American comedian (b. 1983)
Michael Che Campbell
(
; born May 19,
[1]
1983)
[2]
is an American
stand-up comedian
, actor, and writer. Che is best known for his work on the
NBC
sketch comedy
series
Saturday Night Live
, where he has served as co-anchor on
Weekend Update
alongside
Colin Jost
, and the two were co-head writers from 2017 until 2022.
[3]
Che and Jost co-hosted the
70th Primetime Emmy Awards
in 2018.
[4]
Che was briefly a correspondent for
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
and has previously worked as a writer for
Saturday Night Live
. At the end of September 2014, he became a
Weekend Update
co-anchor for the
40th season
of
Saturday Night Live
alongside Colin Jost, replacing
Cecily Strong
.
[5]
Early life
[
edit
]
Michael Che Campbell was born in
Manhattan
,
New York City
,
New York
, the youngest of seven children of Rose and Nathaniel Campbell.
[6]
He has four older brothers and two older sisters.
[7]
One of his older brothers is a detective with the
New York Police Department
, and another retired from law enforcement.
[7]
[8]
His father named Michael after the revolutionary
Che Guevara
.
[9]
Che was raised on the
Lower East Side
of Manhattan.
[10]
He graduated from the
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
.
[11]
[12]
Che worked in customer service for a Toyota car dealership for two years. He also created acrylic portraits of celebrities, printed the portraits on T-shirts, and sold them in
SoHo
.
Tommy Hilfiger
noticed his work and offered Che freelance work, but he did not turn in any designs.
[13]
Career
[
edit
]
Beginnings and
Saturday Night Live
[
edit
]
Che in 2013
Che started performing stand-up comedy in 2009, regularly working several sets per night.
[14]
In 2012, Che appeared on the
Late Show with David Letterman
.
[14]
[15]
In 2013,
Variety
called Che one of "10 Comics to Watch",
[16]
while
Rolling Stone
named him one of "The 50 Funniest People".
[11]
Che joined
Saturday Night Live
as a writer in 2013, at first as a guest writer and soon after as staff writer.
[14]
On April 28, 2014, it was announced that Che would join
The Daily Show
in June as a correspondent.
[15]
[17]
Che made his onscreen debut as a
Daily Show
correspondent on June 4. Although he appeared in only nine segments during his brief tenure on the show, he was lauded by
TV Guide
for his work. His signature piece for the
Daily Show
was "Race/Off: Live From Somewhere", a satirical commentary on the 2014
Ferguson protests
. In this segment, Che "reported" from various locations (with frequent background changes accomplished via
chroma key
), looking for a place where a black man would not be harassed by police officers. The sketch ended with Che floating in outer space.
[18]
On September 11, 2014, it was announced that Che would take over
Cecily Strong
's position as a
Weekend Update
co-anchor for the
40th season
of
SNL
, co-anchoring the segment with
Colin Jost
.
[5]
Che is the first African-American co-anchor in the history of
Weekend Update
.
[19]
During his first two seasons, Che primarily hosted
Weekend Update
and rarely appeared in any sketches. During his
third season
, Che was promoted to the main cast. In December 2017, Che was named co-head writer of
Saturday Night Live
.
[20]
Vulture.com
's Megh Wright complimented the
Weekend Update
joke-swapping segment where Che writes shockingly racist jokes for Jost to deliver.
[21]
Che resigned as head writer ahead of the show's
48th season
in 2022.
[3]
At a stand-up show on March 26, 2022, Che announced that he was leaving the desk after the current season, although he didn't state when or why he was leaving.
[22]
After initially denying in an
Instagram
post he would leave, he later told
Tony Dokoupil
on the May 15, 2022 edition of
CBS News Sunday Morning
that he was uncertain about his future on
SNL
.
[23]
[24]
Other appearances
[
edit
]
In 2014, Che appeared in the movie
Top Five
, appearing as one of
Chris Rock
's character's friends.
[25]
On September 17, 2018, Che co-hosted the
Emmy Awards
with Colin Jost.
[26]
Che and Jost also appeared on the March 4, 2019, episode of
WWE
's
Monday Night Raw
, where both were announced as special correspondents for
WrestleMania 35
. The pair got involved in a storyline with wrestler
Braun Strowman
, which eventually resulted in Che and Jost becoming participants in the
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
at WrestleMania.
