Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers Need To Replace Colin Jost and Michael Che on ‘SNL’s Weekend Update

There have been so many fantastic Weekend Update hosts on Saturday Night Live over its 50 years. From the OGs Chevy Chase and Jane Curtin to the classic comic stylings of Dennis Miller and Norm Macdonald, we always knew there would be plenty of laughs when it came to reporting the news of the week. Some of the best hosts came out of the early 2000s, with Jimmy Fallon and the iconic pairings of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and Poehler and Seth Meyers, who carried the segment through until its most recent iteration with Colin Jost and Michael Che. Even though the news hasn’t always been recounted in the most tasteful or sensitive way, it tends to leave us giggling. But after the Las Culturistas Culture Awards, it just might be time to have comedian and actor Matt Rogers and SNL‘s own Bowen Yang replace the current Weekend Update hosts.

‘SNL’s Colin Jost and Michael Che Have Hosted Weekend Update for Over 10 Years

Jost and Che’s pairing has been a momentous one for SNL. When they took over the desk in 2014, it marked the first time both anchors were male, and Che was the first Black Weekend Update anchor. In the past few years, they’ve also become the show’s longest-running anchors ever. One of their repeated gimmicks is to trade jokes with one another, which creates a mean-spirited (albeit hilarious) segment where they roast each other. Many of their jokes are misogynistic, and some are racist, making each joke cringier than the last. While their style and rapport have gone quite far and their tenure as Head Writers was prolific, their humor is starting to feel stale and uninteresting. After more than a decade as hosts, isn’t it time SNL gave someone else a shot?

Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers’ ‘Las Culturistas’ Brilliantly Explores Pop Culture

Las Culturistas is a pop culture/comedy podcast (produced by Will Ferrell‘s Big Money Players) that began all the way back in 2016. The show started out as a way for comedians and hosts Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers to chat with guests about their own formative entertainment experiences, asking the question: “What was the culture that made you say, ‘Culture is for me’?” There’s also a memorable segment done in each episode called “I Don’t Think So, Honey,” where Yang and Rogers or their guest get to rant for exactly one minute about an element of current pop culture that currently has them peeved. But the lesser-known podcast has now taken over the pop culture world that they love to talk about.

Throughout its run, Las Culturistas has featured some incredibly big names, including Tina Fey, Kelly Clarkson, Cate Blanchett, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Chappell Roan. Perhaps their biggest guest recently was Former First Lady Michelle Obama. Although there’s always an emphasis on what pop culture Bowen and Rogers are currently obsessing over, the show also remains quick-witted and intelligent. There’s an authentic sense of camaraderie (it’s clear that the two hosts are best buds), and the reverence with which they speak to their famous guests always comes across as true respect and awe for those in the entertainment field.

Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang’s ‘Las Culturistas’ Award Show Is All the Proof You Need

Since 2022, the duo have hosted the annual Las Culturistas Culture Awards to give props to their favorite pop culture moments from the past year. Some categories are traditional: Album of the Year or Most Amazing Impact in Film. But the actual nominees and winners are anything from ordinary. For example, the last category went to the winner of “Jeff Goldblum‘s Chest in Jurassic Park.” If you’re looking to laugh, even just reading the category names (like the Jamie Lee Curtis Award for Gusto, Enthusiasm, and Individuality or the Eva Longoria Award for Tiny Woman, Huge Impact handed out to Quinta Brunson) will be enough to get you rolling.

For the first time ever, the Culture Awards were televised last week on Bravo. Many impressive celebrities attended, including Andy Cohen, Sarah Michelle Gellar, the entire cast of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, and Curtis herself. There were also lifetime achievement awards given to the legendary Allison Janney and Yang’s fellow SNL castmate Thompson. The entire awards show was the perfect display of why Rogers and Yang should take over Weekend Update.

Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers Would Bring a New Energy to ‘SNL’s Weekend Update

The pair’s hysterical banter is always spot-on (with comedic timing that can’t be matched), and their silly humor is never hurtful or harsh. The fandom they have for pop legends and movie stars would bring a fun, entertaining tone to the news desk. They’ve also got their finger on the pulse of pop culture, which would make Weekend Update much more relevant than it feels today. Plus, they’ve demonstrated at the Culture Awards that they can pull off a variety of bits (including elaborate musical numbers like their rendition of Lady Gaga‘s “Abracadabra”) and collaborations with other comedians. Kristen Wiig, Aidy Bryant, and Andy Samberg all made appearances on the award show, illustrating how easy it would be for Rogers and Yang to play off other SNL castmates or guest hosts. It’s clear that Weekend Update is due for a change. By hiring the Las Culturistas hosts, the 50-year-old sketch show would prove that they can still keep up in an ever-changing world. What better way to do that than with this pair, who already feel fresh and current?

Saturday Night Live

Release Date

October 11, 1975

Showrunner

Lorne Michaels

Directors

Dave Wilson, Don Roy King, Liz Patrick, Andy Warhol, Linda Lee Cadwell, Matthew Meshekoff, Paul Miller, Robert Altman, Robert Smigel

Writers

Will Forte, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Chris Parnell, Asa Taccone, John Lutz, Tom Schiller, Simon Rich, Michael Patrick O’Brien, Nicki Minaj, Herbert Sargent, Matt Piedmont, John Solomon, Chris Kelly, Alan Zweibel, Kent Sublette, Ari Katcher, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schnedier, Scott Jung, Justin Franks, Jerrod Bettis, Rhiannon Bryan