Another one bites the dust at Saturday Night Live, as a long-standing member of the writing staff bids the show farewell ahead of the upcoming cast exodus ahead of season 51. Each season, we can always expect comings and goings behind the scenes and in front of the camera, which is a constant of the sketch series after five decades on the air. But this particular writer made history.
On Aug. 24, Saturday Night Live writer Celeste Yim announced their exit from the series after five seasons as a writer. Yim shared the news on Instagram with a lengthy caption honoring their time with the show. Yim's statement seems to suggest that the decision to leave the series was theirs, though the statement doesn't directly address their reason behind leaving SNL half a decade in. The writer began with the series in 2020 and became the writing supervisor in 2023.
In Yim's statement, they touched on the history-making progress they made for the series, one that will continue to open doors for more talent in the future: "I hate when other people say this but it’s true that I was the first ever out trans person to be a writer for SNL," Yim wrote in their caption. "I always felt honored to be working within the long tradition of queer writing at the show. Many don’t know this but Chevy is non-binary!," joking about SNL legend Chevy Chase.
Yim's words about being the first out trans writer on the show continued, "I feel so powerless to protect trans people in the world but writing connects us and makes us permanent, so it’s what I will continue to do." Their impact on not only Saturday Night Live but on the amazing work that's sure to continue on from Yim in the future will be felt and seen and important for the trans community.
Along with the passionate, personal, emotional, and obviously funny statement, Yim also shared a carousel of 20 photos from behind the scenes of their time on the show. From taking in the show from the writers' room on show nights to table reads to looking over scripts with stars like Aidy Bryant and Bowen Yang to being masked with cast and crew at the height of the pandemic, it's quite the time capsule.
During their five years as a writer for SNL, Yim was responsible for fan-favorite sketches like "L’Eggs" and "We’re Trying," but there are lots more sketches written by Yim that contributed to the show's sense of humor in its latest era. Following season 50, which was by far one of the biggest of the show's lifetime and not just because of the milestone, their presence and pen will definitely be missed.
Saturday Night Live season 51 premieres Saturday, Oct. 4, on NBC.