‘Saturday Night Live’ promotes Leslie Jones to featured player

How great is this news? We have a hard time really labeling it!

According to a new report coming in right now from Deadline, “Saturday Night Live” has decided to promote writer Leslie Jones to a featured player on the show. Jones has done two sets on “Weekend Update” so far, which drew some controversy but also by and large rave reviews. She has appeared in some other sketches this season, as well, as she continues to raise her profile.

With this promotion, Jones joins fellow comedian Pete Davidson and “Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che as the new additions to the staff this year, even though Che, like her, was promoted from within.

This weekend will be the first time that Jones’ promotion goes into effect, but that doesn’t mean that she will necessarily have a huge part to play. Sometimes, we see featured players barely receive any time at all in an episode. (For example, Davidson was almost entirely absent during the second episode of the season, hosted by Sarah Silverman.)

If nothing else, this gives “SNL” someone else to work with for a busy few weeks of shows, which could include more than just Jim Carrey and moving forward, former cast member / legend Chris Rock. The show has done a very good job casting quality hosts this season, and really seems interested to re-establish its reputation as one of the best shows out there after a disappointing season 39 with a huge cast turnover.

What do you think about this new promotion for Jones? Share your thoughts with a comment, and click here to read what we think needs to be fixed about the show moving into this weekend’s Jim Carrey episode. Also, sign up to get some further TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo via NBC.)