Saturday Night Live characters appearing on Weekend Update
Weekend Update has been a platform for Saturday Night Live characters to grow and gain popularity ever since Gilda Radner used it to create Emily Litella and Roseanne Roseannadanna. Many cast members have used Update as the primary vehicle for a certain character. Don Novello was featured almost exclusively on the news segment as his breakout character, Father Guido Sarducci, and Tim Kazurinsky, in the face of Eddie Murphy's overshadowing popularity, created characters almost exclusively for Update. Before becoming an anchor on Update, Colin Quinn used the segment as his main sounding board as well.
Significant characters who appeared chiefly on Weekend Update are listed here in chronological order of their first appearance.
- Emily Litella – December 13, 1975
- Baba Wawa - April 24, 1976
- Audrey Peart Dickman - May 29, 1976
- Debbie Doody - April 16, 1977
- Roseanne Roseannadanna – January 21, 1978
- Father Guido Sarducci – October 21, 1978
- Chico Escuela – December 9, 1978
- Vic Ricker – January 26, 1980
- Raheem Abdul Muhammed - December 6, 1980
- Dr. Jack Badofsky – February 27, 1982
- Siobhan Cahill – March 12, 1983
- Worthington Clotman – January 28, 1984
- Wayne Huevos – February 18, 1984
- Lew Goldman – October 13, 1984
- Nathan Thurm – December 1, 1984
- Buddy Young Jr. – February 9, 1985
- Dwight MacNamara – February 16, 1985
- Tommy Flanagan – January 25, 1986
- Babette – February 15, 1986
- Mr. Subliminal – October 7, 1989
- Annoying Man – November 11, 1989
- Grumpy Old Man – January 13, 1990
- Queen Shenequa – October 26, 1991
- Jan Brady – January 11, 1992
- Cajun Man – February 8, 1992
- Buster Jenkins – March 13, 1993
- Opera Man – April 18, 1992
- Hank Fielding – November 14, 1992
- Bennett Brauer – April 10, 1993
- British Fops – November 11, 1995
- Joe Blow – November 18, 1995
- Gary MacDonald – December 2, 1995
- Lenny The Lion – December 9, 1995
- Dominican Lou – March 22, 1997
- Cinder Calhoun – September 27, 1997
- Gunner Olsen – March 7, 1998
- Jacob Silj – December 4, 1999
- Jasper Hahn – January 8, 2000
- Jeannie Darcy – November 18, 2000
- Gay Hitler – October 13, 2001
- Drunk Girl – December 8, 2001
- Fericito – October 5, 2002
- Tim Calhoun – October 19, 2002
- The Kelly Brothers – February 8, 2003
- Billy Smith – October 18, 2003
- Jorge Rodriguez – May 1, 2004
- Jon Bovi – October 7, 2006
- Two Gay Guys from Jersey – October 28, 2006
- Aunt Linda – December 2, 2006
- Nicholas Fehn – October 13, 2007
- Roger A. Trevanti – November 3, 2007
- Judy Grimes – April 12, 2008
- Jean K. Jean – March 8, 2008
- Willie
- David “Big Papi” Ortiz
- Garth and Kat – December 19, 2009
- Stefon – April 24, 2010
- Anthony Crispino – October 2, 2010
- Drunk Uncle
- Cathy Anne
- Jebidiah Atkinson the 1860s newspaper critic
- Best Friends from Growing Up
- Child actor Laura Parsons
- Arianna Huffington - February 11, 2012
- The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party – November 3, 2012
- Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy – December 15, 2012
- Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg - February 11, 2017
- The Guy Who Just Bought a Boat – February 11, 2017
- Angel, Every Boxer's Girlfriend from Every Movie About Boxing Ever – November 4, 2017
- Teen film critic Bailey Gismert – January 27, 2018
- Chen Biao, a Chinese trade commissioner who is now a health minister because of the coronavirus epidemic. - October 5, 2019
- Dr. Wayne Wenowdis – October 10, 2020
- Crystal Your coworker who is extremely busy doing seemingly nothing – April 8, 2023