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62-412: The challenge similarly recurs on various spin-offs, including All Stars and Secret Celebrity Drag Race , as well as the international adaptations for Thai , British , Canadian , Dutch , Australian-New Zealand , Spanish , Italian , French , Philippine , Belgian , Swedish , Mexican , Brazilian , and German audiences. Usually occurring midway through each Drag Race season, Snatch Game

124-559: A cameo in a gay pornography film, "The Actress" with Emma Stone . "The Actress" was hailed by Out as the "gayest SNL sketch of all-time," and featured Stone as an earnest method actress taking her role as a cheated-on housewife too seriously alongside real-life gay porn actor Ty Mitchell . The pre-tape—so-called as it is filmed days ahead rather than acted live—was championed by Stone to be included on air. SNL creator Lorne Michaels knew Yang would be an on-air talent but wanted him to be comfortable on their stage first. Yang made

186-437: A "one of a kind trip" and $ 100,000. In each episode, the judges provide their critiques on the contestants' performances in the main challenge and on the runway before RuPaul announces which team is the winner and which teams had the weakest performances. The teams deemed as being the bottom two must " lip sync for their lives" and choose a queen to represent their team in the lip sync in a final attempt to impress RuPaul. After

248-510: A "two-headed snark routine". The podcast premiered in 2016 and as of September 2019 , has over 300 episodes. Each one opens with an interview with a pop culture guest, then goes to one-minute rounds of "I Don't Think So, Honey!" (IDTSH) where the hosts and guests each expound on pet peeves . IDTSH has also morphed into its own live show. Yang credits the Las Culturistas podcast with Rogers for building his fanbase . In 2018 it

310-630: A Weekend Update segment. He told audiences to "fuel up" (using the Chinese cheer Jiayou ) and do more for Asian Americans. Also in 2021, he appeared on the Time 100 , Time ' s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Yang plays Nora Lum's mobile app-developer cousin in the Comedy Central sitcom Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens , which premiered in January 2020 and

372-553: A bachelor's degree in chemistry. After realizing he was actually inspired by Oh for her acting ability, he decided to pursue a career in comedy instead. At NYU, he met Matt Rogers , with whom he started Las Culturistas , a weekly comedy podcast where Yang "unapologetically expresses his personality, story and himself by sharing his experiences as a member of the LGBTQ community". Yang taught himself Adobe Photoshop and graphic design software and later worked at One Kings Lane ,

434-1085: A cameo appearance during the Sandra Oh / Tame Impala episode as North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un while Oh played his translator. In September 2019, Yang was promoted to featured player for the 45th season , alongside improviser Chloe Fineman , both of whom were promoted to repertory status at the start of the show's 47th season in September 2021. Yang is the show's first ever Chinese-American cast member, and third gay male cast member after Terry Sweeney and John Milhiser . SNL has had "little representation from Asian actors, as cast members or hosts" over several decades. Up until Yang's promotion there had been only three cast members, and six hosts who were of Asian descent. A 2016 study of SNL revealed: 90% of 1975–2016's show hosts (826 total) were white, 6.8% were black, 1.2% were Hispanic, and 1.1% were labelled "other". Similarly, SNL has had comparatively low representation of LGBTQ on-air cast and guest hosts since

496-403: A chance to be inducted into the " Drag Race Hall of Fame". It is the only season of All Stars to have the contestants compete in teams of two. This series consists of six episodes, each aired in a 60-minute time-slot. Contestants were judged on their "charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent" and, since they competed in teams of two, also "synergy". The winner received a supply of MAC cosmetics,

558-438: A drag aesthetic. Several contestants have chosen to impersonate other people directly associated with the show, such as other past or present contestants, Michelle Visage , or RuPaul . Queens cannot choose copyrighted characters, although some celebrity portrayals have been closely based on a specific screen performance. The challenge often relies on special celebrity guests to participate in game play, who frequently double as

620-558: A host of guest judges, critique contestants' progress throughout the competition. The winner of each season is awarded a cash prize and a spot in the Drag Race Hall of Fame . A notable exception is the seventh season where, due to the cast consisting of previous winners of the franchise, the winner was instead crowned as "Queen of All Queens". For the most part, the format of the All Star Drag Race resembles that of

