{"id":2778,"date":"2025-04-10T13:46:27","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T13:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/?p=2778"},"modified":"2025-04-10T15:40:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T15:40:03","slug":"saturday-night-live-is-coming-to-the-uk-itll-never-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/10\/saturday-night-live-is-coming-to-the-uk-itll-never-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Saturday Night Live is coming to the UK \u2013 it\u2019ll never work"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Saturday\t<\/div>
It\u2019s a sketch show, and there are plenty of misses along with the hits (Picture: Will Heath\/NBC via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018The worst thing I\u2019ve ever seen.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve had funnier athlete\u2019s foot.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018This is an international war crime<\/a>.\u2019<\/p>\n

Those were some of the milder responses online to a clip of the US<\/a> sketch show Saturday Night Live (SNL)<\/a> released last year featuring two comedians (James Austin<\/a> Johnson and Sarah Sherman) impersonating Noel and Liam Gallagher<\/a>. <\/p>\n

There was similar outrage in 2019 when James Corden appeared on an SNL sketch playing Boris Johnson <\/a>in a high school setting. If that sounds unfunny, trust me, the reality is even worse. <\/p>\n

The consensus has always been that SNL doesn\u2019t get Britain, and Britain doesn\u2019t get SNL. <\/p>\n

Everything about the show, from the guests, to the humour, to that \u2018Live from New York, it\u2019s Saturday Night\u2019 shout, just seems so, well, American. <\/p>\n

Clips that go viral from the show, hailed by US audiences, are often greeted with a chorus of \u2018how is that funny?\u2019 from British people on social media. <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"SNL\t<\/div>
Two comedians (L-R: James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman) impersonating Noel and Liam Gallagher (Picture: NBCUniversal)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So there was understandable consternation when it was revealed this morning that a UK version of Saturday Night Live<\/a>, which recently celebrated its 50th year, is in development at Sky, with legendary SNL showrunner Lorne Michaels as executive producer. <\/p>\n

Before I discuss that, I\u2019ve got a shocking confession to make. I watch the US Saturday Night Live. And I actually like it. <\/p>\n

Every Sunday morning, coffee in hand and bleary-eyed from the night before, I spool through YouTube clips of the previous night\u2019s episode and enjoy the sketches, skits, impressions and comedy songs put together by a team of performers and their weekly host.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Saturday\t<\/div>
James Corden (far right) appeared on an SNL sketch playing Boris Johnson in a high school setting (Picture: NBCUniversal)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And, believe it or not, I regularly laugh! <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sketch show, and there are plenty of misses along with the hits (I\u2019m certainly not going to defend that Gallagher brothers skit) but I still enjoy it. <\/p>\n

So as one of the few (maybe even the only\u2026) fans of SNL in the UK, you might think I\u2019m excited about the new version, that I can\u2019t wait to see the same format on prime-time TV, that I\u2019ll get a kick out of hearing \u2018Live, from London, it\u2019s Saturday Night!\u2019.<\/p>\n

Well you\u2019d be wrong. As a huge comedy fan, and SNL devotee, I can confidently predict that SNL UK is going to stink the place out. <\/p>\n

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It\u2019s going to <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/12\/25\/dont-know-bbc-can-justify-keeping-mrs-browns-boys-22242749\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/12\/25\/dont-know-bbc-can-justify-keeping-mrs-browns-boys-22242749\/\">make Mrs Brown\u2019s Boys<\/a> look good. It\u2019s going to make bad Oasis impressions and Corden-as-Boris look like a golden age of comedy. <\/p>\n<p>And here\u2019s why. <\/p>\n<p>Firstly, one of the best things about the US version is that – at least when they first start – the cast is made up of young, hungry, up-and-coming comedians. <\/p>\n<p>There have been plenty of household names coming out of SNL, like Eddie Murphy and <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2018\/01\/28\/will-ferrell-returns-iconic-george-w-bush-character-addresses-aziz-ansari-accusations-snl-7267388\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2018\/01\/28\/will-ferrell-returns-iconic-george-w-bush-character-addresses-aziz-ansari-accusations-snl-7267388\/\">Will Ferrell<\/a>, but bar a few experiments with established actors in the 80s, the process has remained the same – SNL takes new comedic talent and hones them into stars over the course of a gruelling writing and acting process. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"363\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_247028113-2228.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22886549\" alt=\"Saturday Night Live - SNL @nbcsnl ? Nov 19, 2019 Celebrity Jeopardy ?? Get Off The Shed ?? More Cowbell ?? Watch Will Ferrell before he hosts the show this weekend ??\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>There have been plenty of household names coming out of SNL, like Eddie Murphy and Will Ferrell (pictured) (Picture: NBCUniversal)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Does anyone expect the UK version to do the same?<\/p>\n<p>Bitter experience has taught me that when a comedy show in the UK launches, whether panel, game show, or stand-up based, it seems to almost always have the same names, the same faces, and sometimes even the same jokes. <\/p>\n<p>A British SNL is already a risk, and so Sky aren\u2019t going to tour the comedy clubs and small venues of the country finding new up-and-coming talent. <\/p>\n<p>They are going to populate the cast with the usual suspects. I\u2019ll be shocked if we don\u2019t see omnipresent TV comedians like Romesh Ranganathan, Rob Beckett, Jimmy Carr, Sarah Pascoe, David Baddiel, Sarah Millcan gracing our screens. <\/p>\n<section class=\"metro-comment-cta\">\n<div class=\"metro-comment-cta__inner\"><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text-wrap\"><title>Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">Do you think the British SNL will be a flop? Have your say in the comments below<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"451\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI129242200-b693.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22479073\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>I\u2019ll be shocked if we don\u2019t see omnipresent TV comedians like Romesh Ranganathan (Picture: Brian J Ritchie\/Hotsauce\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And that fundamentally misses one of the things that makes SNL good. <\/p>\n<p>Instead, Sky should be finding the best young comedians in the country, who would bite your hand off for a couple of years of guaranteed TV work. <\/p>\n<p>That also means they will be braver, sharper, willing to piss off the rich and powerful, like SNL does with its routine takedowns of the likes of Trump and Musk. <\/p>\n<p>Because alongside even the silliest sketches, SNL delivers satire every week, and satire never works if it’s safe. <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why a UK SNL should cast the net wider, and look beyond the usual ranks of Have I Got News for You and QI, and should place a blanket ban on hiring anyone involved in the inexorable recent Spitting Image revival.<\/p>\n<p>But I doubt they will.<\/p>\n<p>So even as that rarest of things, a British SNL fan, I\u2019m not sitting on my sofa eagerly awaiting the UK version, I\u2019m hiding behind it. <\/p>\n<p>At least the Oasis impressions might be better\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Do you have a story you\u2019d like to share? Get in touch by emailing <a href=\"mailto:jess.austin@metro.co.uk\">jess.austin@metro.co.uk<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Share your views in the comments below.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text-justify mb-2\" >It\u2019s a sketch show, and there are plenty of misses along with the hits (Picture: Will Heath\/NBC via Getty Images) \u2018The worst thing I\u2019ve ever seen.\u2019 \u2018I\u2019ve had funnier athlete\u2019s foot.\u2019 \u2018This is an international war crime.\u2019 Those were some of the milder responses online […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2778"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2778"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2786,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2778\/revisions\/2786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}