Weekend Update is the longest-running recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live, first appearing on the show’s debut episode on October 11th, 1975. A news satire segment in which an “anchor” (or anchors) lampoons the news of the week, Weekend Update has remained immensely popular throughout the show’s over fifty-year-long run, and has inspired many other news satire comedy shows such as The Daily Show. The segment has undergone various changes in style and format since its debut and has become a venue within the show for cast members to showcase their distinct comedic abilities, whether at the host desk as an anchor or in signature character segments. There have been many different rankings of the cast members who have sat behind the news desk at Weekend Update, and at the show’s 50th anniversary special, Bill Murray delivered his own top ten ranking of the Update hosts. This is my ranking of the Top Ten Weekend Update anchors. 

10. Kevin Nealon

Kevin Nealon’s tenure is best remembered for the characters who appeared alongside him from the very talented cast at the time. It cannot be understated, however, how important Nealon’s performance as the comedic “straight man” was, providing the perfect foil for the outrageous characters of Adam Sandler and Chris Farley at the time, to name a few. Nealon is also important to Weekend Update’s history for his “Mr. Subliminal” character. Kevin Nealon is underrated. 

9. Saturday Night News

The early 1980s were a notoriously strange time in SNL’s history. After the entire original cast and Lorne Michaels left, the show spent several years trying to rediscover its image, leading to significant inconsistency. During this time, Weekend Update was rebranded as Saturday Night News. While cast members Brad Hall and Christopher Guest were temporarily given a shot as the permanent anchor of the segment, eventually Saturday Night News did not have a permanent host, and instead was hosted by a rotation that included that week’s guest host, and even cast members performing in character, including Billy Crystal as Fernando Lamas. While often seen as a low point for the show, this era of Weekend Update is definitely worth looking back on, and provides a lot of brilliantly funny and overlooked moments. 

8. Colin Jost & Michael Che

When discussing Saturday Night Live, it is often said that everyone’s favorite cast is the one they were on while in high school or college. Essentially saying that everyone’s favorite cast is the cast they grew up watching. Growing up in the 2010s and going to college in the 2020s, I have watched Colin Jost and Michael Che as long as I have been watching the show regularly. Jost and Che both have immense writing talent and on-screen chemistry. Perhaps, looking back on their tenure, they will be ranked higher. 

7. Tina Fey & Jimmy Fallon

Tina and Jimmy hosted Weekend Update together during the early 2000s. Fey, who was head writer at the time, shows off her incredible writing and delivery in every segment, and Fallon shows off his charm, which would later earn him the host spot on The Tonight Show. Their tenure was also marked by memorable characters from fellow cast members, including Chris Kattan, Tracy Morgan, and Will Ferrell.

6. Dennis Miller

Dennis Miller’s tenure at Weekend Update is perhaps one of the most significant in the show’s history. Miller’s approach laid the groundwork for the same comedic approach still seen on Weekend Update today. While before most cast members were playing a “character” of a newsman, Miller was among the first to truly be himself at the Update desk, providing humor that was very much informed by his own personal opinions on the news of the week. Miller’s style was so distinct in fact, that fellow cast member Dana Carvey would frequently impersonate Miller right beside him at the desk. While Dennis Miller is considered a polarizing figure in comedy today, his work on Weekend Update was undoubtedly a turning point not only for SNL but for political satire as a whole. 

5. Seth Meyers & Amy Poehler

Seth and Amy are another entry on this list that are so memorable and beloved because of the way they made Weekend Update their own. With recurring bits such as “Really?!” and their “Joke Off” segments, Seth and Amy always showed great chemistry and brilliant joke writing and delivery. Seth and Amy’s tenure was also elevated by a very talented cast who frequently appeared alongside them, such as Bobby Moynihan’s Drunk Uncle, Jason Sudeikis’s Devil, and Bill Hader’s iconic city correspondent, Stefon.

4. Chevy Chase

The man who started it all, Chevy Chase successfully got America to fall in love with him when he first hosted Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live’s premiere episode in 1975. In his one season as a cast member, Chase is responsible for some of the most famous catchphrases early in the show’s run, such as his repetitive reporting on the death of Francisco Franco, and his opening line, “I’m Chevy Chase, and you’re not.” Chevy Chase started a satirical revolution when he introduced the world to Weekend Update in 1975, and that will forever cement his legacy in comedy. 

3. Norm Macdonald

There are some who would call blasphemy for putting Norm in the number three spot, as he is often cited by most comedy fans as the greatest of all time. On the list of people who consider Norm the best includes original Update Chevy Chase, who referred to Norm as “the only other guy” who hosted the segment as funny as he did (which sounds more like a compliment for himself). Macdonald anchored Weekend Update with the same signature style that has made him one of the greatest comedians of all time. He was biting, he was relentless, and sometimes even vicious. Of the many things Norm made fun of behind the news desk, it was his repeated jokes about O.J. Simpson that would eventually lead to his firing from the show, as NBC higher-up Don Ohlmeyer, a friend of O.J.’s, was not a fan of Macdonald’s mockery. This is just one of the many factors that have earned Norm his iconic status in comedy. After Macdonald’s passing in 2021, Colin Jost and Michael Che paid tribute to him on Weekend Update, showcasing some of his best jokes.

2. Tina Fey & Amy Poehler

Taking the number two spot on our list will be the first, and so far only, all-female-led Weekend Update team. Fey and Poehler’s wit and sharp writing were a perfect match and made for some of the best jokes in Weekend Update history, including their “Women’s News” segment. Their real-life friendship was clearly visible on screen, which created great chemistry between the two and led them to become one of the greatest comedic duos of the twenty-first century.

1. Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin

The number one spot on our list goes to two original cast members, Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin. Aykroyd and Curtin mark a perfect intersection between the two most popular Weekend Update hosting styles. Curtin delivers earnestly and deadpan, while Dan Aykroyd performs through a comedic persona. Their chemistry is undeniable, and they are also responsible for one of the most iconic moments in the show’s history, with Aykroyd delivering his famous line “Jane, you ignorant slut.”