After more than 40 seasons, Saturday Night Live has finally appointed its first black head writer.
According to Deadline, "Weekend Update" anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che have been promoted to the status of co-head writers, joining Kent Sublette and Bryan Tucker in what is now a crowded group at the top of the SNL writer's hierarchy. This move comes on the heels of former co-head writers Chris Kelly and Sara Schneider departing the legendary sketch show in order to focus on their own series for Comedy Central.
That CC show, which will also be executive produced by SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels, freed up some room for Che, who has helped bring a more diverse energy and edge to the Saturday night staple, to assume a bigger writing responsibility. "Weekend Update" anchors have a history of becoming the show's most valued scribes at one point or another, with Tina Fey and Seth Meyers having previously held the title of either head writer or co-head writer.
Jost and Che started working together on the "Weekend Update" segment in 2014. Jost has been with the show since 2005, starting off as a writer before seguing to on-camera work. Che appeared on The Daily Show before joining SNL in 2013. The sketch show continues to enjoy some strong ratings, with this current season being the second most-watched in nearly a decade, trailing only last year's strong run of episodes.
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