him on screen tonight is not lost: The source also confirmed that Yang had been at work at SNL earlier this week, writing and filming a pre-taped piece for the latest episode.<\/p>\n Many fans wondered if they would see Yang revive his impression of Santos this weekend after the former New York congressman was freed from prison<\/a> on Friday night after President Donald Trump commuted his sentence. Santos was serving seven years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of committing wire fraud and identity theft.<\/p>\n Yang has portrayed Santos on SNL both in sketches and on “Weekend Update,” leaning into the gay Republican politico’s penchant for exaggerating, if not fully embellishing, his life experiences.\n<\/p>\n After the real Santos was ousted from the House of Representatives in a majority vote by his peers on Dec. 1, 2023, Yang performed a rendition of Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” in character on the next night’s live episode.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Academy Museum is honoring Yang with the Vantage Award, with the organization calling him “a trailblazer bringing laughter, heart, and representation to the screen,” in an Instagram<\/a> post about the award. Pen\u00e9lope Cruz, Bruce Springsteen, and Walter Salles are also being honored at the ceremony.\n<\/p>\n Yang started at SNL as a writer in 2018 before being promoted to featured player the next year for season 45. This is his seventh season on the cast.<\/p>\n Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Tonight’s SNL episode marks Carpenter’s\u00a0first time as host and second appearance as musical guest. The Grammy winner is the first to do\u00a0double duty<\/a>\u00a0for season 51.\n<\/p>\n The “Manchild” singer was also part of the festivities for SNL50: The Anniversary Special<\/a> back in February, when she sang a duet with Paul Simon and joined in a “Domingo” sketch with Marcello Hernandez after her hit song “Espresso” helped launch his now-recurring character.\n<\/p>\n Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET\/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.\n<\/p>\n