Staying or going? Colin Jost and Michael Che give an update on their SNL future
By Matt Moore
Saturday Night Live season 50 is just weeks away. "Weekend Update" co-anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che are focused on the historic season but also have some ideas on their SNL futures.
Jost and Che began co-hosting "Weekend Update" in season 40. During that time, they've also been head writers and stepped away from the title. And as each comedian becomes a bigger star on and off Saturday Night Live, speculation grows as to when they could step away.
The duo spoke about the topic during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show. The legendary radio host wasted no time in asking Jost and Che if they had plans to exit Studio 8H.
"We definitely don't have a gameplan," Jost said about when they could leave SNL. Che agreed and revealed that the pair have had private conversations about leaving together. But when that will happen hasn't been decided.
Che has fueled speculation about an SNL departure in the past through social media posts. And while they are mostly sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek comments, it hasn't prevented any predictions about his leaving the show.
"It's not a matter of 'I want to leave because I want to leave,'" Che said. "It's like I want to leave because I always just feel like I miss standup and all this stuff."
But at the same time, Che admitted that he's having a hard time imagining his life without Saturday Night Live. The comedian noted that his "brain is on the clock of Saturday Night Live."
It also helps that Colin Jost and Michael Che have been afforded opportunities to do a number of projects outside of Saturday Night Live. Jost has written, directed, and starred in feature films. Che starred in That Damn Michael Che for HBO and is reportedly working on another comedy/talk show project.
Recently, it was announced that Che and Jost would co-host a comedy special on Peacock. Add in the fact that both comedians continue to tour the country as stand-ups, and it appears that they have a pretty fulfilling setup at Saturday Night Live.
So while many speculate that season 50 will be a changing of the guard at Saturday Night Live in more ways than one, there's no guaratee that it means the end of the Colin Jost-Michael Che era.