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Weekend Update
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Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch which 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 host(s) for occasional editorials, commentaries, or other performances by other cast members or guests.
he Weekend Update was created by original anchor Chevy Chase and SNL writer Herb Sargent, and appeared on the first SNL broadcast on October 11, 1975.
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Encyclopedia
Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch which 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 host(s) for occasional editorials, commentaries, or other performances by other cast members or guests.
In the beginning
Chevy Chase (1975–1976)
The Weekend Update was created by original anchor Chevy Chase and SNL writer Herb Sargent, and appeared on the first SNL broadcast on October 11, 1975. Chase popularized several catch phrases 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." In addition, the practice of a picture insert of a person simultaneously giving the news read in sign language for the hearing impaired was parodied by Garrett Morris. Chase would sometimes repeat the top story at the end of the segment, while Morris simply cupped his mouth and shouted the headline more loudly. He would also end the segment with the line "That's the news, goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow."
Jane Curtin (1976–1980)
Jane Curtin replaced Chase a few shows into Season 2 when he left in 1976; she remained as anchor until 1980. Curtin finished Season 2 solo, but was then paired with co-anchors Dan Aykroyd (1977–1978) and Bill Murray (1978–1980). A frequent feature of Update during this time was Point-Counterpoint, in which Curtin and Aykroyd made 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; Gilda Radner's characters Emily Litella and Roseanne Roseannadanna. 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."
After Lorne Michaels
Charles Rocket (1980–1981)
Charles Rocket (later teamed with Gail Matthius) anchored during the one-season tenure of new executive producer Jean Doumanian. He appeared one final time for the March 7, 1981 broadcast. Weekend Update received a name and set change for this single episode (hosted by Bill Murray) in which it became SNL NewsLine. For this final episode of the Charles Rocket era, it was hosted by Rocket alone, without Matthius. The following April, Chevy Chase hosted the show, and anchored WU on April 11, 1981, the final show of the sixth season (he had done the same during his two previous times hosting, in 1978 and 1980).
SNL Newsbreak (1981–1982)
The anchor position changed hands frequently under Dick Ebersol, executive producer of SNL from 1981 to 1985. Brian Doyle-Murray 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.
Saturday Night News
Brad Hall (1982–1983)
Brad Hall took over the desk of Saturday Night News (as it came to be known) for the 1982 and most of the 1983 season.
Guest anchors (1983–1984)
For the rest of the 1983–1984 season, and into the next, there was no regular anchor at all, and 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).
Christopher Guest (1984–1985)
In December 1984 Christopher Guest became the new anchor.
The return of Weekend Update
Dennis Miller (1985–1991)
In 1985 Michaels returned to the show, bringing the Weekend Update name with him. The new anchor was Dennis Miller, who remained in the chair for six years. Miller opened the segments by saying "Good evening, and what can I tell ya?" and signed off by saying "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. During his final episode as anchorman for Weekend Update, Nealon passed on the position to Norm MacDonald by kissing him on the lips. Nealon signed off with the tag line "I'm Kevin Nealon, and that's news to me."
Norm MacDonald (1994–1997)
Al Franken, whose history with SNL dated back to 1975, had been lobbying to replace Nealon as "Weekend Update" host, but lost the role to Norm MacDonald (in the book Live From New York, Franken would later point to this snub as his reason for leaving SNL).
MacDonald would begin the segment with the phrase, "I'm Norm MacDonald, and now the fake news." He relied heavily on running gags (such as repeated references to Frank Stallone, David Hasselhoff, and Demi Moore's breasts), stereotypes, and attacks on public figures such as O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson.
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 sign-off was "I'm Colin Quinn, that's my story and I'm sticking to it." Quinn left the show in 2000.
The 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 comics Kevin Brennan and Jeffrey Ross, and two duos: Ana Gasteyer and Chris Parnell; and Jimmy Fallon and writer Tina Fey. The latter group got the nod, 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 updates included the "Update Door," a door on the left of the set where celebrities, as impersonated by SNL cast members, 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.
