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IN THE HALLOWED halls of US television, Saturday Night Live remains one of the biggest shows of the past 50 or so years.
We can thank the live sketch show for launching the careers of comics like John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and latterly Bowen Yang. But despite its pedigree, since the 1980s (it started airing in 1975) SNL has faced criticism of its quality or speculation about its future.
While the quality of its comedy can vary, it persists. That is in large part due to its powerhouse creator Lorne Michaels, who at 80 shows no sign of stepping away from his role of executive producer.
Now comes the spin-off Saturday Night Live UK, which will air the first of six live episodes tomorrow (Saturday) night on Sky at 10pm. It’s a big move to create a UK version of SNL, so here’s what you need to know about it.
Who’s involved?
Last month, Sky announced that the line-up will include Taskmaster stars Ania Magliano and Emma Sidi, Hammed Animashaun (Black Ops), Ayoade Bamgboye (named best newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2025), Larry Dean (Live At The Apollo), Celeste Dring (This Country and Lazy Susan), Paddy Young (Everyone Else Burns, Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping), Instagram comedian Al Nash, George Fouracres (Steve), Jack Shep (Big Boys) and Annabel Marlow (Six The Musical).
It’s a mix of comedians getting established on the scene, up-and-comers and new faces who’ve harnessed social media to create a comedy career.
Daran Jonno Johnson, a member of the sketch comedy group Sheeps, takes on the role of head writer, with 11 performers and 20 writers involved in total.
James Longman, SNL UK’s lead producer, said: “The UK is absolutely packed with incredible comedy talent right now and this cast represents the freshest voices we have, they’re bold, exciting and of course, incredibly funny. The chemistry between them is something special and we can’t wait to share this funny group of people with the world.”
Phil Edgar Jones OBE, executive director of Unscripted Originals, Sky said “this UK version will build on that legacy with the support of Lorne Michaels, a brilliant local production team, and an exciting new generation of voices.”
So, will it differ in format from the original SNL?
Not really. Just like the original SNL, the sketches will be written that week and performed live. According to Sky:
Every episode is staged in front of a live studio audience and features an opening monologue, topical sketches, live music, and a UK take on SNL’s iconic news satire, Weekend Update.
So we can expect the usual pillars of an SNL show, given a British twist. There will be six episodes in total. One change however is it will be 75 minutes long rather than 90, per the Hollywood Reporter.
What sort of guests can we expect?
The calibre of guest hosts in the US is extremely high, with recent guests on SNL including Ryan Gosling, Connor Storrie and Harry Styles.
Tina Fey will be the first SNL UK guest host this Saturday. That’s a sign of how much is being bet on this show, and how much it’s hoped that British audiences will tune in.
Jamie Dornan and Riz Ahmed are lined up for the following two weeks. So the show is absolutely drawing in star power.
SNL is said to have around 8 million viewers every week. While this isn’t a number that SNL UK is going to get from the off, it shows that there’s a massive audience out there to be tapped into.
Notably, it will be airing on Peacock (the streamer that also streams SNL) in the US the day after the British broadcast, so US audiences will get to watch it there too.
What sort of prep is being put into it?
The SNL cast have all been writing together for months, though it’s unlikely any of their work will make it to screen as the point of SNL is to be up-to-date and responsive to the week’s news.
Actor and TikToker Jack Shep told The Guardian that the weeks of preparation for the show have been like “comedy boarding school”.
Both Lorne Michaels and former SNL cast member Seth Meyers sat in on table reads in London, according to The Guardian. It was Michael’s idea to create an SNL UK in the first place, so no wonder he’s keeping a close eye.
Will it be a success?
The proof will be on our screens on Saturday. It does bode well that this is a gang of younger comedians, who could draw in younger viewers too. And their approach will hopefully be a fresh one, and not too reliant on copying the original SNL.
A big part of SNL UK’s success will come down to how effectively it shows off its British humour, leaning away from the style on SNL and tapping into what makes its cast members stand out.
Viewers will be expecting it to be more dry and sarcastic in tone, and less bombastic and cheery than SNL. It’s no small challenge to write and perform comedy sketches quickly, so it’ll be understandable if some are stronger than others. But the pressure will also be on the guest hosts, as they will feature in all the sketches, and are the reason why a lot of the audience will be tuning in.
It’s also anticipated that the cast will do take-offs of UK politicians, so the pressure is on them to whip up some great impersonations.
There’s a lot weighing on the first episode of this series. If it’s panned for being unfunny, unfortunately viewers are unlikely to hang on for the remaining six. But it might also end up being the sort of fresh new show that British comedy needs.
Where can I watch it?
Saturday on Sky One at 10pm, or stream it on NOW afterwards.
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