Saturday Night Live assembles five all-time great Weekend Update hosts for its 50th birthday episode. While SNL‘s 50th anniversary special aired in February, season 51, episode 2 was released exactly 50 years after the show’s premiere on October 11, 1975.
The series celebrated the milestone by having former Weekend Update host Amy Poehler host the episode. This was Poehler’s third time hosting, with previous stints in 2010 and 2015, and she was a cast member from 2001 to 2008, where she played many memorable characters.
Now, Poehler has reunited with Tina Fey, who she hosted Weekend Update with from 2004-2006, along with Seth Meyers, who hosted the segment with her from 2006-2008. Michael Che and Colin Jost, who have hosted Weekend Update since 2014, joined in as well.
After Poehler criticizes Jost’s joke about a thirteen-pound baby, she challenges him to a Weekend Update joke off. Poehler is then joined by Fey and Meyers, who team up against Jost and Che for the competition. Check out the Weekend Update segment below:
The SNL 50th anniversary special kicked off the season with plenty of nostalgia and star power that is a testament to the show’s rich history. Season 51 is now continuing this by uniting five of the show’s all-time great Weekend Update hosts, with the reunion of Poehler, Fey, and Meyers feeling particularly nostalgic for longtime fans.
All of their respective careers are thriving in different ways, and they are still very much in the public eye. Nevertheless, it feels like a rarity to see them back on Saturday Night Live and as part of Weekend Update again, especially given the important role that the show and this segment played in shaping their careers.
This particular segment is arguably less about the jokes and more about the show acknowledging the legacy of its past and present by bringing beloved former and current Weekend Update hosts together. Each host has brought a different flavor of comedy to Weekend Update, all of which are highlighted during this segment.
Season 51, episode 2 may not go down as one of the all-time best Saturday Night Live episodes, but it still manages to leave a strong impression that honors the show exactly 50 years after it first premiered. Poehler, Fey, Meyers, Che, and Jost further pave the way for more nostalgic reunions and blending of the show’s past and present as the season continues.
Release Date
October 11, 1975
Showrunner
Lorne Michaels
Directors
Dave Wilson, Don Roy King, Liz Patrick, Andy Warhol, Linda Lee Cadwell, Matthew Meshekoff, Paul Miller, Robert Altman, Robert Smigel
Writers
Will Forte, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Chris Parnell, Asa Taccone, John Lutz, Tom Schiller, Simon Rich, Michael Patrick O’Brien, Nicki Minaj, Herbert Sargent, Matt Piedmont, John Solomon, Chris Kelly, Alan Zweibel, Kent Sublette, Ari Katcher, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schnedier, Scott Jung, Justin Franks, Jerrod Bettis, Rhiannon Bryan
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