Saturday Night Live UK

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

* denotes Weekend Update anchor

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".^[7] 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.^[8][9] A six-episode order was confirmed in May 2025, with the possibility of an extension depending on its popularity.^[10] 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.^[11] Sky have stated that the programme is written in the week of each show and performed in front of a live studio audience. Similar to the original, it features an opening monologue, sketches, live music, and a British version of the news satire item Weekend Update.^[2] The programme is broadcast from Television Centre, London, in studio TC1, with the BBC (via its commercial subsidiary BBC Studioworks) providing studios and post-production.^[12]

The programme is a production of Broadway Video & SNL Studios in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio's UK production team. Lorne Michaels is credited for the role of show creator and main executive producer, as 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][13] Several of these key figures visited the studios of the American version in November 2025.^[14] 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".^[15]

Clare left as the show's director after the fifth episode, owing to prior commitments clashing with the episode order extension. Richard Valentine is to direct the final three episodes of the inaugural run.^[16]

The eight-episode first series premiered on Sky One on 21 March 2026, with episodes also made available on the streaming service NOW.^[11] The second episode was briefly interrupted by a technical fault during the monologue, for viewers watching Sky One through the NOW streaming platform.^[22] Upon confirmation of the host and musical guest for the fourth episode, it was announced that the series would undergo a one-week break before returning for the second half of the run.^[6]

The programme is sponsored by online marketplace eBay and its livestreaming option eBay Live, which runs bumpers throughout the broadcast, and, as part of social media promotion, runs a YouTube series featuring a stylist in collaboration with cast members,^[23] as well as having provided clothing worn by cast members.^[24][25] It also hosts events where users of the platform can bid on items from the show - including costume items and signed props - with proceeds to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society's discretionary 'Keep it Fringe Fund'.^[26] British bakery chain Greggs ran a competition in 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;^[27] it is unknown how the rescheduling of the April 18 episode affected this contest.

Shortly after the UK premiere date was announced, it was confirmed that the Canadian streaming service Crave had acquired the series;^[28] it is also broadcast on the CTV Comedy channel.^{[29][better source needed]} 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.^[30] In Australia, the series is made available on HBO Max on a two-day delay.^[31]

While many were skeptical that the show would land with a UK audience,^[who?] the reception to the premiere was mixed, with critics highlighting host Tina Fey's performance as positive.^[who?][32] Lucy Mangan, writing for The Guardian, stated that the inaugural episode "did work", despite a "stilted" opening.^[33] 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.^[34]

The opening episode drew an audience of 226,000 watching on the night of broadcast,^[b][35] which fell 10% to 205,000 for the second episode.^[36] Both episodes were competitive with the major television channels in the slot, and considered an improvement on the viewership of Sky One's other original content as well as that of the original US version.^[35] The overnight audience for the third episode, however, deteriorated to 131,000,^[37] and registered 120,000 for the fourth episode.^[38] Within seven days of broadcast, the launch's audience more-than-doubled to 528,000, also more-than-quadrupling the average audience of the slot at Sky One's initial closure in 2021;^[3] including repeat showings and "other viewing" - reportedly Sky's "preferred ratings measure" - the audience was 784,000.^[5] Viewership in this metric, however, also declined - by over a quarter of a million - by the fourth episode, with viewership of episodes via NOW too low to register in online viewing reports. Despite the overall decline, viewership among younger viewers has steadily increased, growing from 95,000 viewers for the launch to 126,000 for week four.^[5]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 16 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Without overthinking the formula, Saturday Night Live UK keeps things loose, confident, and more often funny than not, carving out a strong identity early on."^[39]