After Seth Meyers left Weekend Update in the middle of the last season for the greener pastures of the timeslot after The Tonight Show (proving his dedication to eternally following in Jimmy Fallon’s footsteps), Saturday Night Live had to find some new people to sit behind the desk of one of its most popular recurring segments. Well, maybe not most popular, but it’s at least the most recurring. That counts for something. SNL named Cecily Strong and writer Colin Jost as his replacements, with Strong sharing the desk with Meyers for his final chunk of appearances.
The audience’s response to the new duo was a bit shaky, though, with Jost even feeling the need to say that he hopes people will like him more next season. He’ll still get that chance, but his co-anchor won’t. According to The New York Times, Cecily Strong is being replaced on Weekend Update by comedian Michael Che, an SNL writer and Daily Show correspondent. Apparently the show has been trying different host combinations for the last few weeks, and Lorne Michaels finally settled on Che after recognizing the “close relationship” that he developed with Jost last season in the SNL writers’ room. Michaels says Che is “really funny” and that his introduction signals “a new era” for Weekend Update. As for Strong, she’ll remain a regular cast member on the show.
This is the second big piece of SNL news this week, with NBC already announcing that America’s sweetheart, Chris Pratt, would be hosting the season premiere on September 27. Ariana Grande will be that episode’s musical guest. That night will also be our first chance to see the new Weekend Update team in action, so let’s all hope we like them more than we did last year.