682-552: A lip-sync to the Rihanna song ' Shut Up and Drive ' by Alyssa Edwards and Tatianna that has frequently been rated the number one best Drag Race lip-sync performance. The winner was Alaska, while Detox and Katya placed as the runners-up. On August 21, 2017, VH1 announced it would air a third season of the series in early 2018. On October 13, 2017, VH1 announced that a one-hour special, RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Exclusive Queen RuVeal , would air on October 20, 2017, announcing

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744-528: A luxury interior and home design website, from 2013 to 2018 as a graphic designer. The company was flexible with Yang's time-off needs for comedy. Yang has also performed improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade . During this time, Yang designed graphics for his own shows and for his friends' comedy shows. The podcast that Yang co-hosts with Matt Rogers , Las Culturistas , is described by Vulture as both "delightfully screwy" and

806-408: A parody town hall debate, and was an extra in a mock movie trailer for Downton Abbey . In October 2019, Yang made his debut on Weekend Update ( WU ), as Chinese trade representative Chen "Trade Daddy" Biao in a segment about Donald Trump's trade war that was "brief, funny and took some clever satirical shots". Yang's Biao character returned to WU as the newly appointed health minister for

868-436: A reality show" despite the varied results over the years. On a more critical reception of the challenge, Josh Lee, for PopBuzz , argues that while the annual challenge has given viewers some of the best moments from RuPaul's Drag Race , it is starting to feel stale overall. He comments that recent celebrity impersonations in the challenge have been lackluster and the show should adapt and retire "Snatch Game" in future seasons of

930-454: A regular cast member was the season's opening episode September 28, 2019, with host Woody Harrelson . Notably he was included in the show's cold open playing Kim Jong-un giving advice to Trump on handling the Ukraine controversy including the whistleblower who helped trigger the 2019 impeachment hearings . In other sketches he portrayed Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang in

992-530: A sketch series on Comedy Central, Up Next. In 2019, Yang received press coverage for his viral Twitter posts consisting of "expertly-timed lip-sync videos of famous movie scenes", in which he "reproduces dialogue from diva scenes" and well-known moments in popular culture. Past videos featured a monologue by Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada , Tyra Banks yelling at contestant Tiffany Richardson on America's Next Top Model , and

1054-400: A truce and enjoy a "great relationship." At NYU, he was in the improv group Dangerbox, and he occasionally performed with Stephanie Hsu , a member of the school's sketch comedy group. Yang was inspired by Sandra Oh 's character Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy for her neurotic and relentless pursuits, and aspired to be a doctor. He went to pre-med classes and graduated from NYU with

1116-443: A viral video of Cardi B talking about the 2019 government shutdown . Each garnered thousands of likes and retweets . In 2018, Yang was hired as a staff writer on Saturday Night Live for the show's 44th season . He said he "always loved SNL growing up, but had trouble imagining himself on the show, because he'd never seen people who looked like him associated with the series". Yang has writing credits on 21 episodes of

1178-426: Is CUNT . This season, "synergy" was added to provide an explanation behind the contestants being sorted into teams (expanding the acronym into CUNTS). The winner was Chad Michaels, while Raven placed as the runner-up, again. A second season of All Stars was announced in 2015 and started shooting immediately after season 8. The show was to begin airing on August 25, 2016. Along with the season premiere's announcement,

1240-484: Is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, and writer. Yang was hired to join the writing staff of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live in September 2018, ahead of its 44th season , and a year later was promoted to on-air cast status for SNL 's 45th season . He made history becoming the first SNL featured player to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2021. He was promoted to repertory status before

1302-554: Is widely considered among the most important and memorable challenges of the show and, in RuPaul's own words, separates "the basic bitches from the fierce-ass queens." Winners of the show are often amongst the top performers in the Snatch Game, though there are a few exceptions. The drag queen contestants typically impersonate women, though several contestants choose male celebrities with sufficiently flamboyant public images to fit

