‘SNL’ Weekend Update Welcomes Colin Jost As Seth Meyers Replacement

When Seth Meyers announced that he was moving to Late Night on NBC, word started to spread about who would replace him during his other gig on NBC. His “other gig” of course is anchor of Weekend Update on the sketch show Saturday Night Live. Following Meyers announcement people speculated that newcomer and new co-anchor Cecily Strong would take over for a solo job at the Weekend Update desk.

Those suspicions were dashed yesterday when Meyers announced on Twitter that SNL head writer Colin Jost is replacing him at the Weekend Update desk. In 2005 Jost, a Staten Island native, joined SNL as a writer at the ripe age of 22-years-old. The former president of comedy troupe Harvard Lampoon, Jost found himself in good company when SNL promoted him as head writer in 2012. Former head writers over the last thirteen years include Seth Meyers and Tina Fey before they moved on to other projects at NBC.

Before Seth Meyers took the Late Night gig from former host and SNL colleague Jimmy Fallon, it was believed that he would be Regis Philbin’s successor on the morning show with Kelly Ripa. Although he was in the running Meyers couldn’t beat out Michael Strahan. As for Jost, he already has some pretty great bragging rights including being nominated for seven Emmy Awards, winning three WGA awards, and winning a Peabody Award in 2009 for his contributions to SNL.

If his face looks remotely familiar it’s because you might have seen Colin on television before. Jost, who has his own brand of comedy different from Meyers, has performed his comedy set on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Jost doesn’t have the new gig of Weekend Update all on his shoulders. Co-anchor Cecily Strong, whose quick wit and smart delivery has been compared to Tina Fey, will join the newcomer at the desk. That said, it seems like we may be looking at the new Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey for the Weekend Update segment. Although Cecily Strong joined Seth Meyers for a tag team set up, Meyers’ foot was already halfway out the door by then, and the vibe resembled more of an apprenticeship than anything else.

Colin Jost isn’t the only new face that viewers will see on SNL. African American stand up comedian and viral hit Sasheer Zamata joined the cast in January after producer Lorne Michaels held a search for a talented woman who bridged the racial issues that the show has dealt with since Maya Rudolph’s departure.

Seth Meyers last Weekend Update will take place on February 1 and he will transition as Late Night host on February 24.