[27]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Year
|
Series
|
Role
|
Notes
|
2012
|
John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show
|
Himself
|
Episode: "3.5"
|
2013?present
|
Saturday Night Live
|
Himself, Various
|
Also writer
|
2014
|
The Half Hour
|
Himself
|
Stand-up special
|
2014
|
The Daily Show
|
Himself
|
9 episodes
|
2016
|
Michael Che Matters
|
Himself, Executive Producer, Writer
|
Netflix special
|
2017
|
Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday
|
Himself, Writer
|
3 episodes; also writer
|
2017
|
Detroiters
|
Actor, Writer
|
1 episode
|
2018
|
70th Primetime Emmy Awards
|
Himself (host), Writer
|
TV special
|
2018
|
Seth Rogen's Hilarity for Charity
|
Himself
|
TV special
|
2018
|
Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attell
'
|
Himself
|
1 episode
|
2019
|
The Other Two
|
Himself
|
1 episode
|
2019
|
Sesame Street
|
Himself
|
Guest
|
2019
|
WWE Raw
|
Himself
|
Special guest (2 episodes)
[28]
[27]
[29]
|
2019
|
WrestleMania 35
|
Himself
|
Special guest
|
2021?2022
|
That Damn Michael Che
|
Himself, Executive Producer, Writer
|
Creator, Writer
|
2021
|
Michael Che: Shame the Devil
|
Himself, Writer
|
Netflix Special
|
2021
|
Quest for Craft
|
Actor
|
1 episode
|
2022
|
Ziwe
|
Himself
|
Episode: "Men!"
|
2022
|
Sean Patton: Number One
|
Executive Producer
|
|
Awards and honors
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Michael Che Repertory Player/Weekend Update Co-Anchor Bio"
.
NBC
.
Archived
from the original on April 16, 2020
. Retrieved
April 16,
2020
.
Che is a native of Manhattan and currently resides in the city. His birthday is May 19.
- ^
Raptopoulos, Lilah (September 15, 2014).
"Michael Che and Pete Davidson: meet SNL's two newest cast members"
.
The Guardian
. UK.
Archived
from the original on October 18, 2015
. Retrieved
April 16,
2020
.
Che, 31,...
- ^
a
b
"Miles Teller/Kendrick Lamar".
Saturday Night Live
. Season 48. Episode 1. October 1, 2022. Event occurs at Closing credits. NBC.
- ^
Bradley, Laura.
"Colin Jost and Michael Che on Their Emmys Debut"
.
Vanity Fair
.
- ^
a
b
Carter, Bill (September 11, 2014).
"New Comic to Anchor 'Update' on 'S.N.L.'
"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
September 11,
2014
.
- ^
Seabaugh, Julie (June 3, 2014).
"How New York Comedian Michael Che Willed His Way to SNL and The Daily Show"
.
Runnin' Scared;
Village Voice
. Archived from
the original
on October 19, 2014
. Retrieved
October 22,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
"Michael Che Talks About the Black Lives Matter Protests"
.
Late Night with Seth Meyers
. June 2, 2020.
- ^
Rosen, Christopher.
"Michael Che Really Wishes His 2016 Black Lives Matter Joke Wasn't Still Topical"
.
Vanity Fair
. CN Entertainment
. Retrieved
May 24,
2023
.
- ^
"Talking to Michael Che About Touring the World and Making Standup Glamorous"
.
Splitsider
. Archived from
the original
on September 16, 2014
. Retrieved
October 22,
2014
.
- ^
Ferre-Sadurni, Luis (January 9, 2019). "
Michael Che Grew Up in New York City’s Projects. Now He’s Trying to Help Them
".
The New York Times
.
- ^
a
b
"The 50 Funniest People Now"
.
Rolling Stone
. January 24, 2013
. Retrieved
September 13,
2014
.
- ^
Angelo, Megan (November 2, 2012).
"City-Bred Comic Has His Heart in the Club"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
August 27,
2014
.
- ^
Huddleston, Jr., Tom (September 18, 2018). "
How Emmys host Michael Che went from selling T-shirts on a NYC street-corner to 'Saturday Night Live' star
".
CNBC
.
- ^
a
b
c
Greenstein, Colette (February 19, 2014).
"in the Mix: Comedian Michael Che talks stand-up, SNL writing gig"
.
The Bay State Banner
.
ProQuest
1504068621
.
- ^
a
b
Busis, Hillary (April 28, 2014).
"Michael Che: 5 things to know"
.
Entertainment Weekly
. Retrieved
April 28,
2014
.
- ^
Barker, Andrew (July 17, 2013).
"10 Comics to Watch: 'SNL' Writer Michael Che Hones Chops in Edinburgh"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
April 28,
2014
.
- ^
Boedeker, Hal.
"Daily Show names Michael Che correspondent"
.
Orlando Sentinel
. Archived from
the original
on April 29, 2014
. Retrieved
April 28,
2014
.
- ^
Rudolph, Ileane (July 27, 2015). "Alumni Association: A roundup of 'The Daily Show'
'
s coolest Graduates".
TV Guide
. pp. 21?22.
- ^
Dawn, Randee.
"
'Saturday Night Live' taps Michael Che as first black Weekend Update anchor"
.
today.com
. Retrieved
September 12,
2014
.
- ^
Robinson, Joanna (December 13, 2017).
"Saturday Night Live Makes Its Most Baffling Move Yet"
.
Vanity Fair
. Retrieved
January 28,
2018
.
- ^
Wright, Megh (May 20, 2019).
"SNL's Weekend Update Is Best When Colin Jost and Michael Che Torture Each Other"
.
