History
Weekend Update (1975–1981)
Chevy Chase (1975–1976)
Weekend Update was created by original anchor Chevy Chase and SNL writers Herb Sargent and Al Franken,[2] and it appeared on the first SNL broadcast on October 11, 1975. Chase popularized several catchphrases during the segment, such as his "I'm Chevy Chase... and you're not" greeting; and his repeated announcement that "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead". Weekend Update segments frequently opened with Chase having an intimate conversation with someone on the phone, unaware he was "on the air." Chase ended Weekend Update with what became its signature catchphrase: "That's the news...good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow."
In addition, Garrett Morris parodied the practice of a picture insert of a person delivering the news in sign language for the hearing impaired. Chase would announce, "...and now, I shall repeat the top news story, assisted by the President of the Society for The Hard of Hearing." Chase would then repeat the story while Morris simply cupped his mouth and yelled the headline.
Jane Curtin (1976–1980)
Jane Curtin substituted for Chase during Season 2 for a few shows due to Chase's injury. Subsequently, she replaced him when he left in the fall of 1976. Curtin stayed as anchor until the end of Season 5 in 1980. She finished Season 2 solo but was then paired with co-anchors Dan Aykroyd (1977–1978) and Bill Murray (1978–1980), with Aykroyd being "promoted" to "Station Manager" in September 1978.
A frequent feature of Weekend Update during this time was "Point/Counterpoint", a send-up of the then-current 60 Minutes segment of the same name with James J. Kilpatrick and Shana Alexander. SNL's version featured Curtin and Aykroyd as debaters, with each making personal attacks on the other and their positions; a common pattern had Aykroyd announcing the topic, followed by Curtin making an opening statement, with Aykroyd retorting "Jane, you ignorant slut" and Curtin replying "Dan, you pompous ass".[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Other popular running features were John Belushi giving editorials that usually ended with him working himself into a frenzy and stating "But noooooo...." When Curtin would try to calm him down, Belushi would promptly raise a fist at her and scream, "Don't push me, Curtin!" Also included was Gilda Radner's character Emily Litella, who was prone to misinterpreting topics (leading her to present editorials on such things as the Eagle Rights Amendment) and not being aware of her error until Curtin would correct her, after which Litella would cheerfully say "Never mind". Litella was later replaced by another Radner character: consumer affairs reporter Roseanne Roseannadanna, who would attempt to answer a viewer question, but would ultimately digress into a graphic story involving some gross bodily function–often featuring an interaction with a celebrity figure which Curtin would finally interrupt, tersely pointing out to her, "Roseanne, you're making me sick." During Curtin's tenure as host, she opened each Weekend Update segment with Roger Grimsby's "Here now, the news" sign-on, and closed with Chase's "That's the news. Goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow".
Charles Rocket (1980–1981)
Charles Rocket (later teamed with Gail Matthius) anchored during the one-season (1980–1981) tenure of new executive producer Jean Doumanian. Rocket is notable as being the only Weekend Update anchor to have experience as a real news anchor, having served as anchorman at KOAA-TV in Pueblo, Colorado, under his birth name Charles Claverie and WTVF Nashville under the name Charles Kennedy.
Rocket's final appearance was on the penultimate episode of the season, airing on March 7, 1981, and hosted by Bill Murray. For that episode, Weekend Update received a one-time name and set change to "Saturday Night NewsLine"[11] and featured three segments:[12] science edition, hosted by Dr. Jonathan Lear (Mark King), arts and leisure correspondent Bill Murray, and news by Rocket. Rocket signed off each week by saying "Good night and watch out."
Prior to the final episode of the season, Jean Doumanian and most of the cast, including Rocket, were fired. Chase hosted the last episode and anchored Weekend Update, as he had on his previous appearances as host.
"SNL NewsBreak" (1981–1982)
The anchor position changed hands frequently under Dick Ebersol, executive producer of SNL from 1981 to 1985. Brian Doyle-Murray was teamed first with Mary Gross, then going solo for three months, then back with Gross for one more month before finally being teamed with Christine Ebersole for the remainder of the season. Doyle-Murray signed off each week with "Good night, and good news."
