SNL stars Michael Che and Colin Jost will host this year's Emmys

The anchors of Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" will bring their hijinks to the 70th annual Emmy Awards. Michael Che and Colin Jost were named co-hosts of the television award ceremony, NBC announced in a statement Thursday. The network also revealed that Lorne Michaels, SNL's creator and executive producer, will be executive producing the Emmys this year.

"NBC is thrilled to be the home of this year's Emmy Awards and with Colin and Michael in the driver's seat as hosts, along with surprise appearances by other cast members of Saturday Night Live, I think we are in for one of the funniest awards shows in a long time," said Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, in the statement.

"We're proud to be the first duo hosting the Emmys since Jenna Elfman and David Hyde Pierce," said Che and Jost in a joint statement. "And somehow that's a real fact." Elfman and Pierce were co-hosts of the Emmys in 1999, per CNN.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Jost and Che both began on "Weekend Update" in 2014 and were named co-head writers of SNL in 2017, per the statement. SNL swept nine awards during last year's Emmys and continues to see "strong ratings," especially in the 18-to-49 demographic, Variety reports.

"We're proud of our deep comedy roster at NBC," said Paul Telegdy, president of NBC Entertainment's Alternative and Reality Group, per NBC's statement. "And Michael and Colin — along with the return of king of comedy producer Lorne Michaels — will make this the must-see comedy event of the year."

The 2018 Emmys will air Monday, Sept. 17, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.