Throughout the good, the bad, and the extremely turbulent years of Saturday Night Live, Weekend Update has been the steady mainstay that provided the week’s news with the SNL-brand of sarcastic and thought-provoking humor. The host of the segment, the longest continuously running one in the show’s history, generally defines the era, setting in place the tone and tenor of the show’s cast and timeline, not just comedically, but also amplifying and satirizing the political atmosphere of their time.
While not every host has been fantastic or held the brand to a high standard – including one who was fired for cussing live on air – some have stood out in the field and helped SNL stay in the cultural conversation. Inspired by Bill Murray’s tribute featured in his personal Weekend Update host ranking list during the SNL 50 special, we’re ranking the top ten Weekend Update hosts in SNL history. The best Weekend Update hosts are those who manage to be memorable due to their distinct comedy, delivery, and respective legacies.
10
Colin Quinn
1998-2000
After the shocking firing of Norm MacDonald for his continuous jokes about the O.J. Simpson murder trial, no host could have possibly filled the seat in a way fans wanted, but Colin Quinn gave it his best shot. Spit-fire jokes through his heavy New York accent made for some clunky deliveries and an almost consistent “alright?” question at the end of multiple jokes, Quinn did the best he could with what he was given and the results, indeed, varied.
Quinn may not have been the best or most comfortable person in the Weekend Update chair; his “I’m Colin Quinn, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it” entered the lexicon for at least the remainder of the Bill Clinton administration. Although he told Howard Stern on The Howard Stern Show in 2015 that he enjoyed his time on SNL until he took over the chair, Quinn still stood out among his contemporaries well enough to crack the top ten.
9
Kevin Nealon
1991–1994
During one of the most stacked eras in SNL history, Kevin Nealon became the straight-laced news anchor at the desk beginning in season 17. Hanging tough with a Murderer’s Row of talent that existed during arguably the best run in the show’s history, Nealon brought some of the still oft-quoted characters in SNL history to life in his segments, including Adam Sandler’s Opera Man and Chris Farley’s Bennett Brauer.
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Nealon played it drier than the desert, like he did as a correspondent on the Dennis Miller-led news desk, especially during a time that felt transitional in the country as Bill Clinton became President. His dryness didn’t always translate with the audience, but his legacy is defined more by the characters he helped bring to life at his desk than it is by his sarcastic misses.
8
Jimmy Fallon & Tina Fey
2000-2004
A very young Jimmy Fallon took the seat in 2000, both pre-9/11 and post-Colin Quinn, and was paired with Tina Fey, clearly more comfortable in the position than Fallon. Their energy was similar in both presentation and execution, as Fallon did his best not to break character on SNL through the entire segment, which ran out of its cute factor after the first two jokes.
Fallon and Fey had a unique dynamic, but not a bad one, and the anchors navigated the new post-9/11 world together as hosts during that time. While it set the table for Fey as Weekend Update anchor with a much more effective co-chair, Fallon would continue to (mostly) sharpen his anchor skills, skills that would take him all the way to The Tonight Show.
7
Dan Aykroyd & Jane Curtin
1977-1978
In the fallout of Chevy Chase leaving SNL in a rather abrupt fashion, Jane Curtin filled the role solo for the remainder of season 2 until being paired with Dan Aykroyd. Curtin’s professional tone paired seamlessly with her scathing retorts to Aykroyd’s “Station Manager” character, who he transitioned to during season 3, and who was generally aggressive and demeaning to her.
Curtin and Aykroyd only stuck around for a season together, but they created some memorable moments in their tenure and kept the energy alive on the show as it headed towards uncharted waters in the 1980s.
Chase, like MacDonald, left a large void in the Weekend Update anchor desk, but Curtin and Aykroyd made a dynamic pair that helped continue the sarcastic gravitas Chase brought to the segment. Curtin and Aykroyd only stuck around for a season together, but they created some memorable moments in their tenure and kept the energy alive on the show as it headed towards uncharted waters in the 1980s.
6
Amy Poehler & Seth Meyers
2006-2008
Arguably the best mixed-gender duo of the Weekend Update timeline, Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers brought a fresh new take on the segment. Poehler’s loud position was offset by a more nuanced approach, giving the presentation a balance that was done only better by Poehler and her original sparring partner, Tina Fey.
