Colin Josthas surpassedSeth Meyersto become the longest-runningWeekend UpdateAnchor inSaturday Night Live’shistory. Last night’s SNL marked his 155th episode hosting the beloved segment, whose past hosts boast such names asChevy Chase,Tina Fey, andthe lateNorm Macdonald.
Meyers had previously held this record, hosting Weekend Update from 2006 to 2013 when he left the show. Jost first took over from Meyers as a co-anchor toCecily Strong, but began co-hosting withMichael Chein the fall of 2014. Che is also on track to beat Meyer’s record of 154 episodes, with 147 episodes under his belt. Jost and Che have ruled the Update desk since, as well as becoming co-head writers in 2017.
Jost joined the sketch-comedy show in 2005 as a writer for Season 31, sometimes appearing as bit parts in sketches. He became a head writer for the show briefly from 2012-2014, stepping down around the same time he became a co-anchor for Weekend Update. Once his chemistry with Che proved to be Update-magic, Jost and Che became co-head writers in 2017, still holding the post today.
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Jost’s time onWeekend Updatehas seen the introduction of many popular characters, such asKate McKinnon’s recent character Dr. Wenowdis. One popular segment created by Jost and Che is joke swap, where the two swap jokes for the last episode of the season, often saying inappropriate and borderline offensive punchlines.
In December 2020, Jost was tricked by Che intomaking a joke about his wifeScarlett Johanssonduring the segment. Josthas confirmed that he and Che do not see each other’s jokesuntil they say them on air, which he remarked is both “thrilling, in a way, but also terrifying”. Last night’s episode also saw the return of past cast memberJason Sudeikis, this time as a host. This included a reprise of hisWeekend Updatecharacter the Devil, who poked fun at Jost’s relationship with Johansson.
Jost and Che show no signs of slowing down, so we can expect to enjoy them onWeekend Updatefor many episodes to come.
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