Saturday Night Live went back to a winning formula and landed another sharp hit on Weekend Update.

A month after reports indicate newcomer Jeremy Culhane broke through with a well-received Tucker Carlson impression, the show revived the bit and pointed it at the Met Gala. The premise gave Weekend Update a familiar engine: take a recognizable media figure, sharpen the voice and cadence, and let the absurdity build from there. This time, the joke centered on Carlson-style disdain for one of fashion’s biggest nights.

The return of the impression signals that SNL knows exactly which new character connection is working with its audience.

The move also says something about how SNL manages momentum. When a fresh impression clicks, the show rarely waits long to test whether it has repeat value. Culhane’s earlier appearance appears to have opened that door, and Weekend Update used the follow-up to see if the character could do more than surprise viewers once. Early reaction described in reports suggests the segment kept that energy alive by pairing a familiar impression with an easy cultural target.

Key Facts

  • Weekend Update brought back Jeremy Culhane’s Tucker Carlson impression.
  • The new segment focused on the Met Gala.
  • Reports suggest Culhane’s first turn in the role performed strongly a month ago.
  • The sketch continued SNL’s habit of quickly revisiting breakout impressions.

The segment also fit a broader Weekend Update strategy: use the desk as a clean stage for character work that comments on the week’s loudest events without getting bogged down in plot. The Met Gala offered a ready-made foil, and the Carlson impression gave the writers a voice built for mock outrage. Source material also points to Mikey Day and Marcello Hernández appearing as kamikaze dolphins, adding another layer of surreal escalation that Update often uses to keep a segment from settling into one note.

What happens next matters for both the performer and the show. If the impression continues to connect, Culhane could become a more regular part of Weekend Update’s character rotation at a moment when SNL always needs fresh political and media satire. And for viewers, the takeaway is simple: when the show finds a voice that cuts through, it wastes no time putting it back on the air.