President Donald Trump, his cabinet, and the GOP Congressional members have been a boon to NBC’sSaturday Night Livethanks to a seemingly endless parade of parodies that don’t have to stray too far into fictional territory. And in the ongoing struggle to separate fact from alternative fact,SNL’s long-running satirical news segment “Weekend Update” will now be getting a primetime slot to compete with a myriad of other similar shows skewering misstepping politicians.
NBC is bringing the late-night institution to primetime with a four-episode order for the spin-off seriesSaturdayNight Live: Weekend Update, which joins the network’s schedule startingThursday, August 10th at 9 pm.The half-hour telecast will feature “Weekend Update” anchorsColin JostandMichael Che, along withSaturdayNight Livecast members making appearances.
Here’s chairman of NBC EntertainmentRobert GreenblattonSNL’s current success and going with the hot hand rather than letting it cool down during the off-season:
“‘SNL’ is having its best season in a quarter of a century — how many shows can say that?! — so we didn’t want them to take the summer off. We’re thrilled to have Colin Jost and Michael Che continuing their unique brand of news with fresh ‘Weekend Update’ shows in primetime this August.”
“Weekend Update” has consistently ranked as one of the most popular segments of “SaturdayNightLive” throughout the show’s storied 42-year history and is certainly a highlight of the current run. Previous “Weekend Update” anchors includeChevy Chase,Dan Aykroyd,Jane Curtin,Dennis Miller,Norm Macdonald,Jimmy Fallon,Tina Fey,Amy PoehlerandSeth Meyers. It’s unclear just which co-stars or former anchors might return to the four-episode spin-off, but I’d be surprised if a Fey/Poehler reunion didn’t happen.
Will you be checking out the primetime version ofSaturday Night Live: Weekend Updatelater this summer? Be sure to let us know in the comments!
