For the identically titled Big Brother UK spin-off show, see List of Big Brother (British TV series) shows § Saturday Night Live.
Not to be confused with Saturday Live (British TV programme).
Saturday Night Live UK
Genre
  • Sketch comedy
  • Stand-up comedy
  • Variety show
Created by Lorne Michaels
Written by Various, led by Jonno Johnson
Directed by Liz Clare
Starring
  • Hammed Animashaun
  • Ayoade Bamgboye
  • Larry Dean
  • Celeste Dring
  • George Fouracres
  • Ania Magliano
  • Annabel Marlow
  • Al Nash
  • Jack Shep
  • Emma Sidi
  • Paddy Young
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language English
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 1
Production
Executive producer Lorne Michaels
Producer James Longman
Production locations TC1, Television Centre, London
Running time 75 minutes (inc. advertisements)[1]
Production companies
  • Broadway Video
  • Universal Television Alternative Studio UK
  • Sky Studios
Original release
Network Sky One
Release 21 March 2026 (2026-03-21) –
present
Related
  • Saturday Night Live
  • Saturday Live

Saturday Night Live UK (SNL UK) is a British live sketch comedy variety show that premiered on Sky One on 21 March 2026. Based on the original American version of the series, it features an ensemble cast of sketch comedy performers, musical performances, and a special celebrity guest each week. The series is created and executive produced by Lorne Michaels, who also created and executive produced the American series.

Cast

The full cast was confirmed on 4 February 2026.[2]

  • Hammed Animashaun
  • Ayoade Bamgboye
  • Larry Dean
  • Celeste Dring
  • George Fouracres
  • Ania Magliano
  • Annabel Marlow
  • Al Nash
  • Jack Shep
  • Emma Sidi
  • Paddy Young

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Episodes

No.
overall		 No. in
series		 Host Musical guest Original release date UK viewers
(millions)
1 1 Tina Fey Wet Leg 21 March 2026 (2026-03-21)[1] 0.226[a][3]

  • Wet Leg perform "Mangetout" and "Catch These Fists".
  • Nicola Coughlan, Michael Cera and Graham Norton appear in the opening monologue, with Coughlan also appearing in the "45 Seconds with Fouracres" sketch.
  • Regé-Jean Page appears in the changing room sketch.
2 2 Jamie Dornan[4] Wolf Alice[4] 28 March 2026 (2026-03-28)[4] TBD
3 3 Riz Ahmed[4] Kasabian[4] 4 April 2026 (2026-04-04)[4] TBD

Production

Sky, which has broadcast the original American Saturday Night Live since 2020 on linear channel Sky Comedy, was understood to be engaging in the "early stages of development" of a British version in December 2021. At the time, representatives from Saturday Night Live were "understood to be in London discussing the deal with Sky" (like NBC, also owned by Comcast), with comedians reportedly "lining up to be involved".[5] In April 2025, it was confirmed Lorne Michaels would executive produce the show, to air on Sky Max and NOW at an undetermined date in 2026.[6][7] A six-episode order was confirmed in May 2025, with the possibility of an extension depending on its popularity.[8] On 20 March 2026, Sky announced a two episode extension of the series prior to the premiere, bringing the total episode order up to eight.[9] Sky have stated that the programme is written in the week of each show and performed in front of a live studio audience. It will feature an opening monologue, sketches, live music, and a British version of the news satire item Weekend Update.[2] The programme will be filmed at Television Centre, London, in studio TC1, with the BBC (via its commercial subsidiary BBC Studioworks) providing studios and post-production.[10]

The programme is a production of Broadway Video in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio's UK production team. The programme was commissioned by Phil Edgar-Jones (executive director of unscripted originals at Sky) and Lisa Clark (commissioning executive at Sky) for Cecile Frot-Coutaz (CEO of Sky Studios, and Chief Content Officer for Sky). James Longman is lead producer, with Liz Clare as director and Daran "Jonno" Johnson as head writer.[2][11] Several of these key figures visited the studios of the American version in November 2025.[12] Edgar-Jones stated, speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival in August 2025, said that "the American team have come over, to give structural advice, but they're very mindful this has to be a very British thing".[13]

Casting

The production staff began casting in mid-2025.[13] The writers' room was originally announced to be staffed by eighteen writers,[2] which was confirmed as twenty in March, namely: Jonno Johnson (as head writer), Charlie Skelton (as Weekend Update head writer), Celya AB, Omar Badawy, Gráinne Maguire, Laura Claxton, Chris Cantrill, James Farmer, Humphrey Ker, Omodara Olatunji, Joseph Moore, Lorna Rose Treen, Hari Kanth, Louis Waymouth, Keith Akushie, Bella Hull, Ayo Adenekan, Nathan Foad, Al Roberts, and Ellie Fulcher.[14] Furthermore, Pauli Lovejoy serves as the musical director, Annie Hardinge as costume designer, and Kevin Fortune as the head of wigs, hair and make-up.[15]

