Bowen Yang will miss the October 18 episode of Saturday Night Live

Bowen Yang will miss the October 18 taping of “Saturday Night Live.”

According to a source close to the show, Yang’s absence was pre-planned so that the “Wicked” star could accept the Academy Museum’s Vantage Award, which honors an emerging artist who challenges and recontextualizes dominant narratives in television and film. He was reportedly still on hand to help write tonight’s episode and will appear in a pre-recorded sketch.

Yang took to his Instagram Stories on Saturday to announce his departure from the show for one night.

“I miss the show tonight but it will be a lot of fun,” he wrote.[Sabrina Carpenter] “It’s amazing.”

As Yang noted, Sabrina Carpenter will serve as host and musical guest for Saturday’s show. This marks the two-time Emmy Award winner’s hosting debut, though she previously appeared as a musical guest on the Season 49 finale hosted by Jake Gyllenhaal. She also appeared in “SNL 50: The Anniversary Special” during which she sang with Paul Simon and appeared in a sketch alongside Marcelo Hernandez.

Bad Bunny hosted the Season 51 premiere with music from Doja Cat. Amy Poehler hosted the next episode, joined by musical guest Role Model. Other upcoming hosts include Miles Teller, who will join for the second time as host on November 26, as well as newcomers Nikki Glaser and Glen Powell, who will host on November 8 and 15, respectively.

“Saturday Night Live” airs every Saturday at 11:30 PM ET on NBC and streams on Peacock. Lorne Michaels executive produces and executive produces the show, which is produced in association with Broadway Video.