It’s official: NBC has picked up a primetime version of , which will have a four-week run during the show’s summer hiatus beginning Thursday, August 10 at 9 PM. 
 
 The half-hour telecast will feature Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che, with additional SNL cast members also set to make appearances. 
 
 Talks about a potential primetime installment of Weekend Update started several weeks ago amidst a ratings resurgence for the late-night staple which, since the Donald Trump inauguration, has been ranking among the top programs of the week in adults 18-49, beating primetime competition, with its best ratings in decades. 
 
 “SNL is having its best season in a quarter of a century — how many shows can say that?! — so we didn’t want them to take the summer off,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment. “We’re thrilled to have Colin Jost and Michael Che continuing their unique brand of news with fresh Weekend Update shows in primetime this August.” 
 
 So far this season, Saturday Night Live originals are averaging a 3.57 rating in adults 18-49 and 11.022 million viewers overall in Live+7. This makes it the show’s top-rated season at this point in eight years in 18-49 (since 2008-09) and most-watched season in 24 years (since 1992-93). Versus year-ago averages, SNL is up +21% in adult 18-49 rating and up 2.2 million persons or +26% in total viewers. 
 
 NBC previously brought Weekend Update to primetime in October 2008, when Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler hosted Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday in the weeks leading up to the Presidential election between Barack Obama and John McCain. It returned for an additional six episodes in 2009, followed by a brief comeback in September 2012. ||||| Let’s be real. We all watch the news to get the lowdown on how our country is falling apart like a hot tub destroyed by acid in Steve Bannon’s nightmare compound, but low-key, we’re all hoping something goes wrong on the air. 
 
 It’s all about those sweet, sweet goofs, am I right? 
 
 Take for instance the now-infamous BBC interview that was crashed by the interviewee’s two children and a hero mom who not only quickly removed the kids from the situation like a ninja, but did so while her pants were down. 
 
 (BTW, this is that face you make when your friends are making total asses of themselves while you’re trying to flirt with a stranger.) 
 
 Well, in this “SNL” sketch, a segment about a zoo photographer quickly unravels after he’s mistakenly called a “zoo pornographer.” 
 
 What starts out as an innocent line flub on the part of a newscaster turns into an onslaught of hilarious on-screen graphics. 
 
 While Danny said he’d do anything with the animals to get the right shot, this is the chyron that appeared on the bottom of the screen. 
 
 Unlike the mailman who got caught having sex with a customer’s dog, this photographer is talking about taking shots of animals… not money shots. Ew. 
 
 Danny originally said he’d always come right away to take pictures with an animal no matter what species it was. 
 
 It. Just. Keeps. Getting. Better. 
 
 Danny’s alphabetical book of animal pictures finished on a Zebra. What didn’t finish on a zebra was Danny. 
 
 News flash: Danny did not blow a monkey. I repeat, Danny did not blow a monkey. 
 
 Of course, the sketch ends with Danny plugging his website DANNYBANGSANIMALS.COM. By the way, I totally gambled and checked the site, and the link only sends you to the “Saturday Night Live” website. 
 
 Honestly, that horrible website domain choice is on Danny. How did you not see the inherent problems in this URL? 
 
 Subscribe to Elite Daily's official newsletter, The Edge, for more stories you don't want to miss. ||||| Melissa McCarthy's "Spicy" will go live nationwide. 
 
 Beginning next month, "Saturday Night Live" will broadcast live across the country for the first time in the show's 42-year history, NBC announced on Thursday. 
 
 The first nationally live "SNL" is scheduled for April 15, hosted by alum Jimmy Fallon. 
 
 "SNL" will continue its coast-to-coast live shows through May 20. 
 
 Melissa McCarthy, who has stood out this season for her portrayal of press secretary Sean Spicer, will host on May 13. Actors Chris Pine and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson are also scheduled to host in the final month of the season. 
 
 "SNL" is typically live in the Eastern and Central time zones but delayed in the Pacific and Mountain time zones. 
 
 The satire show has seen a bump in the ratings since President Trump took office. 
 
 NBC's "SNL" schedule move follows network patterns for sporting events and award shows, which also broadcast live throughout the country. 
 
 Related: NBC to air 'SNL: Weekend Update' primetime specials this summer 
 
 "'SNL,' enjoying its most popular season in two decades," Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC entertainment said in a statement. A nationally live "SNL" will ensure that "everyone is in on the joke at the same time," Greenblatt said. 
 
 The news comes a few days after NBC announced that it would air "Weekend Update" primetime specials this summer.
– Beginning April 15, Saturday Night Live will truly be live across America for the first time in its 42-year history. For the last four episodes of the current season, SNL—normally delayed in the West—will be aired live across all time zones at 11:30pm Eastern, 10:30pm Central, 9:30pm Mountain, and 8:30pm Pacific so "everyone is in on the joke at the same time," NBC's chairman of entertainment says, per CNNMoney. Those four episodes won't be the last you see of the SNL cast until the fall. Deadline reports NBC will also show a 30-minute primetime version of SNL's "Weekend Update" featuring Colin Jost, Michael Che, and other cast members. The four-week run, which begins August 10, isn't a first for the show: Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler sat behind the desk in the run-up to Election 2008, and it returned briefly in 2009 and 2012. (A recent SNL skit got pretty gross.)