Colin Jost Named Weekend Update Coanchor on Saturday Night Live

SNL's head writer will sit opposite Cecily Strong at the anchor desk

By Chris Harnick Jan 23, 2014 6:26 PMTags
Colin Jost Ben Hider/Getty Images

Colin Jost is stepping in front of the camera as the new Weekend Update coanchor on Saturday Night Live, E! News has confirmed. Jost, who is Saturday Night Live's head writer, will replace Seth Meyers and sit opposite Cecily Strong at the anchor desk.

Meyers is leaving Saturday Night Live on Saturday, Feb. 1 and will take over Late Night from Jimmy Fallon. Fallon will transition over to The Tonight Show on Feb. 17. Jost will begin his co-anchor duties on March 1.

Deadline first reported Jost's appointment to Weekend Update.

Jost's Weekend Update duties follow the tradition of Tina Fey and Meyers before him, with the current head writer sitting at the desk. Jost became head writer in 2012 and joined SNL's writing staff in 2005.

Jost won three Writers Guild awards, a Peabody Award and has been nominated for eight Emmy awards for his work on Saturday Night Live. He graduated from Harvard University in 2004 and served as the president of Harvard Lampoon. Next up for Jost is the film Staten Island Summer, which he wrote and stars in. It's based on his days as a lifeguard.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)