Colin Jost Leaves ‘Saturday Night Live’ Head Writer Job
Colin Jost steps down as head writer at “Saturday Night Live.”
The co-host of SNL‘s “Weekend Update” is resigning as head writer of “Saturday Night Live” to more heavily focus on his role as co-host. The move is said to be Jost’s own choice and he was not pressured into relinquishing his head writer status.
Colin Jost joined the Saturday Night Live writing staff in 2005 and quickly moved up the ladder. He is a Harvard graduate and was the president of the “Harvard Lampoon” which was a think-tank for future comedic stars. After serving as a writer on “SNL” for almost 7 years, Colin Jost was appointed to the role of head writer in 2012.
Jost first appeared on “Weekend Update” replacing Cecily Strong on September 11, 2014. Strong was said to have left due to her focus on more sketch work but many criticized this move as an act of sexism after it was said there was a lack of chemistry. Colin Jost was joined by Michael Che (formerly of “The Daily Show”) and the two have struggled to find their rhythm receiving many complaints from viewers and critics. We even partially attributed the “Saturday Night Live” decline to Jost’s role which he also admitted to.
Colin Jost and Michael Che
The lack of chemistry between Che and Jost could be the underlying reason as to why Jost is focusing more on his “Weekend Update” role. With the show building a list of higher profile guests this season and cast members starting to hone their roles, I’m sure that Colin Jost does not want to get left behind. He may feel that holding multiple duties is stretching him thin and his focus needs to be on his spotlight role in front of the camera rather than behind it.
How do you feel about Colin Jost stepping down?
This was first reported by Splitsider
