Weekend Update

For the 2008 Thursday night specials, see Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday.
History of Saturday Night Live series:

1975–80
(seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
1980–85
(seasons 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
1985–90
(seasons 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
1990–95
(seasons 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
1995–2000
(seasons 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
2000–05
(seasons 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
2005–10
(seasons 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
2010–15
(seasons 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
2015–present
(seasons 41, 42)

Weekend Update

Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance. One or two of the players are cast in the role of news anchor, presenting gag news items based on current events and acting as hosts for occasional editorials, commentaries, or other performances by other cast members or guests. Chevy Chase has credited Weekend Update, which he started as anchor in 1975, for paving the way for comedic news shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.[1]

Weekend Update (1975–1980)

Chevy Chase (1975–1976)

Weekend Update was created by original anchor Chevy Chase and SNL writer Herb Sargent,[2] and 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". When Weekend Update began, Chase was consistently on the phone presumably talking to his lover, and would talk until realizing he was "on air." Chase would always end Weekend Update with "That's the news. Goodnight, and have a pleasant tomorrow."

In addition, Garrett Morris parodied the practice of a picture insert of a person simultaneously giving the news read in sign language for the hearing impaired in "The News for the Hard of Hearing." Chase would sometimes repeat the top story at the end of the segment, while Morris simply cupped his mouth and shouted the headline loudly.

Jane Curtin (1976–1980)

Jane Curtin substituted for Chase during Season 2 for a few shows due to Chase's injury and replaced him when he left in the fall of 1976 and stayed as anchor until the end of Season 5 in 1980. Curtin 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 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 of "Point/Counterpoint" featured Curtin and Aykroyd making ad hominem attacks on each other's positions on a variety of topics. Aykroyd regularly began his reply with "Jane, you ignorant slut", which became another of the many SNL catch phrases (Curtin frequently began her reply with "Dan, you pompous ass").

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. Radner's Litella character 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, "Rosanne, 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".

1980–1985

Charles Rocket (later teamed with Gail Matthius) anchored during the one-season (1980–1981) tenure of new executive producer Jean Doumanian.

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,[3] and featured three segments:[4] 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. Chevy 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 Mary 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 "Goodnight, 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. For the rest of the 1983–1984 season, and into the next, there were no regular anchors whatsoever – 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.

The return of Weekend Update

Dennis Miller (1985–1991)

In 1985, Lorne Michaels returned to produce the show, bringing the Weekend Update name 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 in 1991.

Kevin Nealon (1991–1994)

Kevin Nealon took over with his "Mr. Subliminal" character and as the straightman in many highlights such as "Operaman" and "Cajun Man" (with both characters being played by Adam Sandler), and 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",[5] 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 – and left the show after losing the anchor spot.[6] 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 usually "And that's the way it is", emulating Walter Cronkite's famous sign off.

Another common topic of Macdonald's jokes was O.J. Simpson after his arrest and trial for murder; one example was "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 his dismissal from the segment, despite Michaels' protest that making the change in the middle of the season would be difficult for the show. Macdonald himself stated that he did not believe that the Simpson jokes were the cause for his firing.[5]

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 very 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? -pause- Well I'm Steve, what can I get you?" His sign-off was "I'm Colin Quinn, that's my story and I'm sticking to it" (a line from the Collin Raye song "That's My Story").

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.

Return to dual anchors

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, and two duos – Ana Gasteyer and Chris Parnell; and Jimmy Fallon and writer Tina Fey.[7] The latter duo were 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 & Curtin's "Goodnight, 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 Landshark), 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' Drunk Girl character.

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.

The 2005–2006 season began with Poehler returning to her seat behind the desk.

The segment was also featured in the 2006 film Man of the Year starring Robin Williams who, in the film, appeared on Weekend Update alongside Amy Poehler and Tina 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. Sanz's temporary position as co-anchor marks the first time a Hispanic cast member has been a Weekend Update anchor and the first time a Weekend Update anchor pairing was interracial.

Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers (2006–2008)

After the departure of Fey, Amy Poehler continued as co-anchor along with new co-anchor Seth Meyers for the 2006–2007 season.[8] The duo began a string of running gags, one of which was introduced during the 2006–2007 season, entitled "Really!?! with Seth and Amy", involved Seth and Amy lambasting celebrities (for example Alberto Gonzales, Larry Craig, Eliot Spitzer, Rod Blagojevich, or Michael Vick) 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 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.[9] Governor Sarah Palin also appeared on Weekend Update once during the 2008–2009 season, and ended the segment with the traditional "Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow" as Amy Poehler had left her seat to perform a 'Sarah Palin rap'.

Return to solo anchor

Seth Meyers (2008–2013)

From October 25, 2008 onward, Meyers anchored the segment alone with Poehler still being credited, but not appearing. On December 6, 2008, Amy Poehler returned four weeks after the birth of her child to do Weekend Update with Meyers, but on the December 13, 2008, Weekend Update segment, Poehler announced to the audience that the show was her last one.

After that, Meyers continued anchoring Weekend Update solo. The "Really!?!" celebrity-mocking gag remained, retitled "Really!?! with Seth", and doing it with various hosts and guests such as Tracy Morgan and Jerry Seinfeld in March 2009 and Kermit the Frog in November 2011. In May 2010, Amy 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. During the Weekend Update of the premiere episode of SNL's 36th season, the actual Paterson made a guest appearance next to Armisen.

On that same 36th season premiere, Amy Poehler was the host; she 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 Seth Meyers, the anchors included Jimmy Fallon, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.

Seth Meyers signed off with "For Weekend Update, I'm Seth Meyers! Good night!"

Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Amy Poehler would return to Weekend Update Thursday for at least two broadcasts as co-anchor in fall 2009.[10] 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.

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.

Second return to dual anchors

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, SNL producer 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, was no stranger to the segment, making visits to the 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 Update co-anchor, noting that Meyers' Late Night will not tape on Friday nights.[11] Meyers and Strong sign off with "For Weekend Update, I'm Seth Meyers!" "And I'm Cecily Strong, goodnight!" 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 Update desk by Strong, Poehler, Bill Hader in character as Stefon, Andy Samberg, and Fred Armisen as Governor David 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 premiered as co-anchor as scheduled on the March 1 episode, hosted by Jim Parsons.[12][13][14] 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 Update anchor. His first episode was the season 40 premiere, hosted by Chris Pratt.[15] Che is the first African-American Weekend Update anchor and his pairing with Colin Jost is the first in which both anchors are male.

Che led off the broadcast on the premiere episode, and Jost has led off each broadcast since. Starting with the October 4, 2014 episode hosted by Sarah Silverman, each anchor tells at least one extended joke per segment.

Timeline

A total of 32 people have anchored the Weekend Update desk. Below is a complete list of any and all who have served as an anchor at one time or another, and the season(s) which they served. Note that throughout most of 1984, different cast members, special guests, or the weekly host handled the task. Those individuals (denoted in italics) are also listed below.

Weekend Update (1975–1981)

Season 1 (1975–1976)

Season 2 (1976–1977)

Note that Chase began the season as anchor on September 18, but missed the next two episodes due to an injury sustained while performing a sketch in the season's first episode. He was replaced by Curtin during his absence. Chase returned to the show (and the Weekend Update desk) from October 16–30. Curtin permanently took over Weekend Update beginning November 13. Henry co-anchored with Curtin on the Mardi Gras special.

Season 3 (1977–1978)

Seasons 4–5 (1978–1980)

Season 6 (1980–1981)

SNL NewsBreak

Season 7 (1981–1982)

Saturday Night News

Season 8 (1982–1983)

Season 9 (1983–1984)

Season 10 (1984–1985):

Weekend Update (1985–present)

Seasons 11–16 (1985–1991):

Seasons 17–19 (1991–1994):

Seasons 20–22 (1994–1997):

Season 23 (1997–1998):

Seasons 24–25 (1998–2000):

Seasons 26–29 (2000–2004):

Season 30 (2004–2005):

Season 31 (2005–2006)

Note that Sanz filled in on a temporary basis while Fey was pregnant; the piece was still announced as "Weekend Update with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler" (Sanz wore a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, only during the Weekend Update sketches)

Seasons 32–33 (2006–2008)

Season 34 (2008–2009)

Seasons 35–38 (2009–2013)

Season 39 (2013–2014)

Season 40–present (2014–)

