This past week, Saturday Night Live star Cecily Strong was officially told she would no longer be hosting Weekend Update. Instead, her co-host/ SNL head writer Colin Jost will be carrying on alongside writer/ stand-up comedian and former Daily Show correspondent Michael Che. In the days since, late night fans have sounded off with their knee-jerk reactions, but no one has heard from the discarded woman herself, at least until now.
Earlier tonight, Cecily Strong took to her Instagram account to let fans know she’s actually fine with the alteration. She’s apparently more comfortable on Weekend Update doing characters and making random appearances than she is as a standard anchor. You can check out her entire quote below…
I don't see this as me leaving update, just as me being on update in a looser, goofier way that is a lot more fun for me and in a way I think I'm better at. And now I get to do features with the very funny and wonderful Michael Che! No point in being angry or sad for me for something I'm genuinely happy about! Unless you are just a person who enjoys being angry or sad. Then I guess play on, playa. Also, I danced too hard last night so now I am wearing a hot pad on my neck. Be angry and sad for me about my dumbass neck.
Here’s the thing. The track record of shelved Weekend Update anchors isn’t particularly good. In short, after the majority have been replaced with someone new, they’ve never really been able to regain footing on the show. Fortunately for Cecily Strong, however, she’s one of the few anchors in the history of SNL who has maintained a steady presence in sketches during her tenure. Therefore, it should be a lot easier for her to fall back into a rhythm than it has been for people like Colin Quinn and Norm MacDonald.
Weekend Update is by far the most famous recurring sketch in the history of Saturday Night Live, but a brief look at its history reveals how difficult the segment actually is to do right. Everyone has a different perspective on what it should be. Highly intellectual? Extremely topical? Irreverent? Low brow? Sometimes an anchor places a heavy emphasis on one. Sometimes he or she tries to do all of them. There’s no one strategy that works. Each person or team just needs to find a comfort zone and go with it.
Here's to hoping Colin Jost and Michael Che can form a winning partnership and Strong can be around for years to cheer them on.
