Saturday Night Live UK‘s lead producer has said he hopes the Sky series brings some joy into the lives of viewers at a “rough” time for the world.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today show on Tuesday, James Longman — former executive producer of The Late Late Show with James Corden — said he hoped the team was creating something “really special” as they take on the daunting task of adapting NBC’s iconic show.
“It’s a perfect time for this kind of show. The world is rough out there at the moment, so it’s a really good time to laugh,” Longman said. He added that satire would be part of the show: “There’s so many things to be funny about, and so it’s just finding the right angle for us. The key for us is to be funny.”
The show premieres on Saturday at 10PM local time, with SNL alum Tina Fey hosting the first episode. Cast members include Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi, and Paddy Young.
Bamgboye told Today that the cast and writing team was “alchemy at its finest.” She continued: “In these writers’ rooms, you are in the room with sort of 30-odd comedic geniuses, all different voices, all different shticks, all different backgrounds, and we’re just throwing stuff at the wall.”
The second show will be hosted by Jamie Dornan on March 28, followed by Riz Ahmed hosting on April 2. The comedy series will air on Sky One in the UK, while in the U.S., it will be available on Peacock the following day.
Sky has ordered six episodes of SNL UK, which will follow a similar format to the U.S. version, with creator Lorne Michaels having been in the UK of late, helping with the writers’ room.
The show will be produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio’s UK production team, as well as Michaels’ Broadway Video. Michaels is exec producing, with Longman serving as lead producer, Liz Clare as director, and Daran Jonno Johnson taking on the role of head writer.
SNL UK was commissioned by Edgar-Jones, Sky Commissioning Executive Lisa Clark, and Cecile Frot-Coutaz, who serves as CEO of Sky Studios & Chief Content Officer for Sky. Universal Television Alternative Studio’s UK Productions is overseen by Managing Director Helen Kruger Bratt. Shanna Baynard will serve as Executive in Charge of Production, with Andy Charles Smith as the Lead Producer for UTAS UK Productions, alongside Sam Salter as Production Executive.