Poehler and Meyers were exactly what the show needed at the tail end of the George W. Bush administration, with their “Really?” segment dragging the celebrities in a way that changed the comedic approach with a changing political landscape. Seth Meyers launched a late-night career for himself out of the anchor chair, too, which ended up working out pretty well for him in the long run.
5
Chevy Chase
1975-1976
The first runner of the Weekend Update desk reminded audiences every week that Generalissimo Francisco Franco was still dead. Chevy Chase was, and is, a comedic legend, and his dry, almost deadpan delivery of the day’s news is part of the reason the show has remained so popular 50 years on.
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The fever pitch of the first few years on SNL was palpable, so it’s not surprising some of the more creative bits, some that are more offensive by modern standards, came from this Chase-led segment, including “News For The Hearing Impaired,” which featured Garrett Morris in a cutout yelling Chase’s news reports back at the viewers. Chevy Chase remains one of the greatest anchors of all time, and many of his catchphrases continue to be repeated.
4
Colin Jost & Michael Che
2014-Present
The current news duo at the Weekend Update desk have been going strong for more than a decade, the longest-tenured hosts in the history of the show. Jost and Che are a dynamic pair, bringing a modern style to their sarcastic and deadpan deliveries, as well as co-hosting the 2018 Emmy Awards ceremony and becoming a part of the 2019 Andre The Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35.
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The duo have also created one of the funniest features of the SNL segment: “Joke Swap,” where the anchors write highly offensive jokes for one another that the other has to read for the first time on the air. Sharp wit and perfect comedic timing, this duo shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, and for that, we’re grateful.
3
Tina Fey & Amy Poehler
2004-2006
Before Jost & Che, the second-best duo on Weekend Update, there was Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the first duo-female anchor team who set the bar for what a double anchor team should look like. Fey and Poehler complimented each other perfectly, as Fey played the straight woman to Poehler’s frenetic presence, and it paid off pitch perfectly each week.
It’s not easy to make a comedy news presentation look effortless every single week, but Fey & Poehler did it with perfection. Their reunion on SNL 40 with Jane Curtin was one of the best parts of the evening, and another solid reminder and reinforcement of their chemistry and effortlessness behind the desk.
2
Dennis Miller
1985-1991
The most cerebral of the Weekend Update hosts, Dennis Miller was less comedic masterpiece and more fire-breathing satirist and the perfect comedian to sit in the chair during that time. Effectively parsing the news and the key players of the 1980s and early 1990s with precision and ruthlessness, Miller forced you to pay attention to every word, syllable, and reference that definitely went over your head the first time around.
Miller is the gold standard for the perfect Weekend Update approach and remains the most searing of critics that’s ever sat behind the desk.
Dennis Miller was the early archetype for the comedy news anchor, with Jon Stewart, John Oliver, and others all clearly influenced by him, using his tone and tenor as a guidebook to their own presentations. Miller is the gold standard for the perfect Weekend Update approach, and remains the most searing of critics that’s ever sat behind the desk.
1
Norm MacDonald
1994-1997
There was no one who embodied the comedy news approach with the level of required deadpan delivery mixed with a personal “I can’t believe this is real” attitude better than Norm MacDonald. Norm was the level of sarcasm and shock that the position needed, and his relentless skewering of O.J. Simpson became his personal mission, one that ultimately cost him the anchor desk and his job on SNL.
MacDonald remains the most popular Weekend Update host of all time, and his legend only grew as he became more popular in cinema and in his stand-up specials, with fans running to YouTube to see his anchor chair material with a fresh appreciation. A comedic genius, gone too soon, the legendary Norm MacDonald will forever be the best of the best on the Weekend Update segment of Saturday Night Live.
8/10
- Release Date
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October 11, 1975
- Showrunner
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Lorne Michaels
- Directors
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Dave Wilson, Don Roy King, Liz Patrick, Andy Warhol, Linda Lee Cadwell, Matthew Meshekoff, Paul Miller, Robert Altman, Robert Smigel
- Writers
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Will Forte, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Chris Parnell, Asa Taccone, John Lutz, Tom Schiller, Simon Rich, Michael Patrick O’Brien, Nicki Minaj, Herbert Sargent, Matt Piedmont, John Solomon, Chris Kelly, Alan Zweibel, Kent Sublette, Ari Katcher, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schnedier, Scott Jung, Justin Franks, Jerrod Bettis, Rhiannon Bryan
