In June, Saturday Night Live creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels told Deadline that the show was, “in the middle of rebuilding.” A significant part of that rebuilding process was announced Thursday evening when the New York Times broke the news that Michael Che will replace Cecily Strong behind the “Weekend Update” desk as the show enters its 40th season.
Che, who was a writer for SNL last season, joined The Daily Show as a correspondent in June. He will co-anchor the mid-show segment with Colin Jost, who replaced Seth Meyers in February. Strong will remain with SNL as a cast member.
Other changes made after the 39th season include the firings of cast members Brooks Wheelan, Noel Wells, and John Milisher. All struggled to establish themselves as cast members during their first season. Also, Nasim Pedrad has left the cast, but will reappear this fall on Mulaney, a Fox sitcom created by former SNL writer John Mulaney.
Along with the “Weekend Update” news, Michaels announced that SNL will not show reruns of the previous week’s episode at 10pm on Saturdays, but will instead will air classic shows from each of the previous 40 years. The shows will be condensed, but include the musical performers. Michaels also stated that he will be making “one or two additions to the cast this season.”
The 40th season of Saturday Night Live will premiere on Sept. 27 with Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt hosting, and Ariana Grande as the musical guest.
