Weekend Update Specials

For three weeks before the election, we did these Thursday prime time specials. Two of those shows were during our regular work weeks leading up to the Saturday episodes, so it really felt like a blur. Ten shows in eight weeks. It was incredibly fun though. All of it.

Here are some pictures from those weeks.

Seth giving Chris Parnell some changes in the script for the debate sketch.

I don't know what Bobby is doing here, but Andy seems pretty entertained by it. On the other side of this group, behind me, was Bill Murray. He was great and amazing and really sweet.

Have you ever watched an interview that is being done "via satellite"? This is what it looks like from the other side of the camera. Darrell and I had to do a bunch of TV interviews this one morning to promote our "Presidential Bash" special. We go in to this room that is equipped with these robotic cameras. We put in an earpiece, and then go from interview to interview. A voice in our ear says "this is going to be our Atlanta affiliate. In three...two..." It's actually pretty easy and always nice to spend time with Darrell. He's a true genius and has taught me a lot.

These are the guys who helped put the whole Mega Map piece together for Weekend Update. On the left is the creator of it all, Jeff Han. In the middle is Phil Davidson, developer of election apps, and on the right is Josh Braun, senior producer in charge of CNN's Magic Wall.

Being shown how to draw a cat on the map. Photo by Jeff Han.

It took a lot of programming and coordination to get the whole machine to our studio and then to make it work to our specifications. They put a lot together in very little time. A tremendous thank you to them.