New “SNL” cast member from Denver

This week, “Saturday Night Live” added three new comics, which was particularly newsworthy as one of the hires is the show’s first Asian-American cast member. One thing that hasn’t been mentioned yet: He hails from Denver.

Bowen Yang, a 29-yearold comic, writer and producer, joined the cast of the long-running NBC sketch series on Sept. 12. Yang’s alma mater, Smoky Hill High School in Aurora, was quick to congratulate him.

“The class of 2008 knew this day would come,” Smoky Hill High School posted on Twitter with a photo of Yang’s senior superlative: “Most Likely to Be a Cast Member on Saturday Night Live.”

A writer on “SNL” since last year, Yang has assembled an enviable list of well-received sketches during his freshman stint on the show, including the ”Cheques” sketch with host Sandra Oh (co-written with Julio Torres) and the ”GP Yass” sketch with host Steve Carell (co-written with James Anderson), according to Vulture. He also appeared as Kim Jongun in the “Kremlin Meeting” sketch alongside Sandra Oh, Vulture reported.

Yang, who graduated from New York University with a chemistry degree, becomes the show’s third openly gay male cast member after Terry Sweeney and John Milhiser, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Saturday Night Live’s” 45th season premieres on NBC Sept. 28 with host Woody Harrelson and musical guest Billie Eilish.

Yang, who co-hosts the Las Culturistas podcast with Matt Rogers and lives in New York, started out in Smoky Hill’s improv troupe, Spontaneous Combustion, which was formed by veteran teacher Adrian Holguin.

Representatives at NBC/ Universal said Bowen was unavailable for interviews.

The show is facing mounting pressure after Variety reported that another new cast member, Shane Gillis, has in the past used racist, sexist and homophobic remarks in his podcast, “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast.” On Thursday night, Gillis tweeted that he was “happy to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I said.”