Michael Longfellow Allegedly Never Screen-Tested for ‘Weekend Update’
There’s been a veritable avalanche of news regarding the casting changes at Saturday Night Live. From endless speculation about if the Weekend Update hosts would be changing to the announcement of major cast departures, the lead up to Season 51 has felt like a four-week-long NFL draft. Except, instead of hopeful college football players, the key figures are comedians in their 30s and an increasingly fragile 80-year-old Lorne Michaels.
Michael Longfellow has been at the center of much of this speculation and news, primarily because his departure from the show was announced alongside that of Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and Heidi Gardner. But while the other departures were upsetting, Longfellow’s was a bit more shocking. He was rumored to be the next host of Update. At the very least, there were rumors that the comedian, who had been on the show for three seasons, would be screen-testing for a spot.
But according to Longfellow himself, such a screen test never took place. Well, let me rephrase that: According to a Reddit recap of a set Longfellow did during James Austin Johnson’s show in Brooklyn, Longfellow said he never screen-tested for a Weekend Update hosting gig.
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“Literally just got out of James Austin Johnson’s stand-up show at the Bell House in Brooklyn. Longfellow was his special guest. He took some questions from the audience about ‘getting fired,’” the post stated. “He did not expect it, ‘it sucks’ and he did not screentest for Weekend Update. Does not know how that rumor was started. He also has not spoken to Lorne, he heard via his agent. That being said, he seemed ok? He was even hanging around in the bar after the show so other people will probably get more tea.”
Again, this is equivalent to fourth-hand information. It’s a Reddit post made by someone who said they were at a Michael Longfellow set. That said, based on the information available online, Longfellow did make an appearance at JAJ’s show in Brooklyn.
If we’re to take the post at face value, however, it means that Longfellow was never actually being eyed for the Update desk, which means the rumor mill we’ve been relying on for potential news might be faulty. It also means we’re less likely to be getting new Update hosts — not many other people in the cast have been rumored to be up for the position. That means we’re likely to get Colin Jost and Michael Che for yet another season.
It would have been fun to see Longfellow’s darker, sly brand of humor on Update — or at the very least still on the show. But I guess we will have to keep an eye out for his next touring dates for more of his particular brand of comedy and for more information about his departure from the show.
