An official announcement isn’t expected until the new year, but according to one very credible source, the much-anticipated British version of Saturday Night Live will launch in early March of 2026.
I want to set down a marker now. Whenever this show premieres, I want to see it. And not just in the form of YouTube clips. Give me my SNL UK.
The very idea of British comedy performers inhabiting SNL-style sketches, doing a British-centric “Weekend Update,” finding some loony approximation of classic SNL characters—Percival instead of Stefon?—is an exciting prospect.
And this is a sanctioned version of SNL, blessed by both NBCUniversal and SNL impresario Lorne Michaels, who will be a credited executive producer on the “Live from London” version and has been an active participant in its development.
It will also be the first English-language export of the most enduring entertainment franchise in American history. (OK, General Hospital has been on longer.)
Other countries have tried to adapt the format, including France, Japan, Korea, Spain, Italy, and Quebec. With all respect, is there a deep pool of sketch comedy players—not to mention celebrity hosts—running around Quebec? (Montreal’s “Juste Pour Rire” comedy festival notwithstanding.)
It’s likely some of these shows created great sketches that generated big laughs. In the 1990s, I visited the set of a German SNL knockoff called Samstag Nacht, and they played some sketches for me when I visited their studio. I couldn’t understand a word, but some made me laugh hard anyway.
That one ran for five years, ending in 1998. Not bad for a country not historically known for its rollicking sense of humor (Sgt. Schultz notwithstanding).
But a show from London holds by far the most promise, and not just because no translation is needed. Britain, after all, has a history of great comedy—from The Miller’s Tale to Falstaff, to Pygmalion, Monty Python, and Ricky Gervais, it has been a notably funny place.
So finding talent should not be an issue. Nor hosts. There are lorry-loads of well-known British actors to choose from, and the musical guest selection should be even easier.
Whoever fronts the premiere, I want to see this show.
With NBC licensing the format to play on the Sky Max channel in the UK, the show has deep links to NBCUniversal and its parent, Comcast. Sky just happens to be a subsidiary of Comcast.
With that much shared financial interest going on, finding a way to monetize the show for use on American television only makes sense.
Of course, the original SNL will still be producing new episodes in March, as well as in April and into May, so pains will be taken to keep the two shows separate.
Still, NBCUniversal has a number of options.
SNL UK could obviously find some home on the NBC network. No broadcast network now houses an abundance of shows of widespread interest. SNL UK would likely generate interest, at least for the premiere.
NBC already runs an edited-down, one-hour repeat of a previous SNL edition at 10 p.m. on Saturdays. The UK show that played earlier that night—or the previous Saturday—could perhaps fill that slot, though an airing of the full 90-minute version sounds better.
At full length, NBC could follow new episodes of the original SNL with its just-aired UK episode at 1 a.m., giving the British show the ultimate lead-in. But lining them up back-to-back might be considered a risk if one noticeably outshines the other on any given night.
Sunday night in late night seems like an area ripe for exploiting. Football exhaustion might lead to a need for diversion.
And Friday could be an interesting option, since the rest of late night has abandoned the night to repeats. This would be a repeat from the previous Saturday in the UK, but it would be new to the USA.
Those are the conventional options for an NBC network airing. There are more—and far more likely—options on NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock. Editions of SNL UK could stream live there and be available on demand.
If the UK version generates wide buzz, it might even drive some subscriptions, something of continuing interest to Comcast.
The point is, there are ample opportunities to get SNL UK in front of American eyeballs. Here’s hoping it happens.
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They might not want to show it because the current US version is shit and the UK version could make it look worse.
Learn what a torrent is or get a VPN Grandad. Then you an watch SNL UK.
I’m sure Bill would rather watch the show legally, as would I.
Also, torrenting and VPNs are *way* too complicated for the vast majority of viewers. They just want to watch something with as little hassle as possible.
Yes, please.
YES! NBC should broadcast the UK version!
“is there a deep pool of sketch comedy players—not to mention celebrity hosts—running around Quebec?”
Yes. There’s a reason JPL came to be in the first place. Québec has a robust star system and invests in the arts, especially in French, as a way to maintain their culture. Try to broaden your mind.