Amy Poehler is gone from Saturday Night Live.  Poehler gave birth to her first child on Saturday and missed the live broadcast of Saturday Night Live in the process.  She stated soon after her pregnancy was announced last summer that, once her maternity leave was over, she would not be returning to Saturday Night Live.  Instead, Poehler will get to work on an NBC sitcom produced by the head writers of The Office, Greg Daniels and Michael Schur.  While details of that venture do not yet exist, Poehler's departure leaves some pretty big holes in the SNL cast, most notably her position as co-anchor of Weekend Update.  So, who will replace Poehler on Weekend Update?

For the time being, Seth Myers will likely take the job on by himself.  He's the Head Writer on Saturday Night Live these days, and is no longer a regular cast member, meaning that his only on-air time comes during Weekend Update.  He is fully capable of running the Update on his own.  It won't be overwhelming.  However, that's probably not what Lorne Michaels wants.  Ever since Saturday Night Live returned to the dual anchor system on Weekend Update with Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon, the response has been great.  By the end of the season, I expect Saturday Night Live to provide Myers with a co-anchor.  There are some in-house options:

Bill Hader

Hader is a talented comedic actor.  He's actually been more visible in the film world than he has on Saturday Night Live, interestingly, thanks to his appearances in the Apatow productions Knocked Up, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Pineapple Express.  He hasn't yet found a groove on Saturday Night Live.  One reason might be his chameleon-like persona.  He disappears in his characters, and doesn't have a common identity or theme that fans might latch onto.  Lorne Michaels loves to promote his talent and, given Hader's big-screen success, might see Weekend Update as a nice forum to make Hader a more visible personality.  It would also be a cool transition, going from guy-girl (Fey-Fallon) to girl-girl (Fey-Poehler) to guy-girl (Myers-Poehler) to guy-guy (Myers-Hader).

Kristen Wiig

Wiig is in a fairly similar position to Amy Poehler when Poehler was first promoted to the desk.  Wiig is fast becoming one of the big stars on Saturday Night Live.  However, I'm not sure if her sensibilities translate perfectly to Weekend Update.  She could fake the gravitas needed, but it might seem too much like a character. 

Jason Sudeikis

He looks like a TV anchor.  He has that everyman persona down pat (as witnessed by his turn as Floyd in 30 Rock).  Fey and Lorne Michaels clearly have an affinity for the guy, and he's a really talented comedian.  I think he would be a steady presence at the desk. 


Those are the three legitimate candidates from the current Saturday Night Live cast.  No one else seems to fit that well.  They could always bring in an outside hire.  The show is all of a sudden low on females with Poehler's departure, and SNL might be looking to cast another lady soon.  Featured player Casey Wilson hasn't proven very much since joining the show post-strike last season, and Kristen Wiig is going to have to a lot of the heavy lifting during the meat of the show now that Poehler has left.  Lorne might be looking for a new female cast member who can contribute right away by being the co-anchor.  This is a lot to ask of any newcomer, however, and that's one of the reasons why I think that a guy might get the spot.  Or, they might just stick with Myers as a single host for the time being.  If someone comes along, fine, but I suppose there's no reason to force it.  If I had my pick, though, I'd go with Bill Hader.

What do you think?  Who should replace Amy Poehler on Weekend Update?


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of NBC)