Fifty years in, Lorne Michaels‘ SNL empire continues to expand.
The Saturday Night Live creator and showrunner will executive produce a new U.K.-based iteration of his legendary sketch series in partnership with Sky. Launching sometime in 2026, the London-based Saturday Night Live U.K. will be available on Sky Max and the streaming service Now.
Like the U.S. version of SNL (which Michaels will continue to produce), the U.K. version will feature guest hosts and musical guests alongside a yet-to-be-determined core cast of British comics.
“For over 50 years, Saturday Night Live has held a unique position in TV and in our collective culture, reflecting and creating the global conversation all under the masterful comedic guidance of Lorne Michaels,” said Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios and chief content officer at Sky. “The show has discovered and nurtured countless comedy and musical talents over the years and we are thrilled to be partnering with Lorne and the SNL team to bring an all-British version of the show to U.K. audiences next year – all live from London on Saturday night!”
This won’t be the first time SNL has been adapted for a market outside the U.S. (localized versions have aired in Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Quebec, Russia, and South Korea), but the UK version will be the first English language adaptation of the show.
While other localized versions of the show have occasionally rebooted classic SNL sketches (we recently posted the Le Saturday Night Live version of “More Cowbell”), the majority of content has been original and there’s no reason to think the U.K. version will be any different.
Although British comedy is known to have been a huge influence on Lorne Michaels and American sketch comedy in general, the U.S. version of Saturday Night Live has never been a huge phenomenon in the U.K., due in part to the five hour time difference. The show currently airs Sunday nights at 9pm on Sky Comedy.
Get stories like this in your inbox: Sign up for LateNighter’s free daily newsletter.
With out of touch 80 year old Michaels running the show, it will suck even worse than the current one from 30 Rock.
He no longer has any idea of what’s actually funny, the sketches are all atrocious, the sole saving grace is Weekend Update & then he ruins it every week with one or two appallingly stupid fake interviews, when they could just be telling more actual jokes!
Why NBC hasn’t fired him & replaced him with Tina Fey or someone who isn’t one foot in the grave is beyond me!
SNL from 30 Rock is the greatest show ever. SNL is not worse or better than it has been in the past, some sketches are good and some are bad, that’s just how it goes. Lorne is possibility the most in touch 80-year-old there is and he does an excellent job running the show.