Editing Weekend Update (section)

{{short description|Saturday Night Live parody newscast}}
{{italic title}}
{{for|the 2008 Thursday night specials|Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2013}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
[[File:Weekend Update.jpg|thumb|Current intertitle for the program]]
'''''Weekend Update''''' is a ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and [[Parody|parodies]] current events. It is the show's longest-running [[List of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches|recurring sketch]], having been on since the show's first broadcast and been featured in the vast majority of episodes since. It is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance, and with some exceptions is the only sketch not to feature the episode's host.

The format of the sketch involves one or two of the players cast in the role of [[news anchor]], presenting news headlines based on current events that are immediately followed by a gag commentary that twists the context into something humorous. The anchors also act as hosts for occasional editorials, commentaries, or other performances by other [[Saturday Night Live cast|cast members]] or guests, either playing fictionalized versions of themselves, impressions of real-life figures, or invented characters; these guests often display eccentric behavior and baffling commentaries, with the anchors acting as [[Straight man|straight people]] reacting accordingly.

In modern times, dedicated anchors are chosen among writing staff, often lead writers, in lieu of cast or featured players, although anchors still occasionally appear in other sketches. [[Chevy Chase]], the original cast member filling the role of the anchor, has said that ''Weekend Update'' paved the way for comedic news shows like ''[[The Daily Show]]'' and ''[[The Colbert Report]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aoltv.com/2007/04/16/a-delusional-chevy-chase-says-he-created-the-daily-show/|title=A delusional Chevy Chase says he created The Daily Show|website=AOL TV|first=Joel|last=Keller|date=April 16, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094259/http://www.aoltv.com/2007/04/16/a-delusional-chevy-chase-says-he-created-the-daily-show/|archive-date=May 18, 2015|quote=[...] asked what he thought of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, [Chase] took credit for their success. "[I] think that, you know, I started it with my Weekend Update," he responds, implying that the ideas for both ''The Daily Show'' and ''The Colbert Report'' came directly from WU.}}</ref> and several ''Weekend Update'' hosts have gone on to host their own [[late-night talk shows]], most notably fellow [[NBC]] properties ''[[Late Night (franchise)|Late Night]]'' ([[Jimmy Fallon]] and [[Seth Meyers]]) and ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' (Fallon). The current hosts of the segment are writing staff members and former lead writers [[Colin Jost]] and [[Michael Che]]; they also hold the longest tenures of any ''Weekend Update'' host, with Jost beating out Che by eight episodes.