SNL' Gets Its First Black 'Weekend Update' Host

SNL’ Gets Its First Black ‘Weekend Update’ Host

“Saturday Night Live” has decided to keep the diversity ball rolling, appointing a black cast member to the “Weekend Update” desk. BuzzFeed reports:

For the first time in the history of Saturday Night Live, there will be two men anchoring the “Weekend Update” segment. And for the first time in the history of the show, one of those anchors will be black.

Michael Che, a senior correspondent for Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and a New York stand-up comic, will replace Cecily Strong, who will remain on the show as a full-time cast member.

Che, who got the anchor desk after what executive producer Lorne Michaels described as “a lot of combinations and tests” for a “new era,” will co-host with head writer Colin Jost, who replaced Seth Meyers midway through last season. The two formed a close relationship in the writers’ room last year, said Michaels, who went on to indicate that the move will also give Cecily Strong more opportunity to appear in sketches, which she herself asked for. Read more.

Of course, the topic of diversity at the sketch comedy show became a hot topic last year when critics decried the absence of black women on its cast. Soon after, the show hired comedienne Sasheer Zamata. Che, however, will be the first for black cast member to host “Weekend Update” in the show’s 40 seasons on air.

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