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1364-450: The 47th season . Yang has appeared in the television series Girls5Eva , Ziwe , and The Other Two , and is a cast member on Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens . He is also known for his appearances in the LGBTQ romantic comedies Fire Island and Bros , both released in 2022. He co-hosts a comedy pop-culture podcast, Las Culturistas , with Matt Rogers . In January 2019, he

1426-469: The COVID-19 pandemic which caused "various scheduling and programming adjustments." The ten contestants competing that season were Alexis Mateo , Blair St. Clair , Derrick Barry , India Ferrah , Jujubee , Mariah Paris Balenciaga , Mayhem Miller , Miz Cracker , Ongina , and Shea Couleé . The winner was Shea Couleé, leaving Jujubee and Miz Cracker as the runners-up. On August 20, 2020, VH1 renewed

1488-602: The COVID-19 pandemic which he unconvincingly tries to assure China has in control. Perhaps his "filthiest" sketch, also co-written with friend Julio Torres , was for guest host Harry Styles as an incompetent Sara Lee Corporation social media manager who mixes up his own gay BDSM account on Instagram with the company's "wholesome bread brand". He was listed No. 2 in Variety 's Power of Pride list of most influential queer artists in Hollywood in 2021. The same year, Yang

1550-453: The Logo network on October 22, 2012. Cast members were announced on August 6, 2012. The queens that were invited back to compete were: Alexis Mateo , Chad Michaels , Jujubee , Latrice Royale , Manila Luzon , Mimi Imfurst , Nina Flowers , Pandora Boxx , Raven , Shannel , Tammie Brown and Yara Sofia . The season featured these twelve returning contestants from seasons one to four, for

1612-497: The National Black Justice Coalition as the recipient of her $ 200,000 grand prize. Roxxxy Andrews and Vanessa Vanjie were the runner-ups, each earning $ 25,000 donations for their chosen charity. This season accumulated over $ 300,000 for charity. Just like RuPaul's Drag Race , episodes of the first season of All Stars were followed by an Untucked! episode each week, giving the viewers a glimpse into

1674-399: The fifth season would premiere on June 5, 2020, on Showtime . Following the cast announcement on May 8, 2020, producers announced that the show would remain airing on VH1 instead of Showtime due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused "various scheduling and programming adjustments". On February 24, 2021, Paramount+ announced via Twitter that the streaming service would be the new home to

1736-591: The Tee? , RuPaul confirmed he was filming the fourth season of All Stars . On August 22, 2018, VH1 officially announced a fourth season of All Stars , with the cast still yet to be revealed. On November 9, season 3 winner Trixie Mattel hosted a live stream with season 2 finalists Katya and Detox to announce the cast. The ten contestants competing on the fourth season of All Stars were Farrah Moan , Gia Gunn , Jasmine Masters , Latrice Royale , Manila Luzon , Monét X Change , Monique Heart , Naomi Smalls , Trinity

1798-453: The Tuck , and Valentina . Gia Gunn was the first transgender contestant to compete on a season of All Stars , while Latrice Royale and Manila Luzon were the first contestants to return after competing in a previous season of All Stars . The fourth season premiered on December 14, 2018, on VH1 . The winners were Trinity the Tuck and Monét X Change; this marked the first double crowning in

1860-494: The aftershow series would return for the fifth season. Starting in September 2019, the first two seasons became available to stream on Hulu . Seasons 1 through 3 became available to stream on CBS All Access on July 30, 2020, later on every new season became available on Paramount+ . It also became available on WOW Presents Plus , except the United States. Bowen Yang Bowen Yang (born November 6, 1990)

1922-471: The backstage drama and discussions between the returning contestants. For the second, third, and fourth seasons, the contestants deliberated among themselves in the workroom on who each of the top 2 would eliminate if they won the Lip Sync for Your Legacy . This served as a mini- Untucked! as there were no separately filmed Untucked companion episodes for those seasons. On June 5, 2020, it was announced that

