Live again yo- Hang on. I mean: Live from London, it's Saturday evening!
From next year, 2026, the British entertainment giant Sky will bring the beloved of the American topical comedy show, SNL (Saturday Night Live) to the public in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
If you do not know him, Saturday Night Live includes a mixture of sketches, musical performance and celebrity guests. Each series has a basic casting, and each episode is animated by another celebrity host who opens the show with a monologue and trial features.
In the United States, SNL launched some of the biggest comedy careers – Think Will Ferrell, Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Mike Myers, Kristen Wiig, Amy Poehler, Adam Sandler, Kate McKinnon, Jimmy Fallon… I could continue again and again. He even generated a sitcom, 30 rock, based on the format.
You will undoubtedly have seen SNL clips circulating on the internet – the good, the bad and the ugly.
This news left me mixed reactions, and there are three things I want to know.
We already know part of this answer, because Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios and Content Head, Sky, confirmed: “The show has discovered and nourished countless comedy and musical talents over the years and we are delighted to associate with Lorne and the SNL team to bring an entirely British version of the show to next year.”
This quote confirms that the casting will be British, but will they be new faces? SNL's magic often brings new talents to the table, not only by presenting existing names. We do not have a show equivalent to the United Kingdom – the nearest springboard for new talents would be panel emissions such as lying? And make fun of the week.
The United Kingdom is full of emerging comedy talents – many are making their debut in festivals such as Edinburgh Fringe, while others regularly perform in one of the many comedy and improvisation schools strewn across the country – some of the greatest include Hoopla and the Free Association.
I keep my fingers crossed that the casting of British SNL is not made up of household names. Although, yes, established actors will perform well as hosts or as one or two familiar faces in the distribution, it is a good opportunity to give some beginners a chance. This would also help an SNL in the United Kingdom to create a separate identity separated from all current British quizs and comedies in which the same faces appear again and again.
Where will SNL UK be based?
This may look like a boring question on the surface, but it is not when you consider how emblematic and powerful SNL is.
Studio 8 am The Rockefeller Center is part of the identity of the show. These are tours engendered for tourists, looking for an overview of the place where the action takes place. The location of the Central New York plays a huge role.
So what is the alternative for the United Kingdom? The press release confirmed that the program will be shot in London.
Elstree is certainly an option, which houses many studios belonging to Sky and also houses many other live shows, notably Strictly Come Dancing, The Chase, The Voice UK and even scripted shows such as Gangs of London.
However, Elstree is not technically London. It is 20 minutes on the train, of course, but it is in the hertfordshire.
BBC / Romaston
Another option could be riverside studios in Hammersmith, which is the new Have I Got News house for you. It is an appropriate theater (I can testify, after being myself several times), it would therefore be suitable for musical performance and short scenes.
I hope SNL UK will find a house just as emblematic as the Rockefeller – if he wants to cement himself as a new TV food, it is something that should not be overlooked.
… SNL UK will it be good?
The publishers of my site certainly praised the news of a British SNL with mixed reactions.
For what? Well, it is not a secret for anyone that the quality of SNL has varied over the years since it started in 1975. You can see how it is considered to have fluctuated in the graph below – the seasons 26 to 29 were particularly rough:
Saturday Night Live / Reddit
This is obviously not an easy to assemble show. Most of the sketches are written this week, hosts and artists get only a few opportunities to practice sketches – if at all. I have certainly looked at a few performances behind my fingers while I creak teeth.
The message also stresses that the series has had a decrease in the hearing and difficulties, in particular to engage a younger audience. But it is certainly not bad – I love to look at the weekend updates with the main writers Colin Jost and Michael Che, whose jokes do not punch.
So, will SNL UK have the same traps? It has the advantage of being completely fresh, and is produced by the creator of SNL, Lorne Michaels, who will be able to bring years of expertise to the table. But he will not have the good will of the public and the legendary status conferred on him in American culture by the influential history of SNL and the emblematic names.
In the end, we will not know the answer before SNL UK reaches Sky Max and now in 2026.
Related items