"Saturday Night News" (1982–1985)
Brad Hall took over the desk of the retitled "Saturday Night News" in 1982 through most of the 1983 season. By the 1983 season, he began signing out with phrase "Thanks for coming out in the rain!" Hall was removed from the anchor position halfway through the 1983–84 season. For the rest of the season, and into the next, there were no regular anchors—both cast members and SNL guest-hosts took turns at the chair (Hall himself left the show at the end of the 1983–1984 season). In December 1984, Christopher Guest became the new anchor. However, within this period, the SNL broadcast of December 8, 1984 is the only episode to not feature the satirical news segment on the show, at all.
Weekend Update (1985–present)
Dennis Miller (1985–1991)
In 1985, Lorne Michaels returned to produce the show, bringing the Weekend Update name back with him. The new anchor was Dennis Miller, who remained in the chair for six years, the longest run for a solo Weekend Update anchor. Miller opened the segments by saying "Good evening, and what can I tell ya?" and signed off by saying "Guess what, folks? That's the news, and I am outta here!" He would then scribble nonsense on his script, sometimes throwing it into the air. Miller left SNL in 1991.
Kevin Nealon (1991–1994)
Kevin Nealon took over with his "Mr. Subliminal" character and as the straight man in many highlights such as "Operaman" and "Cajun Man" (with both characters being played by Adam Sandler) and also for Chris Farley's "Bennett Brauer" character. Nealon had a three-year stint at the Update desk before requesting his departure, as he felt his time behind the desk was drawing away from other acting opportunities on the show. Nealon signed off with the tagline "I'm Kevin Nealon, and that's news to me".
Norm Macdonald (1994–1997)
Norm Macdonald, whom Chase called "the only other guy who did [the segment] funny,"[13] took over the role for Season 20. Al Franken, whose history with SNL dated back to 1975, had been lobbying to replace Nealon as Weekend Update host. Accordingly, Franken left the show after losing the anchor spot.[14] Although Nealon no longer anchored Weekend Update, he still remained on the show until the end of Season 20. Macdonald would open each segment with "I'm Norm Macdonald, and now the fake news."
Running gags by Macdonald included punchlines involving Frank Stallone and Germans loving David Hasselhoff. In his last two seasons, he introduced another recurring gag where he would read a news story and then record a "note to self" on a tape recorder regarding the story he had just read. One of the most frequent guest correspondents during Macdonald's run was Joe Blow (played by Colin Quinn), a blue-collar guy who would rant about things that bother him. He would often make Macdonald uncomfortable and always ask when they were "gonna go for a beer together," to which Macdonald would always end up turning him down. His sign off was frequently "And that's the way it is", emulating Walter Cronkite's famous sign-off phrase.
Another common topic of Macdonald's jokes was O. J. Simpson after his arrest and trial for murder. For example, he joked that "A down-and-out O. J. Simpson ... has decided to go back to doing what he does best: killing people." SNL writer Jim Downey recalled that "we did, like three solid years of, like, 60 shows of O.J. jokes in a row." Macdonald made his final appearance as Weekend Update anchor in December 1997, after NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer—a longtime friend of Simpson, who had previously told Michaels to not let his friendship affect the show—demanded Macdonald's dismissal from the segment, despite Michaels's protest that making the change in the middle of the season would be difficult for the show. Ohlmeyer told Macdonald that he was fired because he was not funny.[13]
Colin Quinn (1998–2000)
Macdonald was replaced by Colin Quinn, who started on the first episode after Macdonald had been removed and served through the 1999–2000 season. His first edition of Weekend Update began with "Have you ever gone to a bar and found that your favorite bartender was replaced with a guy named Steve?" He would pause for a beat before continuing, "Well, I'm Steve; what can I get you?" His sign-off, borrowing from a Collin Raye song, was "I'm Colin Quinn, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!"
For the first half of the 1998–1999 season, Quinn would do a pre-desk monologue, where he would provide commentary and rant about the week's biggest news stories. This feature was discontinued after the January 16, 1999, episode.
Quinn stepped down from Weekend Update after 1999–2000, when he left SNL at the end of the season. He anchored the segment for two-and-a-half seasons.
Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey (2000–2004)
Over the summer of 2000, cast members auditioned to be replacements. Among the candidates were stand-up comics Kevin Brennan and Jeffrey Ross plus two duos: Ana Gasteyer with Chris Parnell, and Jimmy Fallon with writer Tina Fey.[15] The latter duo was chosen, and they made their first on-air appearance that October. Fallon ended each Weekend Update sketch by throwing his pencil at the camera and cheering if he managed to hit it. Fey often signed off with Chase and Curtin's "Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow".
