SNL’s Weekend Update convention editions to air on MSNBC

Weekend Update anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost will cover the political conventions for MSNBC and NBC’s Today.

SNL is joining other late-night shows in covering the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. It was announced on Monday that Michael Che and Colin Jost will return to the Weekend Update desk to co-anchor two special editions of the show’s longest-recurring segment for MSNBC, in addition to serving as correspondents for Today.

According to EW, the Weekend Update specials will air around midnight this Wednesday, July 20 on NBC’s sister network following the RNC in Cleveland, which kicked off last night, as well as next Wednesday, July 27 after the DNC in Philadelphia. Che and Jost will also appear in the morning both days on Today. The pair struggled during their first year as co-anchors of Weekend Update in 2014, succeeding current Late Night host Seth Meyers, but developed better chemistry this past season.

USA Today caught up with the duo in Cleveland as they asked a passersby to identify Donald Trump’s running mate Mike Pence out of a line-up of white men with white hair:

The move by NBC could pave the way for the SNL Weekend Update Thursday specials to return this fall. The spin-off of the fake news sketch first aired during the 2008 presidential campaign at the height of the popularity of Tina Fey’s take on Sarah Palin, with Will Ferrell reprising his role as George W. Bush. The 30-minute limited series returned in fall 2009, and there were two episodes during the lead-up to the 2012 election.

SNL joins a growing list of late-night series that have decided to cover the conventions. Stephen Colbert kicked off his live Late Show coverage of the event last night by reuniting with his former Comedy Central colleague Jon Stewart, and later revived his Colbert Report character and popular segment “The Word.” The Daily Show’s episodes from Cleveland will begin airing tonight, while Samantha Bee will air a special edition of her show Full Frontal on Wednesday after covering the preparations for the event last night. Meanwhile, Bill Maher will host four live specials of Real Time this Wednesday and Thursday, and next week on the same days, in addition to his regular Friday shows. Late Night will also go live for the first time in franchise history so that Meyers can comment on Trump’s acceptance speech this Thursday, July 21, with another live episode next Thursday, July 28 with Che and Jost as guests.

There’s already a lot for the shows to dissect from the RNC, most notably Melania Trump’s alleged plagiarism of Michelle Obama’s speech from 2008, as well as Trump’s over-the-top entrance to introduce his wife, set to Queen’s “We Are the Champions.” There’s also been speeches by D-list celebrities like Scott Baio and Antonio Sabato Jr., who caused a stir by suggesting that President Obama is a secret Muslim.

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