'F*ck Off' – Brits React To News Of A UK Saturday Night Live
A UK version of Saturday Night Live (SNL), a show which has been a staple of American channel NBC since its launch in 1975, will air in 2026, broadcaster-to-be Sky says.
The show, which has helped to propel the careers of big-name comedy forces like Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, and Norm Macdonald, will 'bring an all-British version of the show to UK audiences next year – all live from London on Saturday night!', CEO of Sky Studios Cecile Frot-Coutaz said.
But fans don't feel that the UK adaptation will be quite up to the iconic standard of the venerated American original.
'I hope it feels distinctively British, as a lot of SNL humour doesn't translate,' TV critic Scott Bryan said.
'Also, as Richard Osman pointed out on Rest is Ents lately, locking in a cast for a while is hard as they will get offers elsewhere.'
A few thoughts on this one.I hope it feels distinctively British, as a lot of SNL humour doesn't translate.Also, as Richard Osman pointed out on Rest is Ents lately, locking in a cast for a while is hard as they will get offers elsewhere.
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) April 10, 2025
Others speculated that the UK doesn't have the same tradition of improvised comedy, sometimes called improv, that's essential to the American show.
I quite like SNL but agree with @restisents that UK doesn't really have a tradition of improv and sketch in the same way. That said, this could be a great opportunity to showcase the British improv community... as long as they do that and don't just cast already-famous standups https://t.co/NVDPoczwu5
— Jen Thornton (@jenthornton01) April 11, 2025
Others were more direct: 'having a good time coming up with reasons why this won't work. I'm up to fifty,' comedian Avery Edison said.
actually having a good time coming up with reasons why this won't work. I'm up to fifty https://t.co/g0KfhbLLcA
— Avery Edison (@aedison) April 10, 2025
Meanwhile on Reddit, a post shared to r/Fauxmoi led commenters to reply: 'UK TV is vastly different from the US, and I don't think format, nor the humour, would translate well.'
'Oh fuck off,' u/organic_soursop opined.
'Decades long, smug, painful, self-referential nonsense. Every time they share clips of sketches, they are just shiiiit. We'd have a main cast filled with Footlights alumni and Radio4 comedians and the latest wanker from Love Island presenting each week.
'Fuck off, no. It's doomed.'
It's not actually the first time SNL has (indirectly) reached UK screens.
Channel 4′s Saturday Live, which included Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, ran on the channel in the '80s and, while unaffiliated with the US show, many connected it to the NBC hit.
It was resurrected in 1996 but did not stick around.
Here's hoping the real thing goes a little better than some Brits expect...
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