Is the UK About to Get its Own Saturday Night Live?

[Snarf Zagyg]

Here's the article-

‘Saturday Night Live’: British Version Of NBC Late-Night Comedy In The Works At Comcast-Backed Sky

EXCLUSIVE: Saturday Night Live is heading to the UK. Deadline understands that a British version of the long-running NBC comedy variety series is in the works at Sky. The project is in the early stages of development. This would mark the most high-profile international adaptation of the Lorne...

deadline.com

Apparently, Sky is looking to have a UK version of SNL!!!!!!

I have thoughts, so many thoughts! But in brief-

1. British sketch comedy has always been influential (and occasionally, really popular) in the United States. From Monty Python to the Mighty Boosh, Little Britain to Mitchell & Webb, we've enjoyed the British sketch comedy. But ... I'm not sure there has ever been an American sketch comedy show that was a huge hit over there?

2. Do they even have Saturdays in England? Just asking for a friend.

 

[Mad_Jack]

That's...going to end up being a very different show....

 

[Tonguez]

eek as a purist I dont see the point, SNL is horrible, and American humour vulgar.

Good British Comedy rules the waves- God Save the Queen!!!!

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

eek as a purist I dont see the point, SNL is horrible, and American humour vulgar.

Is it because we don't have enough "u" when we spell words? Is that it?

 

[Tonguez]

U know it too

just try to watch Red Dwarf USA

 

[FriendlyFiend]

We had our own Saturday Night Live over here in the UK for a few years in the eighties and it launched/accelerated quite a few comedy careers … Saturday Live (British TV programme) - Wikipedia. They also tried it out again in the nineties with, er, less success. Maybe third time’s the charm? There’s virtually no sketch comedy on British TV any more, so it’ll be interesting to see how it goes down.

 

[Ryujin]

That's...going to end up being a very different show....

One can only hope. There have been a few good translations of British series for American audiences, but there have been a multitude of failures. (Do NOT watch either of the attempts at remaking Red Dwarf for the US audience!) Going the other way is likely just as hard to do well and trying to clone the American version of SNL would likely fall flat on its face.

eek as a purist I dont see the point, SNL is horrible, and American humour vulgar.

Good British Comedy rules the waves- God Save the Queen!!!!

It goes in waves, seemingly by the decade. Good-bad-good-bad.....

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Yeah, if you watch early SNL (which is available to stream from the very beginning stateside on either Peacock or Hulu, I forget which), it's hard to recognize it even as the same show. It was so irreverent, funny, fearless, and challenging.

It goes in waves, seemingly by the decade. Good-bad-good-bad.....

 

[Morrus]

Sketch comedy is very much out of fashion at the moment. I would like see it come back.

 

[payn]

Ugh, SNL is awful I hope its much better across the pond for y'all.

Send us more Jools Holland please.