This Saturday Night Live revelation might be more shocking if Michael Che hadn’t cried wolf so many times in the past. The Weekend Update anchor recently posted that he’d watched a terrible stand-up comedy special but didn’t want to call out the comic by name.
“I don’t think you should be famous, only because now you can’t share with us who the special is,” replied one fan.
“3 more episodes, and i won’t be,” Che hinted ominously.
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From any other SNL cast member, this would be bigger news. Was Che announcing his SNL retirement with only three episodes left in Season 50? He’s certainly put in the time — he and Colin Jost easily hold the record for most shows behind the Weekend Update desk. But based on previous messages, who knows if Che is serious this time?
Just last December, it looked like the end was near as Che posted a long rant about no longer liking show business. “I’m just not interested,” he said during a ramble about the industry’s shortcomings. “I thought this was something else.” Was he quiet-quitting in real time? Nope — Che continued roasting Jost like he’d never said a thing.
Last fall, he told Howard Stern he didn’t know if he enjoyed doing the show anymore. Last spring, Che posted that “I’m a full time stand-up comedian again.” In 2022, he told a Minneapolis crowd he was in his final SNL season. On an episode of Fly on the Wall, he confessed to Dana Carvey and David Spade that he’d nearly quit years ago in frustration.
So when Michael Che intimates that he’s retiring? Take it with a big grain of salt.
And yet, rumors are swirling that several long-tenured cast members might be leaving now that Season 50 is nearly finished. Five years used to be a long run for an SNL cast member. The immortal Kenan Thompson aside, comics like Mikey Day and Heidi Gardner are approaching a decade on the show. Sticking around for history makes sense, but SNL is due for major turnover after this season is in the books.
Another clue that Che might be serious this time: He shared a framed copy of a direct message that Colin Jost sent him years ago:
“Hey man, great set the other night at Hannibal’s show,” Jost wrote. “I was wondering if you had any interest in submitting to SNL as a sketch writer. You’d have to get a packet together pretty quick, ideally by next week. But it’s not that extensive. I can give you the guidelines, but wanted to see what you thought first. Let me know.”
A less jaded Che was enthusiastic at the time, responding, “I’d love to. Thanks for hitting me up. What do I have to do?”
It’s a sweet exchange. Maybe Che is sharing his SNL beginning because, this time, he really is near the end.
Content shared from www.cracked.com.