Saturday Night Lives’ ‘Weekend Update’ Is Coming To Primetime Television

Weekend Update, the regular news segment on SNL, is officially coming to primetime television. NBC announced the exciting news on Tuesday through their Twitter.

Colin Jost and Michael Che, current hosts of Weekend Update, will keep their positions on the show, and other SNL members will make periodic appearances.

‘Weekend Update’ Enters Primetime Slot

Weekend Update is SNL‘s longest-running recurring sketch, and started airing on the show since its SNL‘s first broadcast in 1975. It’s usually presented in the middle of the show, after the first musical performance. One character in the segment will play the news anchor, and present gag news items based on current events.

The segment has been credited for paving the way for later parody news shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.

The series will debut on primetime during the show’s summer hiatus. Each episode will be 30 minutes, with the first set to air at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, August 10.

NBC Chairman Robert Greenblatt explained in a statement that the goal of this move was to help fill the gaps between seasons of the late-night comedy show.

“SNL is having its best season in a quarter of a century – how many shows can say that?! – so we didn’t want them to take the summer off,” Greenblatt said. “We’re thrilled to have Colin Jost and Michael Che continuing their unique brand of news with fresh ‘Weekend Update’ shows in primetime this August.”