Colin Jost has been the longest reigning Weekend Update host on SNL for a while now, which means he’s met a ton of characters and participated in many bits from behind that iconic desk. Each week, the writers of SNL come up with something new to bring to the desk and make Jost laugh, but only a few become recurring SNL characters that withstand the test of time and come back again and again. Of course, over the years the anchor has developed favorites, and now he is revealing which Update characters were the most fun for him as a host.
In an interview for the Empire State Building's TikTok, Jost opened up about some of his favorite characters that he has met at the Update desk. He naturally has a soft spot for characters he helped to write or became iconic while he was a Weekend Update host. However, the nostalgic moments also meant a lot to him on a personal level. He explained that he was most excited about some of the legacy characters that came to the desk when former cast members hosted. He said:
It was cool for me, I wrote this character called Drunk Uncle with Bobby Moynihan. He did that before I did Weekend Update. So, the fact that he came back and did that while I was an anchor on Update and we got to do it together, that was really cool. But for me, the two craziest ones and the most fun in the last couple of years were when Eddie Murphy came back and did Gumby on Update and when [Adam] Sandler came back as Opera Man, because those were two that I just loved as a kid.
This totally makes sense. It must’ve been so surreal to have Adam Sandler do Opera Man right next to him when the Sandman came back to host in 2019, and even more crazy to actually have Eddie Murphy as Gumby over 35 years after he debuted the character on SNL. These characters are some of the most memorable in the Saturday Night Live legacy, and Jost became a part of their history when the comedians reprised them. Definitely pinch-me moments.
While these characters and moments may be Jost’s favorite now, this may be updated after SNL throws its big 50th anniversary special in February. The broadcast is expected to include many of the funniest and most famous SNL cast members, and it likely will feature many characters coming back for sketches and Weekend Update bits.
So, Jost may experience a slew of his favorite cast members returning to the desk as some seminal characters, creating even more nostalgia for everyone involved in and watching the highly anticipated special on the 2025 TV schedule.
Jost may have appreciated the legacy Weekend Update characters the most, but he’s created some iconic moments of his own behind the desk. Characters like “Guy Who Just Bought a Boat,” the Trump Brothers, and of course everything that included Cecily Strong throwing wine remain iconic and hilarious in their own right.
The anchor has been hosting Weekend Update for a long time, and who knows how long his tenure will continue, but hopefully he has a few more years in him to make more memorable Weekend Update guests that will go down in history.
You can see Colin Jost on Saturday Night Live, which airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET. The 50th season is chock full of A-list hosts for the anniversary episodes, so make sure to check it out. Fans can also revisit some of the best Weekend Update moments by watching past episodes of SNL with a Peacock subscription.