Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” desk has been a great source of laughs for four decades now, giving us plenty of memorable characters, like Emily Litella, Grumpy Old Man, and Opera Man. For this list, however, we’re focusing on the recent years. Here are the five best “Update” correspondents of the past decade.
5. Garth and Kat
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No, they had never actually prepared any original compositions for their appearances, but they didn’t need to. Their on-the-spot improvisations were pure musical genius. And hey, let’s be honest, if Garth and Kat were a real band, tons of hipsters would pretend to like their nonsense, and Pitchfork would give them album of the year.
4. Anthony Crispino
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And now, let’s give us some love to our Second Hand News correspondent, who always seems to be getting things mixed up. Whether he heard a rumor about Dirk No-Tits-Ski, or he mistakenly believes that Bill Cosby is pursuing a hip-hop career (he’s a rap-ist!), he always makes us smile, even if his reports aren’t thoroughly fact-checked. Plus, intentional or not, the title of Second Hand News correspondent is a solid Fleetwood Mac reference.
3. Drunk Uncle
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Tom Hanks loves this character, and it’s not difficult to see why. He’s probably the most relatable character on the show today — the inebriated relative making vague comments about the decline of society that at times borderline racist. But deep down, Drunk Uncle isn’t a bad guy, he just wants his country back, country back, country back! (Barbeque sauce.)
2. Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started A Conversation With At A Party
At this point, I’d like to make a plea to the writers of Saturday Night Live: please give us more of this character. The decision to remove Cecily Strong from the Update desk while retaining Colin Jost was questionable at the time, and it makes even less sense now that we’ve only seen Strong’s best character (and ostensibly the best reason for not keeping her as an anchor) once this season. Please, give us more of her drunk, awkward ramblings.
1. Stefon
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Like anyone else possibly could have possibly topped this list. Stefon is
one of the most beloved recurring characters in the history of SNL, with his tales of DJ Baby Bok Choy and his little ravioli hands. Despite numerous appearances at the “Update” desk, Stefon never got old, and Rockefeller Plaza is a slightly colder place without him. I just hope he and Seth are very happy together.
