The 70th Annual Emmy Awards airs tonight and show hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che revealed that they won’t shy away from the political humor they excel at as hosts and co-writers of Saturday Night Live ‘s Weekend Update.
“We felt very lucky to do it. We love going to the Emmys. Anytime we’re nominated, it feels like a huge honor, and to go and get to host and that they trusted us to is great,” said Jost to The Hollywood Reporter .
Although Jost remarked that the twosome is not “sure” about what political jokes they will use during the star-studded kickoff to awards season, fans of the comedic duo can rest assured that they will be working steadfastly until the minute before airtime to make sure that their material is current.
The duo is usually reworking jokes on their SNL segment Weekend Update right up until they begin their sketch — so they are used to the pressure of last-minute rewrites.
“We don’t even know what’s necessarily going to happen during the weekend politically,” Jost noted to THR of any pending jokes about Donald Trump. “There might be something, there might not.”
“There’s gonna be political jokes and we’re gonna come out on the wrong side of history, for sure. We’re aiming toward it,” quipped Che to the outlet, noting, “If we could be half as good as Ed McMahon, we nailed it,” said Che of the late Emmy’s host.
“We’re Ed McMahon-ing it. All of the winners will be announced via Jack-in-the-box, so we’ll just have to crank and crank and crank until it pops out, and then it will be a puppet of the winner’s face.”
Che and Jost also noted to Ellen DeGeneres that there are two things that fans should not expect from them on Emmy night.
When DeGeneres asked if they would dance or sing, Jost responded, “We’ve eliminated those two things.”
While rounding the talk show circuit, Today asked the pair about their friendship as they celebrate four years working together on the NBC series.
“I would not be able to take this on without Michael,” Jost noted.
“I could do it alone,” Che quipped. “It would probably be more fun.”
The duo also remarked that while they are used to poking fun at celebs during Weekend Update , this time they will be facing their targets from the stage.
“I have no problem making fun of people all the time. I think everyone is funny and they should be reminded of that,” remarked Che.
SNL is nominated for 21 Emmy Awards. Che and Jost will take the stage as hosts for the 70th Annual Emmy Awards tonight at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.
