Meyers’ last Update
Melissa McCarthy hosts Saturday Night Live this Super Bowl weekend, alongside musical guest Imagine Dragons. Tolong time SNL followers, though, this weekend’s show is notable for another reason: it will be head writer Seth Meyers’ farewell turn as host of Weekend Update.
Meyers takes over as host of the late-night talk show Late Night, the show that made David Letterman famous, starting Feb. 27, after the Sochi Olympics. SNL fans might not realize it, but Meyers has been with the Saturday-night late-night institution for more than 12 years.
Ironies abound: before being appointed co-head writer with Tina Fey and Andrew Steele in 2006, Meyers auditioned to be Weekend Update’s co-anchor with Fey. He lost out to Amy Poehler — no shame there — and so was a natural pick for the job when first Fey and then Poehler moved on. Now it’s Meyers’ turn to move on.
During his time on SNL, Meyers came up with such quips as this Super Bowl observation — “Alicia Keys set a new record Sunday with the longest-ever rendition of the national anthem at a Super Bowl, ending two and a half minutes into the first quarter” — as well as a steady stream of catchy, insider pop-cultural references.
Don’t be surprised if Meyers’ final Weekend Update features surprise dropins from some of the guest stars, real and imagined, who have dropped by on Weekend Update over the years, possibly even Fey herself. In an appearance on Letterman’s Late Show following the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, Fey credited Meyers with conceiving and writing her now infamous Sarah Palin impressions.
By taking over Late Night, Meyers is stepping into both Letterman and present host Jimmy Fallon’s shoes.
“It’s a big thing to be stepping into, but on the same note Weekend Update was a big thing to step into,” Meyers said.
“SNL was a big thing to step into. I’ve found over the years that if you get too hung up on the legacy of something, it gets in the way of doing the work. My goal has always been to do the funniest thing I can every night and get better each time out.” (Global — 11:35 p.m., NBC — 12:30 a.m.)