With casting announcements at the Weekend Update desk, a new addition to featured players and a cast member going back to the writer’s room, SNL prepares for its landmark 40th season with a few staffing swaps just weeks before premiere.

First, the Weekend Update desk welcomes Michael Che and says goodbye to Cecily Strong when the season starts on Sept. 27. Che has been a contributor on Comedy Central’s Daily Show since June and was a writer last season for SNL. According to Lorne Michaels, he was added to the Update desk partly because of the solid chemistry between Che and his co-anchor, Colin Jost.

Che becomes the segment’s first black anchor when he kicks off the season with Jost, who was called in to replace Seth Meyers when his late night show premiered in the middle of the last season. Leaving the Update desk after one season, Strong will remain on the regular cast.

Che’s last appearance on The Daily Show covered children immigrating to the U.S.: “That’s right. They’re after American finger painting.”

Young comic Pete Davidson is another addition to the show, joining SNL as a featured player this September. The 20-year-old has appeared on MTV’s Guy Code and Comedy Central’s standup series Adam DeVine’s House Party. The show says he will be the only featured player added to this season’s roster.

Davidson talks about his short stint at college in a clip from Adam DeVine’s House Party:

Featured players Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney and Sasheer Zamata will return this season, while Mike O’Brien, who was moved from writing staff to featured player last year, comes back this year as a writer.

Earlier this summer, SNL let go of featured players Noël Wells and John Milhiser, as well as cast member Brooks Wheelan. Nasim Pedrad, who had been a cast member on the show for five years, will be joining former SNL writer John Mulaney’s new show, Mulaney, debuting on Fox Sunday, Oct. 5.

Guardians of the Galaxy and Parks and Recreation’s Chris Pratt will host the season premiere of SNL, along with musical guest Ariana Grande, on Sept. 27. SNL will also celebrate its 40th season on TV on Feb. 15, 2015, with an anniversary special set to air on NBC.

Read more at The New York Times and Rolling Stone.

Brief Take: SNL’s Lorne Michaels says the past few seasons have been about experimenting at the Weekend Update desk. This season, SNL takes a risk by pairing newcomer Che with Jost, who has only been at the post for a few months, while allowing Strong to do what she does best in the show’s comedy sketches.

[Image courtesy of The New York Times]

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