Bowen Yang Reveals His ‘Wicked,’ ‘SNL’ Connection from Years Ago (Exclusive)

Bowen Yang’s banner year has been more than two decades in the making.

The comedian, 34, who is celebrating his sixth season as Saturday evening live cast member, also stars alongside Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey in the highly anticipated film adaptation of Bad as one of Glinda’s loyal sidekicks, Pfannee.

Ahead of the film’s premiere on November 22, Yang tells PEOPLE that he is seeing the final version of the film for the first time alongside his SNL castmates during a special screening earlier this year, the same week Grande, 31, hosted the show.

And while he was initially hesitant, it was ultimately the most appropriate group to surround him during his inaugural viewing.

“I was so determined not to go [to the screening]because I was like, I think I need to see this for the first time with other friends who are not professionally involved, and I just need to have a pure experience,” he recalls.

However, Yang’s thoughts changed after he remembered how intertwined both projects were for him since he was young.

“My first trip to New York when I was 13, Bad had just come out, but I begged my parents to go to the Gershwin so I could touch the glass and look into the lobby,” he recalls of the original Broadway production that premiered in 2003. “We couldn’t afford tickets, but I just wanted to feel it in my hand, just look at the marks.

“And then, that same day, we went to 30 Rock on NBC and did the studio tour, and I was in the seats at SNL” Yang continues. “So I thought, ‘If those two things happened on the same day, I want them to intersect one more time.’ ”

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Yang says the experience was “so special” because he was able to introduce the film to his “SNL family” – some of whom were not familiar with the show at all.

“We were all confused at the end,” he says. “Sarah Sherman sobbed and said, ‘I didn’t expect to love it so much.’ It will get you. It flattens every demographic. Everyone is caught off guard no matter what they’re working on, and I’ve never been a part of anything like this. I don’t think I’ve seen a film that has this universal impact.”

In addition to his extensive resume as an actor, Yang has also been behind the microphone for the past eight years Las Culturistas podcast with best friend Matt Rogers, where they talk about all things pop culture.

To get into the holiday spirit and give back to their devoted fans, Yang and Rogers, 34, put together a special gift guide on Pinterest filled with all their favorite things, from celebrity memoirs to vinyl records.

When it came to figuring out exactly what to include, Bowen said it took no time to determine what the first item would be: “The meaning of Mariah Carey, her excellent memoir,” he says.

“And then everything else fell into place, where it was like, ‘Oh, what’s part of the lore of the podcast?’ And then we filled that in,” Yang continues.

New episodes of Las Culturistas drop every Wednesday where podcasts are available.