Twenty years ago tonight, Seth Meyers made his debut as a “Weekend Update” anchor—a promotion that would ultimately take him from Saturday Night Live straight to his own late-night show.
Meyers first joined Amy Poehler at the desk on Sept. 30, 2006, the Season 32 premiere of SNL (Dane Cook hosted, The Killers were the musical guest).
It was a transitional moment for the show. Tina Fey had left to launch 30 Rock, NBC budget cuts had reduced the cast to 11 members, and the premiere also introduced a new opening montage, a redesigned “Update” set, and a new director (Don Roy King, who would remain in the role through the next 17 years).
Meyers was, by then, a sixth-year SNL cast member—but getting “Weekend Update” hadn’t been automatic.
He first auditioned for the co-anchor role in 2004, after Jimmy Fallon left and Fey needed a new co-anchor. Poehler got the job instead.
When Fey departed two years later, Meyers tried again. He was already a head writer, but his cast contract was up. Meyers later recalled that SNL wanted him to sign a deal that would keep him on solely as head writer even if he lost the “Update” job—effectively ending his on-camera run.
Meyers later recalled holding out until the anchor decision was made, willing to leave rather than give up his shot at the desk.
The gamble worked.
But before Meyers could officially introduce himself as anchor, SNL made him win the job one more time—this time against Brian Williams.
In a short sketch immediately before that night’s “Weekend Update,” Poehler was seen sitting alone at the desk when the then-NBC News anchor walked in, excited to begin his new gig as her co-anchor.
“Brian, we decided to go in another direction,” Poehler told him.
Meyers then entered, prompting Williams to gamely congratulate him: “The right guy got the job!”
Williams soon noticed that Meyers wasn’t wearing an anchor’s earpiece.
“I’ll get one,” Meyers said. “That’s great advice, thanks. And hey, congratulations on being the No. 1 news anchor in America.”
“Don’t patronize me, Seth,” Williams replied.
Williams declined Poehler’s invitation to stick around, explaining that he had to go home and tell his two kids that “Daddy’s not going to be on TV tonight.” After he left, Meyers took his place beside Poehler as the show went to commercial.
When it returned, Don Pardo made it official: “Weekend Update with Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers.”
Poehler handled the first two stories before turning things over to her new partner. Meyers’ first joke concerned George W. Bush dismissing criticism that his administration hadn’t pursued Osama bin Laden aggressively enough and saying history would judge.
“Oh, it has,” Meyers replied, as a graphic of the 9/11 Commission Report appeared. “It’s in this book. You commissioned it!”
Meyers and Poehler co-anchored Update until her final episode as a cast member two years later. Meyers then anchored solo for several years before sharing the desk with Cecily Strong during his final months at SNL.
By then, the job he’d once been willing to leave the show over had become his path to another desk.
In February 2014, Meyers succeeded Jimmy Fallon as the host of Late Night.
His first guest? Amy Poehler.
Watch the “Update” duo as they were first introduced to viewers in 2006 at the top of this post.