Visual Timeline

Longest tenures

Cast Member Tenure Total Seasons Total Episodes
Seth Meyers September 30, 2006 – February 1, 2014 8 seasons 154 episodes
Tina Fey October 7, 2000 – May 21, 2005 and October 22, 2005 – May 20, 2006 6 seasons 117 episodes
Dennis Miller November 9, 1985 – May 18, 1991 6 seasons 111 episodes
Jimmy Fallon October 7, 2000 – May 15, 2004 4 seasons 80 episodes
Amy Poehler October 2, 2004 – October 18, 2008, December 6, 2008 - December 13, 2008, and May 16, 2009 5 seasons 79 episodes
Jane Curtin September 25, 1976 – May 24, 1980 4 seasons 78 episodes
Norm Macdonald September 24, 1994 – December 13, 1997 4 seasons 69 episodes
Kevin Nealon September 28, 1991 – May 14, 1994 3 seasons 60 episodes
Colin Quinn January 10, 1998 – May 20, 2000 3 seasons 50 episodes
Colin Jost March 1, 2014 – present 3 seasons 50 episodes
Michael Che September 27, 2014 – present 2 seasons 42 episodes
Bill Murray October 7, 1978 – May 24, 1980 2 seasons 40 episodes
Chevy Chase October 11, 1975 – October 30, 1976, April 11, 1981, and December 6, 1986 2 seasons 31 episodes
Brad Hall September 25, 1982 – December 10, 1983 2 seasons 28 episodes
Cecily Strong September 28, 2013 – May 17, 2014 1 season 21 episodes
Dan Aykroyd September 24, 1977 – May 20, 1978 1 season 20 episodes
Brian Doyle-Murray October 3, 1981 – May 22, 1982 1 season 20 episodes
Charles Rocket November 15, 1980 – March 7, 1981 1 season 11 episodes
Christopher Guest December 1, 1984 – April 13, 1985 1 season 10 episodes
Mary Gross October 3–17, 1981, December 5, 1981, and February 20 – March 20, 1982 1 season 7 episodes
Gail Matthius January 10 – February 21, 1981 1 season 6 episodes
Christine Ebersole March 27 – May 22, 1982 1 season 6 episodes
Billy Crystal March 17, 1984, May 5, 1984, and October 6, 1984 2 seasons 3 episodes
Horatio Sanz October 1–8, 2005 1 season 2 episodes

See also

References

  1. ↑ "asked what he thought of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert... "...I started it with my Weekend Update"
  2. ↑ Martin, Douglas (May 7, 2005). "Herb Sargent, TV Writer, Is Dead at 81". The New York Times. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  3. ↑ Hulu video of the King segment
  4. ↑ "SNL Transcripts". snltranscripts.jt.org.
  5. 1 2 "Saturday Night Live Backstage". 2011-02-20. NBC. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  6. ↑ Shales, T: Live From New York, pages 433–444. Back Bay Books, 2003.
  7. ↑ Baldwin, Kristen (May 10, 2002), "Update with Destiny". Entertainment Weekly. (653):26
  8. ↑ "Seth Meyers to co-anchor 'SNL's 'Update'". USA Today. Associated Press. September 21, 2006. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  9. ↑ Sitt, Pamela (July 17, 2008). "Amy Poehler Confirms She Is Leaving Saturday Night Live". film.com. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  10. ↑ Ausiello, Michael (July 30, 2009). "Exclusive: Amy Poehler returns to 'SNL' (REALLY?!)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  11. ↑ "New Course for ‘Weekend Update,’ and All of ‘SNL,’" from The New York Times, 9/15/2013
  12. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (January 23, 2014). "'SNL' Names New 'Weekend Update' Co-Anchor". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  13. ↑ Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer (January 23, 2014). "'SNL' head writer to join Cecily Strong as 'Weekend Update' co-anchor". The Today Show. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  14. ↑ Busis, Hillary (January 23, 2014). "'SNL': Get to know upcoming Weekend Update host Colin Jost". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  15. ↑ Ge, Linda (September 11, 2014). "Saturday Night Live' Replaces Cecily Strong With Michael Che as 'Weekend Update' Anchor". Yahoo! TV. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  16. ↑ SNL Transcripts Mardi Gras Special 2/20/1977 "Weekend Update with Jane Curtin and Buck Henry" Check |url= value (help). jt.org. Retrieved September 30, 2012.


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