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1984-432: The cast of All Stars 2 were revealed. The cast consisted of 10 returning contestants, Adore Delano , Alaska , Alyssa Edwards , Coco Montrese , Detox , Ginger Minj , Katya , Phi Phi O'Hara , Roxxxy Andrews , and Tatianna . A new twist was revealed for this season changing the format of the show. In previous seasons, the two lowest performing queens had to "Lip Sync for their Life" to avoid elimination. This season has

2046-520: The cast was announced. Its eight contestants were Angeria Paris VanMicheals , Gottmik , Jorgeous , Nina West , Plastique Tiara , Roxxxy Andrews , Shannel and Vanessa Vanjie. For the first time in the franchise's history, the contestants competed for a $ 200,000 donation to a charity of their choosing. On July 26th, 2024, the winner of the season, joining the Drag Race Hall of Fame, was revealed to be Angeria Paris VanMicheals. Angeria chose

2108-418: The challenge tests a lot of different skills, such as the queens' ability to put on a different look from their signature one, and also their ability to be "funny on a dime". RuPaul states each year, as the challenge is introduced, that the cardinal rule of the challenge is to make him laugh. Writing for Vulture , Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers state that "Snatch Game" is "the mother of all comedy challenges on

2170-476: The competition on July 21, 2023, becoming the first queen from a non-American franchise (in this case, Canada's Drag Race ) to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Kandy Muse was the runner-up, and LaLa Ri won the title, "Queen of the 'Fame Games'." On August 21, 2023, World of Wonder announced that the series had been renewed for a ninth season, set to begin airing on Paramount+ on May 17, 2024. On April 23, 2024,

2232-656: The disconnection. Bowen said, "It was a cultural thing for them, this cultural value around masculinity, around keeping the family line going, keeping certain things holy and sacred," he said "It was me wanting to meet them halfway but realizing it had to be pretty absolute. It was an either-or thing." In 2008, Yang moved to New York City and joined his sister at NYU. His father assigned her to chaperone him during this period as Bowen tried " straightness on for size and fail[ed] miserably." He came to accept being gay, incorporating it into his comedy, and hoped his parents would learn to accept that aspect of him. They have since found

2294-619: The episode's guest judges. Other seasons feature the show's regular production team—Michelle Visage, Ross Mathews , Carson Kressley , Rhys Nicholson , or members of the Pit Crew —in lieu of outside guests. Eight queens have won Snatch Game multiple times: BenDeLaCreme , Ginger Minj , Baga Chipz , Jinkx Monsoon , Trinity the Tuck , Jimbo , Hannah Conda , and Gottmik . Two queens have been eliminated multiple times for their Snatch Game performances: Gia Gunn and Onyx Unleashed . Legend : Legend : Cardi B and Jennifer Coolidge are

2356-402: The first impersonation subject to earn multiple queens a win, while Joan Rivers became the second following season 15 of RuPaul's Drag Race . Snatch Game is considered the signature challenge on the show. Kevin O'Keeffe from Into discusses that the challenge isn't only about the celebrity impersonation and RuPaul looks for accuracy, humor, and the idea of the character. He also states that

2418-419: The first season featuring only past winners. It also became the first US season to feature a contestant from another franchise. The cast consisted of four winners of Drag Race : Jaida Essence Hall (season 12), Jinkx Monsoon (season 5), Raja (season 3) and Yvie Oddly (season 11); three winners of All Stars : Monét X Change and Trinity the Tuck (co-winning season 4) and Shea Couleé (season 5); and

2480-416: The lip sync, RuPaul decides who stays and who leaves. RuPaul describes the qualities the contestants must have to be crowned the winner of the show as "Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent... These are people who have taken adversity and turned it into something that is beautiful and something powerful." The phrase "charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent" is used repeatedly on the show, the acronym of which

2542-444: The main series - with each episode consisting of a maxi challenge (which determines who is eligible for elimination), and a lip-sync (which determines who is eliminated). However, each cast is composed of former contestants and the format for the competition is altered. The main differences in format to the main series are as follows: RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars is the first All-Star season of RuPaul's Drag Race and premiered on

