Saturday Night Live has announced that comedian Michael Che will be replacing Cecily Strong on Weekend Update when the show starts its new season.
Che will co-anchor the segment along with Colin Jost, while Strong will remain on the show as a regular cast member.
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“Michael is a strong writer, and he’s really funny,” SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels told the New York Times about replacing Strong with Che. “It’s always difficult to make changes and make Update different from what’s gone before.”
Michaels said the decision wasn’t taken lightly and they tried out a “lot of combinations” before deciding to put Che with Jost.
How are fans reacting to the news? Let’s just say they aren’t amused. The news comes close on the heels of the show losing three other cast members earlier this summer, which might be adding to their disappointment.
On SNL‘s Facebook page, some fans have remarked that they don’t mind the addition of Che to the show, but they are disappointed that Strong will be taken off the desk. One fan said he assumed SNL would be replacing Jost, not Strong. Another fan said that replacing Strong instead of Jost was “the exact opposite of what everyone wanted.”
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Disappointed fans were vocal about Strong’s replacement on Twitter as well. One fan said the decision was “almost as bad as letting Michaela Watkins go a couple years ago.”
Cecily Strong was kicked off the #SNL Weekend Update desk?!
That's almost as bad as letting @michaelaWat go a couple of years ago. #BadLorne— Alan Smithee (@TheSpaceBar) September 12, 2014
Another fan had a message for Michaels himself.
Can someone at NBC tell Lorne Michaels he replaced the wrong #WeekendUpdate anchor?! #SNL
— John Coggin (@ThatCogginDude) September 12, 2014
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Another fan also voted to replace Jost instead, citing that the comedian gave off “a weird vibe.”
https://twitter.com/LucMartin__/status/510487177713557504
Commenters on the report on Entertainment Weekly were also voting to replace Jost rather than Strong. One commenter said that Jost should go because “he doesn’t belong on TV,” to which another person replied that they agreed because Jost “must be the nephew of some executive.”
Ouch.
What do you think of the news that Saturday Night Live is making changes to its Weekend Update desk? Will you watch the new anchors when the show premieres on Sept. 27?
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