Will UK SNL Work?

On the 21^st of march, the beloved American comedy skit show Saturday Night Live is coming to UK on Sky one. The show will feature the same format as it’s American counterpart, with a celebrity guest hosting it weekly (Stephen Mckintosh, 2026). Ever since I saw the news about this new show I have been thinking about whether this idea will work. I mean, it is such a huge success in America that surely it will be, right? My only qualm with it is the vast difference in humour between USA and the Uk. Would this concept of a live sketch show work at this point in the country? Has it been done before?

The concept of sketch shows are not something us Brits are necessarily unfamiliar with; however, it is something that has not been done for quite sometime now. Shows such as Little Britain, The Catherine Tate Show and French and Saunders have all displayed comedians’ talent in a range of roles, mocking typical British characters and life. These particular shows have all been very successful and have led the comedians behind it to have large success independently. Therefore, I can see and understand that a young aspiring comedian would see a show like this to be a way into having a long, prosperous career like Jennifer Saunders or Catherine Tate. However, there has not been a successful sketch show like the previously mentioned ones since the 2000s, suggesting to me that perhaps as a society our humour may have evolved from parodies and sketches. This could be largely due to rise of sitcoms and black comedies such as Miranda, Fleabag and Chewing Gum, which were all vastly successful in their own right. These shows are different than the mocking style of these sketch shows and focused more on the real lives of one specific character, drawing the focus away from the beloved sketches.

Saying that, there has also been the rise of a different type of comedy that does have its roots in these sketch shows; the mockumentary is something that has been done quite a lot by British comedians in the last 10 years. For example, a few notable successes have been This Country, detailing two cousins living in a small Cotswold village, and Stath Lets Flats, detailing an aspirational yet useless Greek estate agent. Both of these shows use the deadpan humour and realism of early sketch shows mixed in with the wit and charm of sitcoms, ultimately producing very successful shows. This Country specifically became a huge success, gathering 3 baftas, 3 RTS awards and rave reviews (Sarah Bancroft, 2018). So, what does this mean for SNL UK? Well, in the case of its comparisons with other British comedies, if it produces the sarcastic humour we all seem to enjoy with other shows than it can work. The only problem that could be is the live aspect, as none of the sketch shows have been completely live before. Could this cause excitement or could it be a calamity?

Looking further into this, live Tv in the UK is also under a huge threat at the moment, with streaming services taking the cake for the majority of the UK population. It all began with Netflix, now it seems American streaming services are completely taking over the Tv and film industry. It does make sense, as convenience is something that in the 21^st century we seem to be utterly obsessed with, meaning that most people would rather go onto to Netflix or Disney+ than watch live television. This was discussed in a BBC Two Newsnight interview with director Peter Kosminsky, who says that these streaming services have made creating shows so expensive that the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 etc just cannot afford to fund them like they used to. Moreover, this could mean trouble for SNL and Sky, as most people just do not get excited to watch live television anymore, so the live aspect of SNL sort of loses its niche. This may just be me being cynical, the show could outgo streaming services and be a huge hit, restoring people’s love of live television, similar to how The Traitors has in recent years.

Another issue that could arise is the controversy surrounding America at the moment. Due to the controversial support Donald Trump has given to Israel and the war with Iran, could it be the wrong move for the UK to produce its own version of a show which for 50 years has been seen as an important piece of American culture. This could put a sour taste in viewers mouth’s and prevent them from watching it before even giving it a chance. If the humour also follows the American style in the show, then it could mean even worse chances for this to be a success. However, if the show completely anglicizes itself and ditches any American connotations than it could be a massive hit with viewers, very similar to the very British humour seen in The Traitors.

In conclusion, it seems to me that there is a lot of pushbacks this show could face before it even starts. Due to the political climate at the moment, producing a show with strong American roots may not be the best move, especially with younger audiences. There is also the problem of the sketch humour not being trendy in recent years. However, there has been very successful British mockumentaries that echo the sketch shows of previous years, suggesting that perhaps if this show does keep its British-ness, then I think it could be a great success.

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