Recurring features of the Fallon/Fey era included the "Update Door," a door on the left of the set where celebrities, as impersonated by SNL cast members (and at one time the Land Shark) would walk through to do a commentary—a segment called "Terrible ReEnactments", in which Chris Kattan would do an intentionally bad re-enactment of a news story that had occurred during the week (usually the story involved a celebrity being injured); and regular appearances from Jeff Richards's Drunk Girl character.
Chris Parnell announced the intro for the first few seasons. He was then followed by future Update co-anchor Amy Poehler.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (2004–2006)
Fallon left to pursue a film career in 2004, and was replaced by fellow cast member Amy Poehler as co-anchor, giving the sketch its first two-woman anchor team. Fallon became the announcer for the Weekend Update intro for the next few seasons.
The 2005–2006 season began with Poehler returning to her seat behind the desk.
The segment is featured in the 2006 film Man of the Year in which Robin Williams appears on Weekend Update alongside Poehler and Fey.
Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz (2005)
Fey temporarily left the show after giving birth to her first child and was replaced briefly by Horatio Sanz as co-anchor (Sanz wore horn-rimmed glasses during Fey's absence). Fey returned to the show in October for the season's third live episode.
Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers (2006–2008)
After the departure of Fey, Poehler continued as co-anchor along with new co-anchor Seth Meyers for the 2006–2007 season.[16] The duo began a string of running gags, including "Really!?! with Seth and Amy", in which the pair lambast celebrities for lack of common sense. Poehler left SNL in fall 2008 to give birth to her first child.
During the 2007–2008 season, two previous hosts returned to the Weekend Update desk for one-off appearances–Chevy Chase, as "Senior Political Correspondent" and Tina Fey, as "Special Women's News Correspondent". Women's News was a running segment during the Fey/Poehler era.[17] Alaska Governor Sarah Palin also appeared on Weekend Update once during the 2008–09 season and ended the segment with the traditional "Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow", as Poehler had left her seat to perform a "Sarah Palin rap".
Seth Meyers (2008–2013)
Beginning October 25, 2008, Meyers anchored the segment alone with Poehler still being credited, but not appearing. On December 6, 2008, Poehler returned, four weeks after the birth of her child, to do Weekend Update with Meyers, but on the December 13, 2008, Weekend Update she announced to the audience that the show was her last one.
After that, Meyers continued anchoring Weekend Update solo. The "Really!?!" celebrity-mocking gag (retitled "Really!?! with Seth") remained, featuring various hosts and guests including Tracy Morgan and Jerry Seinfeld in March 2009 and Kermit the Frog in November 2011. In May 2010, Poehler returned to do it once more, alongside Tina Fey as well.
A running gag of this era was Bobby Moynihan's portrayal of Snooki from Jersey Shore. Moynihan displays a certain attraction to Meyers, who makes fun of the general attitude of the cast members of Jersey Shore as well as Snooki's own personal attributes. Another popular segment was city correspondent Stefon, played by Bill Hader.
During his time in office, New York Governor David Paterson (played by Fred Armisen) often appeared as a guest on the segment. In the premiere episode of SNL's 36th season, Paterson, himself, made a guest appearance on Weekend Update next to Armisen. Amy Poehler, who had returned to host the episode, co-anchored Weekend Update as she traditionally did before her departure.
On the December 17, 2011, episode, which was hosted by Jimmy Fallon, multiple former anchors returned for a "Weekend Update Joke-Off". Along with Meyers, the anchors included Fallon, Poehler, and Fey.
Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Amy Poehler would appear on Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday for at least two broadcasts as co-anchor in fall 2009.[18] For the third episode of Weekend Update Thursday, Seth Meyers anchored solo. After each episode, the anchor(s) would throw to Parks and Recreation. Lorne Michaels had stated that there would be six more episodes of Weekend Update Thursday; however, the spring 2010 episodes were scrapped.[citation needed]
Poehler returned on both the February 18, 2012, and May 18, 2013, episodes to perform "Really!?! with Seth and Amy" twice more. In both instances, Meyers asked her if she would like to co-anchor with him again for the rest of that segment; he was barely able to finish asking before she accepted.