The cast and launch date for the series were confirmed on 4 February 2026.[2] It was then revealed that members of the cast had visited the studios of the American version the previous week, during production of its thousandth episode.[16] The cast and writers began workshopping in mid-February, with the cast also taking part in a session with the American version's cue-card handler, Wally Feresten, in mid-March, in order to ready the cast for the usage of cue cards during the programme. The show will use a test audience to establish the quality and worthiness-for-inclusion of sketches.[11] A week prior to launch, Longman named Ania Magliano and Paddy Young as the Weekend Update anchors.[17]

Broadcast

The eight-episode first series premiered on Sky One on 21 March 2026, with episodes also made available on the streaming service NOW.[9] British bakery chain Greggs ran a competition in mid-to-late March 2026, as part of its 'Greggs Quests' rewards scheme, in which entrants could win tickets, travel, and accommodation to the April 18 or April 25 episodes.[18]

Shortly after the UK premiere date was announced, it was confirmed that the Canadian streaming service Crave had acquired the series.[19] In March 2026, NBC-owned streaming service Peacock announced it would release episodes of the series in the United States one day after the UK airdate at 9pm EDT.[20]

Reception

While many were skeptical that the show would land with a UK audience,[who?] the reception to the premiere was was mixed, with critics highlighting host Tina Fey's performance as positive.[who?][21] Lucy Mangan, writing for The Guardian, stated that the inaugural episode "did work", despite a "stilted" opening.[22] Jason Zinoman of The New York Times opined that while Fey was a good choice for a first host, the show would need to differentiate itself from the original version of SNL.[23]

Notes

  1. ^ This number reflects viewers who watched it as it was broadcast and up to 2am, and will increase when catch-up viewership is added.

References

  1. ^ a b "Saturday Night Live on Sky One HD at 10:00pm March 21st, 2026". Digiguide. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Full cast announced for Saturday Night Live UK, coming to Sky and NOW 21 March 2026". Sky Group. 4 February 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  3. ^ Kanter, Jake (1 March 2026). "'Saturday Night Live UK' Premieres With Healthy Ratings For Sky". Deadline. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan and Riz Ahmed confirmed as first three hosts of Saturday Night Live UK". Sky. 16 March 2026. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  5. ^ White, Peter (10 December 2021). "'Saturday Night Live': British Version Of NBC Late-Night Comedy In The Works At Comcast-Backed Sky". Deadline. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  6. ^ ""Live from London, it's Saturday Night!"". Sky Group. 10 April 2025. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  7. ^ Rosenzweig, Jed (10 April 2025). "Lorne Michaels to Produce New UK-Based Saturday Night Live". LateNighter. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  8. ^ Elmes, John (14 May 2025). "SNL UK handed short run". Broadcast. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  9. ^ a b Shafer, Ellise (20 March 2026). "'SNL U.K.' Extends First Season to 8 Episodes". Variety. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  10. ^ Rosenzweig, Jed (5 February 2026). "SNL UK's Home Studio Is Steeped in Television History". LateNighter. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  11. ^ a b Aroesti, Rachel (15 March 2026). "'How could this be anything other than funny?!' Behind the scenes of Saturday Night Live UK". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  12. ^ Riccardo, Nick (14 November 2025). "SNL UK Team Shadowed US Counterparts Last Week". LateNighter. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  13. ^ a b Riccardo, Nick (21 August 2025). "SNL UK Names Its Lorne Michaels". LateNighter. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Saturday Night Live UK announces writing team". Sky Group. 2 March 2026. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  15. ^ Webb Mitovich, Matt (27 January 2026). "SNL UK Adds Pauli Lovejoy as Musical Director". LateNighter. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  16. ^ Rosenzweig, Jed (5 February 2026). "Photos: SNL UK Cast Visited SNL's Studio 8H Last Week". LateNighter. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  17. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (15 March 2026). "SNL UK Weekend Update Anchors Revealed". LateNighter. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  18. ^ "Promotions and offers - Greggs Quests - Greggs x Saturday Night Live UK". Greggs. Archived from the original on 16 March 2026. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  19. ^ Stalcup, Jamie (6 February 2026). "Crave Acquires Saturday Night Live UK". WorldScreen. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  20. ^ Rosenzweig, Jed (9 March 2026). "Peacock to Stream Saturday Night Live UK in the U.S." LateNighter. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  21. ^ Whittock, Jesse (21 March 2026). "Tina Fey Leads 'Saturday Night Live UK' Debut". Deadline. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  22. ^ Mangan, Lucy (22 March 2026). "Saturday Night Live UK review – it didn't fail and it could have been a lot worse". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  23. ^ Zinoman, Jason; Tate, Gabriel (23 March 2026). "A Review of the U.K.'s 'S.N.L.' Debut From Both Sides of the Atlantic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 March 2026.