Saturday Night Live UK‘s renewal was officially announced Thursday morning—and like the inside of the TARDIS, Season 2 is bigger.
Ahead of SNL UK‘s March 21 launch, its initial order was expanded from six episodes to eight. The second “series” (as the Brits call it), however, will span a full dozen episodes, to premiere in September and run to early 2027.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team and the show. It keeps getting better every week,” SNL UK executive producer and SNL creator Lorne Michaels said in a statement. “I’m grateful to [Sky Group CEO] Dana Strong and Sky for believing in and supporting SNL UK. I’m excited for the season ahead.”
Added Phil Edgar Jones OBE, Sky’s Executive Director of Unscripted Originals: “It’s fair to say people doubted SNL would work in the UK, but thanks to Lorne Michaels, his longtime Saturday Night Live producing team and UTAS UK, alongside our brilliant cast and writers, SNL UK is Sky’s most talked-about show of the year. It’s now firmly part of the cultural conversation and we’re thrilled the show will be returning in the autumn, bringing laughter and mischief to our audiences, live from London on a Saturday night!”
The SNL UK cast is comprised of George Fouracres, Al Nash, Hammed Animashaun, Annabel Marlow, Larry Dean, Ayoade Bamgboye, Emma Sidi, Celeste Dring, Jack Shep, and “Weekend Update” anchors Ania Magliano and Paddy Young.
James Longman (The Late Late Show with James Corden) is the show’s lead producer, Liz Clare served as lead director (but stepped away after Episode 5 to helm next month’s Tony Awards), and Daran Jonno Johnson is head writer. Pauli Lovejoy serves as musical director, Annie Hardinge is the show’s costume designer, and Kevin Fortune is the head of wigs, hair and make-up.
SNL vet Tina Fey hosted the SNL UK premiere; across the pond, that first show drew 226,000 total viewers in the overnights, an audience that swelled to 784K with seven-day viewership and repeats folded in (Sky’s preferred metric).
Fey was followed as host by Jamie Dornan (Belfast, Fifty Shades), Riz Ahmed (Bait), Jack Whitehall (The ‘Burbs), Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls, Bridgerton) and Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus). As of the eight-episode series’ midway point, viewership had waned at least 36%, to 503K (with Live+7 and repeats).
Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) will host SNL UK‘s seventh episode this Saturday, May 9 (watch promo), with BRIT Award-winning singer-songwriter Myles Smith as musical guest. On May 16, Rwandan and Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who, Sex Education) will close out SNL UK‘s first series, with indie-pop singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone as musical guest.
SNL UK airs live Saturdays at 10 p.m. GMT on Sky One, and streams next day Stateside on Peacock.
