All through the great, the unhealthy, and the extraordinarily turbulent years of Saturday Night Live, Weekend Replace has been the regular mainstay that supplied the week’s information with the SNL-brand of sarcastic and thought-provoking humor. The host of the phase, the longest constantly working one within the present’s historical past, usually defines the period, setting in place the tone and tenor of the present’s forged and timeline, not simply comedically, but in addition amplifying and satirizing the political environment of their time.
Whereas not each host has been incredible or held the model to a excessive normal – together with one who was fired for cussing dwell on air – some have stood out within the area and helped SNL keep within the cultural dialog. Impressed by Bill Murray’s tribute featured in his private Weekend Replace host rating listing throughout the SNL 50 special, we’re rating the highest ten Weekend Replace hosts in SNL historical past. The perfect Weekend Replace hosts are those that handle to be memorable as a consequence of their distinct comedy, supply, and respective legacies.
10
Colin Quinn
1998-2000
After the stunning firing of Norm MacDonald for his steady jokes in regards to the O.J. Simpson murder trial, no host may have probably crammed the seat in a manner followers wished, however Colin Quinn gave it his greatest shot. Spit-fire jokes via his heavy New York accent made for some clunky deliveries and an virtually constant “alright?” query on the finish of a number of jokes, Quinn did one of the best he may with what he was given and the outcomes, certainly, diversified.
Quinn might not have been one of the best or most comfy individual within the Weekend Replace chair; his “I am Colin Quinn, that is my story, and I am sticking to it” entered the lexicon for at the very least the rest of the Invoice Clinton administration. Though he informed Howard Stern on The Howard Stern Show in 2015 that he loved his time on SNL till he took over the chair, Quinn nonetheless stood out amongst his contemporaries effectively sufficient to crack the highest ten.
9
Kevin Nealon
1991–1994
Throughout one of the stacked eras in SNL historical past, Kevin Nealon turned the straight-laced information anchor on the desk starting in season 17. Hanging robust with a Assassin’s Row of expertise that existed throughout arguably one of the best run within the present’s historical past, Nealon introduced among the nonetheless oft-quoted characters in SNL historical past to life in his segments, together with Adam Sandler’s Opera Man and Chris Farley’s Bennett Brauer.
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Nealon performed it drier than the desert, like he did as a correspondent on the Dennis Miller-led information desk, particularly throughout a time that felt transitional within the nation as Invoice Clinton turned President. His dryness did not at all times translate with the viewers, however his legacy is outlined extra by the characters he helped carry to life at his desk than it’s by his sarcastic misses.
8
Jimmy Fallon & Tina Fey
2000-2004
A really younger Jimmy Fallon took the seat in 2000, each pre-9/11 and post-Colin Quinn, and was paired with Tina Fey, clearly extra comfy within the place than Fallon. Their power was comparable in each presentation and execution, as Fallon did his greatest not to break character on SNL via your entire phase, which ran out of its cute issue after the primary two jokes.
Fallon and Fey had a novel dynamic, however not a foul one, and the anchors navigated the brand new post-9/11 world collectively as hosts throughout that point. Whereas it set the desk for Fey as Weekend Replace anchor with a way more efficient co-chair, Fallon would proceed to (largely) sharpen his anchor abilities, abilities that may take him all the best way to The Tonight Present.
7
Dan Aykroyd & Jane Curtin
1977-1978
Within the fallout of Chevy Chase leaving SNL in a reasonably abrupt trend, Jane Curtin crammed the position solo for the rest of season 2 till being paired with Dan Aykroyd. Curtin’s skilled tone paired seamlessly along with her scathing retorts to Aykroyd’s “Station Supervisor” character, who he transitioned to throughout season 3, and who was usually aggressive and demeaning to her.
Curtin and Aykroyd solely caught round for a season collectively, however they created some memorable moments of their tenure and stored the power alive on the present because it headed in the direction of uncharted waters within the Eighties.
Chase, like MacDonald, left a big void within the Weekend Replace anchor desk, however Curtin and Aykroyd made a dynamic pair that helped proceed the sarcastic gravitas Chase dropped at the phase. Curtin and Aykroyd solely caught round for a season collectively, however they created some memorable moments of their tenure and stored the power alive on the present because it headed in the direction of uncharted waters within the Eighties.
