Saturday Night Live is coming to the UK – it’ll never work

It’s a sketch show, and there are plenty of misses along with the hits (Picture: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images)

‘The worst thing I’ve ever seen.’

‘I’ve had funnier athlete’s foot.’

‘This is an international war crime.’

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

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

The consensus has always been that SNL doesn’t get Britain, and Britain doesn’t get SNL. 

Everything about the show, from the guests, to the humour, to that ‘Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night’ shout, just seems so, well, American.

Clips that go viral from the show, hailed by US audiences, are often greeted with a chorus of ‘how is that funny?’ from British people on social media. 

Two comedians (L-R: James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman) impersonating Noel and Liam Gallagher (Picture: NBCUniversal)

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

Before I discuss that, I’ve got a shocking confession to make. I watch the US Saturday Night Live. And I actually like it.

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

James Corden (far right) appeared on an SNL sketch playing Boris Johnson in a high school setting (Picture: NBCUniversal)

And, believe it or not, I regularly laugh!

It’s a sketch show, and there are plenty of misses along with the hits (I’m certainly not going to defend that Gallagher brothers skit) but I still enjoy it. 

So as one of the few (maybe even the only…) fans of SNL in the UK, you might think I’m excited about the new version, that I can’t wait to see the same format on prime-time TV, that I’ll get a kick out of hearing ‘Live, from London, it’s Saturday Night!’.

Well you’d be wrong. As a huge comedy fan, and SNL devotee, I can confidently predict that SNL UK is going to stink the place out.