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 season began with Poehler returning to her seat behind the desk. However, Fey temporarily left the show after giving birth to her first child and was replaced briefly by Horatio Sanz as co-anchor. 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, Amy Poehler continued as co-anchor along with new co-anchor Seth Meyers for the 2006–2007 season. 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. Another running gag started on October 1, 2008, where an anchor would make more than one joke about a story, seem to segue, and then immediately make one more joke about the story. Poehler left SNL in the fall of 2008 to give birth to her 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. 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 the set.
The return to a solo anchor
Seth Meyers (2008–)
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.
At the end of the December 13, 2008 Weekend Update segment, Poehler announced to the audience that the show was her last one. Since then, Meyers has continued anchoring Weekend Update solo. The "Really!?!" celebrity mocking gag remained, retitled "Really!?! with Seth".
Weekend Update anchors
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:
Season 1 (1975–76):
Season 2 (1976–77):
- The Weekend Update with Chevy Chase (Last: 1976-10-30)
- The Weekend Update with Jane Curtin (First: 1976-09-25)
- The Weekend Update with Jane Curtin and Buck Henry (1977-02-20)
- 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 to the Weekend Update desk) October 16–October 30. Jane Curtin permanently took over Weekend Update beginning November 13. Buck Henry co-anchored with Curtin on the Mardi Gras special.
Season 3 (1977–78):
Seasons 4 and 5 (1978–80):
Season 6 (1980–81):
- The Weekend Update with Charles Rocket
- The Weekend Update with Charles Rocket and Gail Matthius (1981-01-10–1981-02-21)
- SNL NewsLine with Bill Murray (1981-03-07)
- The Weekend Update with Special Guest Chevy Chase (1981-04-11)
Season 7 (1981–82):
- SNL NewsBreak with Brian Doyle-Murray and Mary Gross (1981-10-03–1981-10-17)
- SNL NewsBreak with Brian Doyle-Murray (1981-10-31–1982-02-06)
- SNL NewsBreak with Brian Doyle-Murray and Mary Gross (1982-02-20–1982-09-20)
- SNL NewsBreak with Brian Doyle-Murray and Christine Ebersole (1982-03-27–1982-05-22)
Season 8 (1982–83):
Season 9 (1983–84): (Cast member unless otherwise noted)
Season 10 (1984–85): (Cast member unless otherwise noted)
- Saturday Night News with Billy Crystal (as Fernando Lamas) (1984-10-06)
- Saturday Night News with host Bob Uecker (1984-10-13)
- Saturday Night News with host Jesse Jackson (1984-10-20)
- Saturday Night News with special guest Edwin Newman (1984-11-03)
- Saturday Night News with host George Carlin (1984-11-10)
- Saturday Night News with host Ed Asner (1984-11-17)
- Saturday Night News with Christopher Guest (1984-12-01–1985-04-13)
Seasons 11–16 (1985–1991):
Seasons 17–19 (1991–1994):
Seasons 20–22 (1994–1997):
- Weekend Update with Norm Macdonald
Season 23 (1997–1998):
- Weekend Update with Norm Macdonald (Last: 1997-12-13)
- Weekend Update with Colin Quinn (First: 1998-01-10)
Seasons 24–25 (1998–2000):
- Weekend Update with Colin Quinn
Seasons 26–29 (2000–2004):
Season 30 (2004–05):
Season 31 (2005–06)
- Weekend Update with Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz (Last: 2005-10-08) (billed as Weekend Update with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler)
- Weekend Update with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (First: 2005-10-22)
Season 32 (2006–2007)
Season 33 (2007–2008)
Season 34 (2008–2009)
Weekend Update anchors: the tote board
As of episode 34.16 (Host: Alec Baldwin with Musical Guest: Jonas Brothers)
See also
- Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday
External links
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