With Saturday Night Live’s return just weeks away on the 2025 TV schedule, the buzz around the new season is only getting louder. While fans are keeping an eye on the upcoming SNL hosts and musical guests, the bigger mystery right now may be what’s happening behind the scenes as the show just confirmed its first official cast cut, with Devon Walker announcing his exit after three seasons. But cast turnover might not be the only shake-up on the way. A new rumor suggests even the iconic Weekend Update desk could look different when Season 51 premieres.
According to a report from Late Nighter, the long-running comedy institution has already screen-tested at least one new anchor pairing. Though Colin Jost and Michael Che remain unconfirmed for Season 51, the fact that producers are looking at alternatives points to the possibility of change. Michaels himself teased a shake-up was coming and that decisions would be finalized soon, telling Matt Belloni that an announcement could be coming “in a week or so.” And since Jost and Che aren't head writers anymore, it seems possible they might want to focus on other opportunities.
For nearly a decade, Jost and Che have held down Update, becoming the longest-running duo in the show’s history. Their dynamic, Jost’s straight-man delivery against Che’s biting, often trolling punchlines, has become a defining feature of modern SNL. Still, turnover at Update is nothing new. From Chevy Chase and Norm Macdonald to Tina Fey and Seth Meyers, the desk has evolved with the show’s eras, and Season 51 might be the next turning point.
An inside source told Late Nighter that Michael Longfellow and SNL writer KC Shornima taped auditions. Whether their chemistry at the desk impressed Michaels enough to move forward remains to be seen, but it’s notable that testing even took place. Weekend Update anchors are always chosen with care, as they set the tone for the show’s political satire and viral punchlines, something that’s especially crucial with a heated midterm election season on the horizon.
Sunday also brought the news that writer Celeste Yim is leaving the show after five years on staff. As with Devon Walker’s departure, Michaels seems to be signaling that Season 51 could serve as a reset moment for SNL, both onstage and off.
The fate of the Weekend Update desk is still uncertain, but there’s no question the segment will remain a centerpiece of the show’s rhythm. One constant viewers can count on is James Austin Johnson, whose scary-accurate Trump impersonation has become one of the defining elements of SNL’s political satire in recent years.
The bigger question now is who else will be standing alongside Johnson when the new season begins. Mikey Day has expressed a desire to stick around “for as long as [he] can,” while Bowen Yang’s reflections on Season 50 carried a hint of possible departure. For the moment, it’s a waiting game to see which familiar faces return and which decide to move on.
Lorne Michaels has promised that casting news will arrive soon. Until then, fans can revisit Season 50 with a Peacock subscription and start making their own wish lists of who they hope to see back in Studio 8H this fall.
Saturday Night Live Season 51 premieres Saturday, October 4, at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC, with full episodes streaming the next day on Peacock.
