Colin Jost Cast in an Insane Role That He Was Born To Play

I like Colin Jost! I’m not sure if that is an opinion that will get me yelled at. It’s always hard to tell when it comes to SNL. The long-running show has its supporters and detractors, and they are occasionally the same people. But I’m here to talk about the handsome Harvard grad who has been co-hosting Weekend Update for over a decade. He’s smart, funny, and seemingly has a good sense of humor about himself (and not just because he regularly allows other cast members to clown on him).

As I’m sure you are aware, Jost has been playing Pete Hegseth during the show’s many political cold opens, which have been pushed on us this season. While the whole idea is exhausting, Jost does a pretty great Hegseth! However, part of the reason why is that he just needs to be an unhinged, privileged-looking white guy. That ain’t too hard for a man who looks like he could be Abercrombie or Fitch. But it does require a certain level of humility, and it looks like Jost has more to spare.

Deadline is reporting that Jost has joined a newly minted TV show about Larry Lavin, an Ivy League grad who became both a dentist and a cocaine kingpin (obviously). Jost would be playing the disgraced dentist in the show, which is based on an Audacy podcast called Wolves Among Us. Jost will also executive produce the show, which is being written by Alex Barnow, who worked on The Goldbergs. The show is being described as a drama, but it’s safe to assume that Jost will wind up in some shenanigans along the way.

This is the kind of role that would be perfect for Jost, but only if he acknowledges that he has the face of a man who is both highly educated and lying to you. You need to be charming to pull off being a drug kingpin, dentist, and family man, but still. There also has to be a level of smarm to you, not to mention the fact that you’d likely be endangering your family in the process (I’m not familiar with Lavin’s story, but I’m going to take a shot in the dark and assume it didn’t end well).

Colin may not get to run SNL anytime soon, but I like this kind of pivot for him. He could remain on SNL while he made this show, so he gets to potentially raise his profile while also remaining on the show that he’s very good on. That works for me.