Comedian Michael Che has joined the Weekend Update anchor desk on "Saturday Night Live" for the show’s 40th season.
Che is replacing Cecily Strong, who will continue as part of regular cast, and will co-host with Colin Jost.
Seth Meyers, who left "SNL" and the Weekend Update desk for “Late Night” earlier this year, tweeted to Che:
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Other comedians went online to congratulate Che, who has written for "SNL" but more recently has been known for his work on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”
Che offered his own thanks to the "SNL" crew.
He also joked on Twitter Friday that he “got a lot of strange congratulations on the gig. the strangest coming from tinder. guess its time to delete that."
"SNL" is entering its 40th year with a lot of changes. The show added Sasheer Zamata in January, the first black woman on the show in six years, and let go Brooks Wheelan, Noel Wells, and John Milhiser earlier in the summer.
"This is about a new era, what feels appropriate for now," executive producer
Lorne Michaels told The New York Times about putting Che on the Update desk. "That's why we did a lot of combinations and tests, and this is kind of where we came out."
Michaels told the Times that Che and Jost developed a close relationship last year while writing together.
“Michael is a strong writer, and he’s really funny,” Michaels told the Times. “It’s always difficult to make changes and make ‘Update’ different from what’s gone before.”
The new season starts Sept. 27.
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