Michael Che returns for his fourth season as co-anchor of SNL’s “Weekend Update” alongside Colin Jost.

Named one of Rolling Stone’s 50 Funniest People, Buzzfeed’s 50 Hottest Men in Comedy and Variety’s Top 10 Comics to Watch, Che has been a writer on “SNL,” a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and has performed stand-up on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and “Late Show with David Letterman.” His first comedy special was Comedy Central’s “The Half Hour,” which aired in 2014. He appeared alongside Chris Rock and Tracy Morgan in the 2015 film “Top Five.”

Che and Jost hosted special editions of “Weekend Update” on MSNBC during the 2016 Republican and Democratic national conventions as well as the primetime “Weekend Update Summer Edition” in 2017. When Che is not in front of the camera, he headlines comedy shows nationally and internationally. His first hour-long comedy special, “Michael Che Matters,” was released in 2016 on Netflix.

Che is a native of Manhattan and currently resides in the city. His birthday is May 19.

Colin Jost returns for his fifth season of “SNL” as co-anchor of “Weekend Update,” alongside fellow cast member Michael Che.

Jost joined the cast as “Weekend Update” co-anchor on March 1, 2014. Jost has been a writer at SNL since 2005 and served as co-head writer for three of those years.

Jost has won three Writers Guild Awards, a Peabody Award and has been nominated for multiple Emmy Awards for his writing on SNL. He also wrote and starred in the Paramount/Netflix film, “Staten Island Summer,” based on his days as a lifeguard growing up in New York. Che and co-anchor Colin Jost also hosted special editions of “Weekend Update” on MSNBC during the 2016 Republican and Democratic national conventions.

Jost is a Staten Island native and Harvard graduate. His birthday is June 29.

Kenan Thompson returns for his 15th season on “Saturday Night Live,” making him the show’s longest-running cast member.

Thompson has made numerous contributions to the show with his slew of hilarious impressions that include Rev. Al Sharpton, Charles Barkley, Steve Harvey and David Ortiz, and by playing memorable characters such as D.J. Dynasty Handbag, the scathingly fierce co-host of “Deep House Dish,” boisterous second wife Virginiaca Hastings and “Weekend Update” correspondent Jean K. Jean.

Thompson recently garnered praise from audiences for playing characters Lorenzo McIntosh, a convict who uses “scare tactics” with delinquents, and D’Andre Cole, the disruptive singing talk show host on the wildly popular sketch “What Up with That?” In 2017 Thompson received an Emmy nomination for co-writing “Last Christmas” from the popular “Jingle Barack” sketch.

A native of Atlanta, Thompson made his television debut as a member of Nickelodeon’s all-kid sketch comedy series “All That.” He and his partner Kel Mitchell debuted on a spin-off show, “Kenan and Kel,” in 1996. Thompson also had a recurring role on the WB’s “Felicity.”

Thompson showcased his voice talents as Greedy Smurf in the animated films “The Smurfs” and “The Smurfs 2.” His past projects include starring opposite Samuel L. Jackson in “Snakes on a Plane,” “Wieners” and “The Magic of Belle Isle” with Morgan Freeman. Thompson has also lent his voice to the animated comedy “Space Chimps,” the television series “Sit Down, Shut Up” and the Kobe Bryant/LeBron James Nike puppet campaign during the 2009 NBA Playoffs. Other feature film credits include “Fat Albert,” “D2: The Mighty Ducks,” “Good Burger,” “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle,” “Brother Nature, ” “Heavyweights,” “My Boss’s Daughter,” “Barbershop 2,” “Going in Style ” and “They Came Together.” He was the voice of Austin “Impresario” Sullivan in the Hulu animated series “The Awesomes” and Riff in the film “Rock Dog.”

Thompson lives in Florida and New York City with his wife and daughter. His birthday is May 10.

