"Weekend Update" to get four weeks of primetime pleasure

It's happening. Again. The ever popular Weekend Update segment of Saturday Night Live is going to primetime during the off season. Hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost will bring their witty brand of news to the evening starting on August 10. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that NBC announced today that four new specials will be produced.

Below is an episode of News Time that went over a history of "Weekend Update's" history with primetime and how SNL's ratings are exploding this season.

This isn't the first time the show has tried an evening move. Elections specials dubbed Weekend Update Thursday  in the fall of 2008 ran for three consecutive weeks. Fall 2009 saw a return to the format for the same amount of time. SNL creator Lorne Michaels said that, in the same season, winter and spring episodes were to join the schedule in early 2010 but those never did. It wasn't until nearly four years later that Weekend Update Thursday came back for two episodes in September of 2012.

More recetnly during the summer national conventions for democrats and republicans, Che and Jost got to perform live during MSNBC's coverage to crowds of tens.Ratings slipped for the later years which explains the absence and ultimate cancellation. Sadly, this new political climate has allowed for punchier lines and ample stories. 

'Michael Che Matters' in his new stand up special

From TV to stage to TV and stage again, Michael Che is comfortable wherever it's appropriate to tell jokes. Viewers may know him from Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update segements from the past few years. Some may also remember him from his short stint on The Daily Show which lasted a few months before he left for SNL. Now comedy lovers can see him on Netflix in his new special Michael Che Matters during which he will speak on the classic topic of drugs, white women and police brutality. Classic police brutality. Stream Michael Che Matters on Netflix starting Friday, November 25. 

Netflix has all this fall's comedy specials

Saying Netflix is this generation's HBO may not be as hyperbolic as someone saying it four years ago. The streaming service has it all from mediocre cartoon series to overrated live action shows and overhyped movies. But the service is also an outlet for comedians to release their stand up specials. When HBO or Comedy Central would cut out a few minutes of lame jokes, Netflix will let them keep it in making the whole product available. This fall will see specials like those from the likes of Dana Carvey, Reggie Watts and more. 

Carvey comes back after eight years of being off the Hollywood grid with Straight White Male, 60. Watts brings Spatial, which is being billed as an "experimental comedy adventure." SNL Weekend Update hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost are among the line up as well. Check out the full schedule below.

“8/26—Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy: We’ve Been Thinking…

9/16—Cedric the Entertainer: Live from the Ville

9/23—Iliza: Confirmed Kills

10/7—Russell Peters: Almost Famous

10/21—Joe Rogan: Triggered

11/4—Dana Carvey: Straight White Male, 60

11/18—Colin Quinn: The New York Story

11/25—Michael Che Matters

12/6—Reggie Watts: Spatial

12/20—Gabriel lglesias: I’m Sorry For What I Said When I Was Hungry”

Weekend Update duo Michael Che and Colin Jost are doing real news for the national conventions on MSNBC

After years of pandering to the stoners and alcoholics still awake past midnight on a Saturday, Saturday Night Live writers, cast members, and hosts of Weekend Update Michael Che and Colin Jost are finally branching out. Sure, they're doing it with NBC but they're still slowly taking over the Comcast owned network. Tonight at midnight EST, the two will host a Republican National Convention special on MSNBC that will be considered a Weekend Update Special. Entertainment Weekly revealed will be live from both Cleveland this week (July 20th) and Philadelphia next week (on July 27th), much like Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee and The Daily Show. The two are also said to appear on the Today show the morning after. Make room on your DVRs.

Funny or Die's Oddball Comedy Festival returns with Aziz Ansari, Amy Schumer & other comedians

Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival 2015 Announcement - watch more funny videos

The Oddball Comedy Festival returns next month and Funny or Die has released the full schedule and dates. Aziz Ansari and Amy Schumer are hosting while John Mulaney, Nick Kroll, Anthony Jeselnik, Jay Pharoah, Nikki Glaser, Jeff Ross, Michael Che, Nick Thune, Rachel Feinstein, Rory Schovel, T.J. Miller and more are set to perform at various points in the festival. Tickets will go on sale starting this Friday. You can find all the dates, information and featured comedians over on the website. In the meantime, there's a neat, old timey announcement video you can watch.