Bill Murray lists top ten Weekend Update anchors on Saturday Night Live 50 and excludes Colin Jost

Saturday Night Live marked its 50th anniversary with a special episode that aired in February 2025, featuring appearances from several former cast members. One of the segments that stood out was the return of Bill Murray, who was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1977 to 1980 and previously anchored segment during his time on the show.

In a pre-planned comedy bit, Murray presented his list of the top ten Weekend Update anchors from the past five decades — notably excluding current anchor Colin Jost, who was standing beside him. Murray began by referencing Black History Month,

“In honor of Black History Month, I want to start by ranking the African American Weekend Update anchors,” he stated.

He held up a board with a single name slot, and shared that he would start with number one, and this was, "by default–Michael Che.” Che, who has co-anchored with Jost since 2014, responded, “What the hell do you mean ‘regular?’” when Murray transitioned to naming the “regular” anchors.

The segment continued with Murray naming anchors from different eras, mixing jokes with commentary on SNL’s history. He also joked about his own disqualification, saying, “My entire time here, I was on performance-enhancing drugs,” and listing “Quaaludes. Cocaine. And nighttime Theraflu.”

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Murray ranks ten anchors, starts with Colin Quinn and ends with Brian Doyle-Murray in Saturday Night Live

Bill Murray kicked off the countdown by naming Colin Quinn in tenth place, describing him as “one of the all-time greats.” Next in line were Kevin Nealon, Dennis Miller, and Seth Meyers in the ninth, eighth, and seventh spots. Moving up the list, Murray put Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon in sixth place, followed by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in fifth, explaining his reasoning with a comedic remark:

“It was close, but I checked online, and ‘girl on girl’ is still, like, very, very popular,” he shared.

Chevy Chase, the original Weekend Update anchor, was placed in fourth.

“Let’s face it, Weekend Update simply would not exist without him,” Murray said.

Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd were third on the list. “Danny had the brilliant idea to say it on camera,” Murray said while referencing the “ignorant s*ut” line from their famous Point/Counterpoint sketch. Norm Macdonald was named the second-best anchor, with Murray saying, “He may have been the best ever.”

For the top spot, Murray described the anchor as someone who is “funny,” has a “great smile,” and is “currently sleeping every kind of way with the lovely actress Scarlett Johansson,” only to reveal that it was his brother, Brian Doyle-Murray.

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Former cast members return with popular Weekend Update characters

Fan Favorite characters from past seasons were also brought back during Saturday Night Live 50's Weekend Update segment. The show's 2008–2017 cast member Bobby Moynihan returned as "Drunk Uncle," and the show's 2012–2022 cast member Cecily Strong made a comeback as the "Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party."

Vanessa Bayer, who starred on the show from 2010 to 2017, and Fred Armisen, who was a cast member from 2002 to 2013, both made appearances in "Lorne Michaels' Best Friends from Growing Up.":

“This next one could be you,” and then followed with, “No, it is not.”

The interaction between the former and current anchors added to the humour of the bit. Despite the jokes, Murray acknowledged the importance of each anchor’s contribution in Weekend Segment of Saturday Night Live.

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Fans can watch the new episodes of Saturday Night Live airing every Saturday on NBC and Peacock.