Michael Che Becomes First Black Head Writer in 'Saturday Night Live' History

Che and 'Weekend Update' co-host Colin Jost were both bumped up to head writers.

After 43 seasons, Saturday Night Live has finally decided to hire a black head writer. With NBC's promotions announcement Tuesday, the Huffington PostnotesWeekend Update co-host Michael Che becomes the first black head writer in the show's history.

Che and his fellow Weekend Update-r Colin Jost join current head writers Bryan Tucker and Kent Sublette, who stepped into their roles at the top of the year following the departure of Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. Che, a Daily Show alumnus, and Jost first began their ratings-proven news mockery back in 2014.

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The current SNL season follows last year's record-setting year of viewership. According toDeadline, season 43 is the second most-watched season in nine years. Last weekend, Disaster Artist star and director James Franco returned as host with musical guest SZA.

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Che detailed the inherent difficulties of approaching the news within the confines of a weekly format in an interview with GQ back in May. Weekend Update, Che explained, relies on the segment's hosts providing a take on already-over-discussed topics that's fresh. Otherwise, it's pointless. "We still have to find a way to get something fresh out of the story, but also keep the integrity of it," he said. "A lot of times the obvious take is so obvious it's already been on Twitter, so we gotta find a new thing."

This weekend, Kevin Hart hostsSNL with musical guests Foo Fighters.

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