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2604-525: The most frequently impersonated celebrities, with Coolidge as the only celebrity to be simultaneously impersonated by two competing queens in the same Snatch Game. Both queens who impersonated Mariah Carey and two of the five queens who impersonated Cardi B were eliminated, making them the only choices of impersonation subject to lead to multiple contestants' eliminations. Both of the queens to impersonate Ariana Grande , Celine Dion , Ellen DeGeneres , Nancy Grace , and Rue McClanahan , respectively, and two of

2666-449: The season's returning contestants. The contestants competing on the third season of All Stars were Aja , BenDeLaCreme , Chi Chi DeVayne , Kennedy Davenport , Milk , Morgan McMichaels , Shangela , Thorgy Thor , and Trixie Mattel . Season one winner BeBe Zahara Benet was announced as the surprise tenth contestant. On December 14, 2017, it was announced that the third season would premiere on January 25, 2018. A new twist on how

2728-497: The series for its sixth season. On February 24, 2021, ViacomCBS announced that the sixth season of the show would move to Paramount+ . On May 26, it was announced that the season would air beginning June 24, 2021. The season's thirteen contestants were A'keria C. Davenport , Eureka! , Ginger Minj , Jan , Jiggly Caliente , Kylie Sonique Love , Pandora Boxx , Ra'Jah O'Hara , Scarlet Envy , Serena ChaCha , Silky Nutmeg Ganache , Trinity K. Bonet , and Yara Sofia . The winner

2790-557: The series for the sixth season. The show documents past queens from the Drag Race franchise (primarily from the original series ) returning to compete at the invitation of RuPaul . As in the original series, RuPaul plays the role of host, mentor, and head judge and contestants are given different challenges each week. RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars employs a panel of judges currently composed of RuPaul, Michelle Visage , Carson Kressley , Ross Mathews , and Ts Madison who, along with

2852-428: The series started in 1975. Yang is the third gay male, and sixth LGBTQ cast member. The announcement of Yang's casting on Saturday Night Live was reported internationally, and within hours was overshadowed by revelations that comedian Shane Gillis , who had been hired at the same time, aired homophobic and anti-Asian jokes. Gillis issued an apology, but within days was fired by SNL . Yang's first episode as

2914-426: The series. RuPaul%27s Drag Race All Stars RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original RuPaul's Drag Race , which is produced by World of Wonder , for Logo TV and later VH1 . The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, before relocating to VH1. However, it was announced on February 20, 2020, on the show's official Twitter account that

2976-447: The sessions to appease his parents, who said they would otherwise not allow him to move to New York to attend New York University , which his sister was already attending. He was immediately alarmed by the counselor's mix of religion and use of pseudo-scientific reasoning to explain away positive homosexual manifestations. In an interview for The New York Times , Maureen Dowd questioned why his parents, both scientists, did not see

3038-404: The show for the 2018–2019 season. His writing included: "GP Yass ", a play on a vehicle's GPS navigation device that utilizes drag queens to deliver driving directions; and two sketches co-written with Julio Torres , which features Yang's talent for infusing "drama, tension, and exquisite backstory" into an everyday activity like paying bills in "Cheques" with Sandra Oh , and an actress doing

3100-411: The three queens to impersonate Lady Gaga were up for elimination due to their performances, but only one queen was eliminated for each. Two of the four queens to impersonate Eartha Kitt, and two of the three queens to impersonate Cher and RuPaul , respectively, landed in the bottom, but none of them were eliminated. Three of the four queens to impersonate Liza Minnelli won the Snatch Game, making her

3162-418: The top queens of the season were to be chosen was revealed in the season's final episode. The previously eliminated queens returned in the finale and voted for the top two out of the remaining top four finalists. The two queens with the most votes advanced while the others were eliminated. The winner was Trixie Mattel; Kennedy Davenport was the runner-up. In August 2018, during an episode of his podcast, Whats

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3224-404: The two best-performing queens of the challenge "Lip Sync for their Legacy", with the winner of the lip sync earning $ 10,000 and choosing which one of the bottom queens to eliminate. However, on their exit, RuPaul advised the first four eliminated queens that they will have the opportunity to come back for their "revenge", with the winner gaining entry back into the competition. This season featured