6
Amy Poehler & Seth Meyers
2006-2008
Arguably one of the best mixed-gender duo of the Weekend Replace timeline, Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers introduced a recent new tackle the phase. Poehler’s loud place was offset by a extra nuanced strategy, giving the presentation a steadiness that was completed solely higher by Poehler and her unique sparring associate, Tina Fey.
Poehler and Meyers have been precisely what the present wanted on the tail finish of the George W. Bush administration, with their “Actually?” phase dragging the celebrities in a manner that modified the comedic strategy with a altering political panorama. Seth Meyers launched a late-night profession for himself out of the anchor chair, too, which ended up figuring out fairly effectively for him in the long term.
5
Chevy Chase
1975-1976
The primary runner of the Weekend Replace desk reminded audiences each week that Generalissimo Francisco Franco was nonetheless lifeless. Chevy Chase was, and is, a comedic legend, and his dry, virtually deadpan supply of the day’s information is a part of the explanation the present has remained so in style 50 years on.
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The fever pitch of the primary few years on SNL was palpable, so it is not stunning among the extra inventive bits, some which can be extra offensive by trendy requirements, got here from this Chase-led phase, together with “Information For The Listening to Impaired,” which featured Garrett Morris in a cutout yelling Chase’s information experiences again on the viewers. Chevy Chase stays one of many biggest anchors of all time, and lots of of his catchphrases proceed to be repeated.
4
Colin Jost & Michael Che
2014-Current
The present information duo on the Weekend Replace desk have been going sturdy for greater than a decade, the longest-tenured hosts within the historical past of the present. Jost and Che are a dynamic pair, bringing a contemporary fashion to their sarcastic and deadpan deliveries, in addition to co-hosting the 2018 Emmy Awards ceremony and turning into part of the 2019 Andre The Large Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35.
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The duo have additionally created one of many funniest options of the SNL segment: “Joke Swap,” the place the anchors write extremely offensive jokes for each other that the opposite has to learn for the primary time on the air. Sharp wit and ideal comedic timing, this duo reveals no indicators of slowing down anytime quickly, and for that, we’re grateful.
3
Tina Fey & Amy Poehler
2004-2006
Earlier than Jost & Che, the second-best duo on Weekend Replace, there was Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the primary duo-female anchor group who set the bar for what a double anchor group ought to appear to be. Fey and Poehler complimented one another completely, as Fey performed the straight lady to Poehler’s frenetic presence, and it paid off pitch completely every week.
It isn’t simple to make a comedy information presentation look easy each single week, however Fey & Poehler did it with perfection. Their reunion on SNL 40 with Jane Curtin was the most effective elements of the night, and one other stable reminder and reinforcement of their chemistry and effortlessness behind the desk.
2
Dennis Miller
1985-1991
Probably the most cerebral of the Weekend Replace hosts, Dennis Miller was much less comedic masterpiece and extra fire-breathing satirist and the proper comic to take a seat within the chair throughout that point. Successfully parsing the information and the important thing gamers of the Eighties and early Nineteen Nineties with precision and ruthlessness, Miller pressured you to concentrate to each phrase, syllable, and reference that positively went over your head the primary time round.
Miller is the gold normal for the proper Weekend Replace strategy and stays probably the most searing of critics that is ever sat behind the desk.
Dennis Miller was the early archetype for the comedy information anchor, with Jon Stewart, John Oliver, and others all clearly influenced by him, utilizing his tone and tenor as a guidebook to their very own shows. Miller is the gold normal for the proper Weekend Replace strategy, and stays probably the most searing of critics that is ever sat behind the desk.
1
Norm MacDonald
1994-1997
There was nobody who embodied the comedy information strategy with the extent of required deadpan supply blended with a private “I can not imagine that is actual” perspective higher than Norm MacDonald. Norm was the extent of sarcasm and shock that the place wanted, and his relentless skewering of O.J. Simpson turned his private mission, one which finally value him the anchor desk and his job on SNL.
MacDonald stays the preferred Weekend Replace host of all time, and his legend solely grew as he turned extra in style in cinema and in his stand-up specials, with followers working to YouTube to see his anchor chair materials with a recent appreciation. A comedic genius, gone too quickly, the legendary Norm MacDonald will ceaselessly be one of the best of one of the best on the Weekend Replace phase of Saturday Evening Reside.