Vulture.com
. Retrieved
March 10,
2020
.
- ^
Preston, Rohan (March 26, 2022).
"At Minneapolis show, Michael Che says he's leaving the anchor desk at 'SNL'
"
.
Star Tribune
. Retrieved
March 26,
2022
.
- ^
@chethinks (March 27, 2022).
"to comedy fans; please stop telling reporters everything you hear at a comedy show. youre spoiling the trick"
– via
Instagram
.
- ^
"Michael Che on controversial comedy: "As long as people are talking it's not all that bad."
"
.
CBS News
. May 15, 2022
. Retrieved
May 15,
2022
.
- ^
Sandoval, Lapacazo (December 12, 2014).
"Rock makes another hit with 'Top Five'
"
.
New York Amsterdam News
.
ProQuest
1640492817
.
- ^
Gajanan, Mahita (September 18, 2018).
"Here Are the Best Jokes From Michael Che and Colin Jost's Emmys 2018 Monologue"
.
Time
. Retrieved
September 18,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Powell, Jason (March 4, 2019).
"3/4 Powell's WWE Raw TV Review: Triple H's response to Batista attacking Ric Flair, Charlotte Flair wants Vince McMahon to name her the Raw Women's Champion, SNL Weekend Update hosts appear, final hype for WWE Fastlane"
.
ProWrestling.net
. Retrieved
March 5,
2019
.
- ^
"SNL "Weekend Update" hosts Michael Che & Colin Jost to be special guests on Raw"
.
WWE
. March 3, 2019.
- ^
Powell, Jason (March 25, 2019).
"3/25 Powell's WWE Raw TV Review: Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair face Riott Squad in Beat The Clock Challenge matches, Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe, the penultimate edition before WrestleMania 35"
.
Pro Wrestling Dot Net
. Retrieved
March 26,
2019
.
- ^
McNary, Dave (December 4, 2014).
"
'Game of Thrones,' 'True Detective,' 'Transparent' Lead WGA TV Nominations"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
January 7,
2014
.
- ^
McNary, Dave (January 6, 2016).
"
'The Martian,' 'Straight Outta Compton' Land Writers Guild Nominations"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
January 6,
2016
.
- ^
Lewis, Dave (July 14, 2016).
"Nominations for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
July 14,
2016
.
- ^
Petski, Denise.
"WGA TV Nominations: 'The Americans', 'Stranger Things', 'Westworld', 'This Is Us' Among Nominees"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
December 7,
2016
.
- ^
"Emmys 2017: Full List of Nominations"
.
Variety
. July 13, 2017
. Retrieved
July 13,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
Pedersen, Erik (December 7, 2017).
"WGA Awards: Top TV Noms Include 'Handmaid's Tale', 'Stranger Things', 'The Americans', 'GLOW'
"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
December 13,
2017
.
- ^
"Emmys: Netflix Beats HBO With Most Nominations"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. July 12, 2018
. Retrieved
July 12,
2018
.
- ^
McNary, Dave (December 6, 2018).
"Writers Guild Awards Announces 2019 TV Nominees"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
December 8,
2018
.
- ^
Aridi, Sara (July 16, 2019).
"Here's a Full List of the 2019 Emmy Nominations"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
July 16,
2019
.
- ^
Pedersen, Erik (July 22, 2019).
"WGA Sets Writers Guild Awards 2019?20 Timeline"
. Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
July 24,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Hipes, Patrick (January 13, 2022).
"WGA Awards TV Nominations: 'Yellowjackets', 'Hacks', 'Loki', 'Only Murders In The Building' Join Usual Suspects On List"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
December 13,
2022
.
External links
[
edit
]
Media offices
|
Preceded by
|
Weekend Update
anchor with
Colin Jost
September 27, 2014 ? present
|
Succeeded by
Incumbent
|
Preceded by
|
SNL
Head Writer
(with Colin Jost,
Bryan Tucker
, and Kent Sublette)
December 16, 2017 ? May 19, 2018
|
Succeeded by
Himself
(with Colin Jost and Kent Sublette)
|
Preceded by
Himself, Colin Jost, Bryan Tucker, and Kent Sublette
|
SNL
Head Writer
(with Colin Jost, and Kent Sublette)
September 29, 2018 ? May 9, 2020
|
Succeeded by
Himself
(with Colin Jost, Kent Sublette, and
Anna Drezen
)
|
Preceded by
Himself, Colin Jost and Kent Sublette
|
SNL
Head Writer
(with Colin Jost, Kent Sublette, and
Anna Drezen
)
October 3, 2020 ? December 18, 2021
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
Himself, Colin Jost, Kent Sublette, and Anna Drezen
|
SNL
Head Writer
(with Colin Jost, Kent Sublette,
Alison Gates
, and
Streeter Seidell
)
January 15 ? May 21, 2022
|
Succeeded by
Kent Sublette, Alison Gates, and Streeter Seidell
|