3286-616: The winner of UK season 1 , The Vivienne . Jinkx Monsoon was crowned the Queen of All Queens, becoming the first to win two seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race . Monét X Change was the runner-up, and Raja won a second title, "Queen of 'She Done Already Done Had Herses'." Season 8 premiered on Paramount+ on May 12, 2023. The cast consisted of Alexis Michelle , Darienne Lake , Heidi N. Closet , Jaymes Mansfield , Jessica Wild , Jimbo , Kahanna Montrese , Kandy Muse , Mrs. Kasha Davis , LaLa Ri , Monica Beverly Hillz and Naysha Lopez . Jimbo won

3348-412: The ‘’Drag Race’’ franchise. On August 19, 2019, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a fifth season. It was announced on February 20, 2020, on the show's official Twitter account, that the season would premiere on June 5, 2020, on Showtime. The cast was revealed on May 8, 2020. Following the cast announcement, producers announced that the show will air on VH1 instead of Showtime due to

3410-462: Was Kylie Sonique Love, leaving Eureka!, Ginger Minj, and Ra'Jah O'Hara as runners-up. Kylie made history as the first transgender queen to win the crown on the American version of the show. The series was renewed for its seventh season on February 15, 2022, to be aired on Paramount+ . The cast was announced on April 13, 2022. It included eight winners of past seasons returning to compete, making it

3472-600: Was a highly educated, now retired physician who was an obstetrician-gynecologist in China before working in diagnostics . The couple moved to Brisbane so Ruilin could earn his doctorate in mining explosives . Yang has an older sister. The children spoke Mandarin in their home, and attended Chinese Sunday school. When Bowen was six months old, the family moved to Canada and eventually settled in Montreal , where Bowen first discovered Saturday Night Live ( SNL ). When he

3534-551: Was named homecoming king and also voted "Most Likely to Be a Cast Member on Saturday Night Live " in his high school's yearbook . When he was seventeen, Yang's father found out his son was gay from an "open chat window " on the family's computer. His parents were not receptive to the news, stating that such things " did not happen in China ". Yang's father cried often over the revelation and, being non-religious but wanting to "solve problems", arranged for him to attend eight sessions of gay conversion therapy . He agreed to attend

3596-606: Was named to Forbes magazine's 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list. Yang was born in Brisbane , Queensland , Australia, to a family that had emigrated from China in 1986. His father, Ruilin, was raised in a rural part of the Inner Mongolia region of mainland China , growing up in a straw and mud hut. Ruilin's parents were 'English illiterate', but he read books for hours by candlelight and eventually got into university. Yang's mother, from Shenyang ,

3658-485: Was nine, they moved again, to Aurora, Colorado . As a child, he was drawn to late-night comedians and hosts David Letterman and Conan O'Brien . Yang's high school calculus teacher, Adrian Holguin, was also his coach for Smoky Hill High School 's improvisational comedy group , Spontaneous Combustion. Yang got a near perfect score on the ACT (a 35) and a 2200 on his SAT , and graduated from high school in 2008. He

3720-450: Was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series . He is the first featured player to ever be nominated. He also played NBA hall-of-famer Yao Ming in January 2022. Since 2023 he has also played embattled Congressman George Santos in multiple sketches which have received critical praise. In 2021, Yang was applauded for speaking out on the recent surge in violence against Asian-Americans during

3782-448: Was nominated for a Shorty Award recognizing the best in social media. Yang appeared in shows such as Comedy Central's Broad City , a Vimeo web series The Outs , and the HBO web comedy High Maintenance . He was a supporting cast member in the 2019 film Isn't It Romantic . Yang performed stand-up on HBO 's 2 Dope Queens . He played fashion designer Alexander Wang in

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3844-604: Was renewed for a third season in 2022. Yang is a writer on the Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon! , which stars his former SNL castmate Cecily Strong . In September 2021, he appeared as a guest on the NPR news quiz Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! In 2022 he starred in Fire Island , written by and co-starring his close friend Joel Kim Booster , whom he met at the beginning of his comedy career . He appeared in

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