Seth Meyers and Cecily Strong (2013–2014)
On May 12, 2013, NBC announced that Seth Meyers would become the new host of Late Night in 2014, succeeding Jimmy Fallon, who would take over as the new host of The Tonight Show. In September 2013, Lorne Michaels confirmed that Meyers, who would stay on at SNL for at least the first half of the show's 39th season, would be joined at the Weekend Update anchor desk by a new co-anchor, Cecily Strong, beginning with the show's season premiere on September 28, 2013. Strong, who joined SNL the previous season and had been upgraded to repertory status in the cast for her sophomore season, was no stranger to the segment, making visits to the Weekend Update desk as her recurring character "The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party". Michaels, who also produces Late Night, hinted at Meyers potentially dropping in as Weekend Update co-anchor, noting that Meyers's Late Night will not tape on Friday nights.[19] Meyers and Strong sign off with "For 'Weekend Update', I'm Seth Meyers!" "And I'm Cecily Strong, good night!" before performing a fist bump or blowing kisses to the audience.
On February 1, 2014, Meyers performed his final episode of SNL and was joined at the Weekend Update desk by Strong, Poehler, Hader in character as Stefon, Andy Samberg, and Armisen as Governor Paterson.
Cecily Strong and Colin Jost (2014)
On January 23, 2014, it was announced that, starting March 1, 2014, SNL writer Colin Jost would replace Meyers as co-anchor of Weekend Update. Jost made his debut as co-anchor as scheduled on the March 1 episode, which was hosted by Jim Parsons.[20][21][22] For the duration of this tenure, Strong stayed to the right side while Jost went to the left. Strong led off each broadcast except for the May 3, 2014 episode hosted by Andrew Garfield, when Jost led off.
Colin Jost and Michael Che (2014–present)
On September 11, 2014, it was announced that comedian and SNL writer Michael Che would replace Cecily Strong as the new Weekend Update anchor. His first episode was the season 40 premiere, hosted by Chris Pratt.[23] Che's pairing with Colin Jost is the first in which both anchors are male. Che is also the first African-American Weekend Update anchor. As of the 2021–22 season, Jost and Che are the longest tenured Update anchors in the show's history, with Jost becoming the longest running Weekend Update anchor on October 23, 2021,[24] and Che rising to second place on January 29, 2022.[25]
Che led off the broadcast on his premiere episode. Starting with the October 4, 2014, episode hosted by Sarah Silverman, each anchor tells at least one extended joke per segment.
So far, this era features many appearances from cast members playing some version of themselves, most notably Pete Davidson and Leslie Jones. Longtime cast member Kenan Thompson has also developed several new characters and impressions, including Willie, Michael Che's fictional neighbor. Thompson also has brought on impressions of former MLB star David Ortiz and LaVar Ball. With Cecily Strong no longer anchoring Weekend Update, she reprised characters like The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party and Cathy Anne, a woman with a southern accent who hits on Michael Che.
On October 13, 2018, former cast member/Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers hosted the show for the first time since taking over hosting Late Night, and he returned to Weekend Update for the first time since he left the show, in a segment called "Really?!? With Seth, Colin, and Michael", a callback to the "Really?!? With Seth and Amy" segments. This time, Meyers, Jost, and Che talk and joke about rapper Kanye West (a Trump supporter) visiting the White House.
As of season 43, at the end of each Christmas show and season finale, Jost and Che do joke swaps, where they read jokes that the other had written for each other. The lone exception was during season 47, when Jost was absent during the Christmas episode; and they didn't do a joke swap during the season finale. There was also no joke swap for season 48's Christmas episode. After 2½ years, joke swap returned for the Christmas episode of season 49, with a special guest of Che's, a Civil Rights activist sitting on Jost's side of the desk. The guest was later revealed to be an actress
participating in Che's prank on Jost.
Due to COVID-19 issues, the December 18, 2021 episode was filmed with no audience and a limited cast and crew. Weekend Update was still performed, but Jost was not part of the episode's cast, as he had tested positive for COVID.[26] Tina Fey made a surprise guest appearance to fill in for Jost; due to the reduced staff, the segment was performed on chairs placed on the main stage rather than its usual newsroom set.[27][28][29]
