Right now, New York’s hottest club is the SNL 50 Weekend Update desk.
After all, the 50th anniversary special for Saturday Night Live brought together some of the most iconic comedians to ever grace the desk, including former anchor Seth Meyers, who joined current hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost, we well as Cecily Strong and Bobby Moynihan, who reprised their beloved roles of “Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party” and “Drunk Uncle.”
But one of the best moments to emerge from the anniversary segment was when Bill Murray ranked the many anchors who have sat at the desk over the years. After awarding Michael the title of number one Black anchor, Bill ranked the other anchors and co-anchor pairings, from Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon, Tina and Amy Poehler, original anchor Chevy Chase as well as the late Norm Macdonald.
And when there was just one spot left—the top spot—and Colin was notably still absent from the list, Bill began, “Okay, number one is funny. Got a great smile, currently sleeping every kind of way with a lovely actress Scarlett Johansson.”
Before he turned the tables, “Of course, I’m talking about my brother, Brian,” revealing the number one spot as “Brian Doyle-Murray.”
Thankfully, Colin took the joke about his wife in stride, laughing even as Bill continued of Brian, “I’m told he’s a very considerate lover.”
Over the years, the Weekend Update desk has become one of SNL’s longest mainstay segments, seeing a range of comedians take on the anchor role as they welcome cast mates and celebrity hosts as guests—including the late Gilda Radner’s newscaster Rosanne Rosannadana and more recently Bill Hader’s correspondent Stefon.
The long-running bit saw the Barry star—who was not in attendance for the anniversary—come on to reveal New York City’s newest and “hottest clubs.” Among the many clubs Stefon promoted over four seasons was Maaaaary, “Opened in 1997 by missing Florida woman Lisa Martinez, this club is currently going 90 miles per hour down the West Side Highway.”
According to the promoter, whose love story with then-anchor Seth also played out during his appearances, this club had everything, including, “Charts, graphs, PowerPoint, a guy who still thinks Jamba Juice is good for you. And if you liked Russell Crowe in Les Misérables, you might want to hear Jasper the gorilla pass a kidney stone!”
But for over 10 years now, the desk has been helmed by Michael and Colin, and in that time they’ve come up with their own repeat bits—including a tradition where they write, often inappropriate, jokes for the other to cold read during the show’s annual holiday episode and season finale.
One such joke swap, written by Michael for his co-anchor, included a nod to Scarlett’sprivate parts during the 2024 holiday episode.
And as Colin revealed, he received some heat for the joke.
“I’m in trouble I think with a lot of people,” Colin said during an appearance on The Tonight Show the following month. “Scarlett was genuinely so shocked.”
“I was obviously surprised by everything,” he continued, “but they gave her a heads up and they were like ‘Hey would you be okay if Michael made kind of a little vagina joke at some point?’ and she’s like, ‘Sure, whatever I’m open to it.’”
But the Weekend Update anchors—past and present—aren’t the only Saturday Night Live alums returning for this epic anniversary. For all of the comedians, musical guests and former celebrity hosts in attendance, keep reading.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
Kim Kardashian
Miley Cyrus
Pete Davidson
Dakota Johnson
Lady Gaga and Michael Polansky
Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost
Jackie Sandler and Adam Sandler
Kenan Thompson
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
Sabrina Carpenter
Meryl Streep
Eddie Murphy
Emma Stone and Dave McCary
Alexander Edwards and Cher
Bad Bunny
Amy Poehler
Tina Fey
Maya Rudolph
Miles Teller and Keleigh Sperry Teller
Drew Barrymore
Zahra Rock and Chris Rock
Will Ferrell
Chris Fischer and Amy Schumer
Chris Pine
Kate McKinnon
Sandra Oh
Lauren Miller and Seth Rogen
Nick Jonas
Aidy Bryant
