It is the calm before the storm. The storm is the impending debut of Saturday Night Live UK, a British version of the US comedy institution. In a bare-walled boardroom at Television Centre in west London, a group of performers and writers are gathered around a table, seemingly unperturbed by the task of staging a live sketch show, most of which will be written in the week of broadcast.
The team consists of 11 performers and 20 writers, who have spent the past four weeks working together on premises for skits and workshopping material. Cast member Ayoade Bamgboye describes the process as 'finding the alchemy', while Jack Shep compares it to 'comedy boarding school'. Ania Magliano arrived with scepticism but found it 'difficult to keep worrying when you're with people who make you laugh a lot. At the first table read I was like: how could this be anything other than funny?!'
The excitement is understandable. Saturday Night Live, created by Lorne Michaels in 1975, has made icons of its original cast and many subsequent stars, from Bill Murray to Tina Fey, who is reportedly hosting the first episode of the UK incarnation. Earlier this year, the cast visited the Manhattan studio where SNL is filmed. Emma Sidi described it as a 'pilgrimage', recalling that Mike Myers walked past her backstage.
The opportunity is also significant for British comedy, which writer Gráinne Maguire says has been 'slowly atrophying' since lockdown. The SNL model, with its large writers' room and collaborative development, is a luxury compared with typical British sitcoms, often written by one person and lacking regular writers' room jobs.
The involvement of Michaels, who came up with the idea, adds credibility. He and SNL alumnus Seth Meyers recently visited London, sitting in on table reads; Meyers also attended a West Ham match with head producer James Longman. Cast member Celeste Dring notes that feedback may be premature, saying, 'At the moment, we can't really get it wrong.' Skits will eventually need to impress producers and a test audience.
Given SNL's focus on contemporary culture and the week's news, much of the material may not make it to air. Head writer Daran Johnson explains that half of the submissions from April 2025 were about the death of Pope Francis, and they might use one in the first episode. The show aims to find the funny in British politics, a challenge given the comparatively beige political landscape.