Lorne Michaels is an Emmy Award-winning producer and writer, best known as the creator and executive producer of “Saturday Night Live.” “SNL” is the longest running, most Emmy-nominated and highest-rated weekly late night television program in history, currently in its 42nd season. Michaels is also executive producer of the Emmy-nominated “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on NBC, as well as IFC’s “Documentary Now!,” Peabody Award-winning “Portlandia” and FXX’s comedy “Man Seeking Woman.”

Michaels’ previous television credits include: the Emmy-nominated “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” the Golden Globe and Emmy-winning “30 Rock,” “Up All Night,” “The Kids in the Hall,” “Night Music,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” as well as specials with Lily Tomlin, Steve Martin, Paul Simon, The Rutles, Flip Wilson, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Randy Newman, Neil Young and Simon and Garfunkel in Central Park. On Broadway, he produced and directed “Gilda Radner Live from New York” and produced the subsequent motion picture “Gilda Live.”

Lorne Michaels’ motion picture credits as a producer include “Mean Girls,” starring Lindsay Lohan and written by Tina Fey; “Baby Mama,” starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler; “Wayne’s World”; “Tommy Boy”; and “Three Amigos” (which he produced and co-wrote with Steve Martin and Randy Newman). Michaels’ latest film, “The Taliban Shuffle,” is an American comedy war film based on the 2012 book by Kim Barker.

Michaels began his career in Toronto, where he attended the University of Toronto. He started as a writer and producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and starred in the comedy series “The Hart & Lorne Terrific Hour.” In 1968, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a writer for NBC’s “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.” He left for New York in 1975 to begin “SNL.” In 1979, Michaels founded his production company, Broadway Video.

Michaels has personally won 13 Emmys as a writer and producer of television. He was inducted into the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2004 he received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Michaels received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999. In Canada, he was awarded the Governor General’s Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in 2006, and had previously been inducted into the Order of Canada in 2002. In 2008 and 2015, he was named one of Time Magazine’s “Time 100” – a list of the most influential people in the world. In 2013, Michaels received the Distinguished Collaborator Award by the Costume Designers Guild and also earned the rare honor of an individual Peabody Award.

Mikey Day returns to “Saturday Night Live” for his second season as a featured player, after joining the show as a writer in the 39th season.

During his first season as a cast member, Day gained recognition for his wildly popular “Haunted Elevator (ft. David S. Pumpkins)” sketch with Tom Hanks as well as his Donald Trump Jr. impression.

Day was a member of The Groundlings comedy troupe in Los Angeles and was a cast member on Nick Cannon’s MTV comedy series “Wild ‘N Out” for seven seasons. Most recently, he was a co-head writer and cast member on NBC’s “Maya & Marty” and co-writer for the 2016 comedy “Brother Nature.”

He is from Orange County, California, and his birthday is March 20.

Heidi Gardner joins “Saturday Night Live” for her first season.

Gardner comes from the Groundlings main company in Los Angeles. She is also the voice of Cooch in the Crackle series “SuperMansion” and will appear in the upcoming 2018 film “Life of the Party” starring Melissa McCarthy.

She hails from Kansas City, Missouri, and her birthday is July 27.

Ego Nwodim joins “Saturday Night Live” for her first season. Ego graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in biology. She was a mainstay at Upright Citizens Brigade Los Angeles and performed as a New Face at the 2016 Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. She was featured in the 2016 CBS Diversity Showcase and in 2017 wrote and performed her first ever one-woman show, “Great Black Women… and Then There’s Me,” for a sold-out run in L.A. She is from Baltimore and her birthday is March 10.

Darrell Hammond returns to “Saturday Night Live” as the announcer for the 43rd season.

Hammond originally retired from the show in 2009 after 14 seasons as a repertory player. He is best known for his celebrity impersonations of figures such a Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Ted Koppel and Sean Connery. Hammond is a New York Times best-selling writer, stand-up comedian and stage and television actor.

Hammond currently lives in Los Angeles.