When Saturday Night Live UK was first announced, it was hard not to feel a little nervous about the whole thing. The American original is such a specific beast, built around live sketches, topical jokes, celebrity hosts and the kind of chaotic broadcast energy that can either feel thrilling or deeply awkward depending on the night. Translating that to a British audience was always going to be a risk, especially when UK sketch comedy on television has felt oddly quiet in recent years.
Thankfully, the first episode is much stronger than the most cynical predictions suggested. It is not perfect, and like all sketch shows, it has its hits and misses, but there is enough confidence, weirdness and genuine comic spark here to suggest Saturday Night Live UK could become a really exciting home for new British comedy talent.
Having Tina Fey host the debut episode was a very smart move. As a former SNL cast member and head writer, she brings instant authority to the format, but she also has the relaxed comic presence needed to stop the whole thing feeling like a nervous experiment.
Her opening monologue works as both a welcome and a gentle introduction to what this UK version is trying to be, with surprise appearances from Nicola Coughlan, Graham Norton, Michael Cera and Regé-Jean Page adding just the right amount of first-night sparkle.
The episode opens with a political cold open, with George Fouracres playing Keir Starmer as he is coached through a call with Donald Trump. It is a solid start, with funny touches in the idea of a deeply British, deeply awkward prime minister trying to handle a global crisis through polite panic. Still, the episode really finds its rhythm when it leans into the stranger, more specifically British sketches that give SNL UK its own flavour.
That is where the debut really starts to work. The best sketches tap into a slightly darker, more surreal British comic sensibility, whether through a disastrous Paddington-themed experience, a very committed spoof cosmetics advert, or a version of Shakespeare who returns from London with some deeply questionable new energy. There is also a lovely silliness to the way the show plays with familiar British references, from TV nostalgia to public figures to the general oddness of national life, because truly, we are not a normal country. When it hits, it feels less like a remake and more like a proper UK comedy show that happens to be borrowing the SNL structure.
The clearest highlight is Weekend Update, hosted by Ania Magliano and Paddy Young. The pair have that lovely live-TV energy where half the fun is watching them try not to laugh, and their chemistry gives the segment a real lift. It is easily one of the debut’s most confident sections, mixing topical bite with a bit of looseness and a sense that anything could go slightly wrong at any second.
The cast as a whole make a strong first impression, especially given the pressure of launching a live sketch show with this much attention on it. Some sketches work better than others, and a couple could probably be tighter, but that is also part of the strange joy of live television. You want a bit of unpredictability. You want the odd moment where everyone seems about two seconds away from bursting out laughing. The show already has great energy, and there is something genuinely exciting about watching a new group of comic performers find their rhythm in real time.
The musical guest was Wet Leg, who brought a bit of indie cool to the episode and helped make the whole thing feel more like a proper weekly culture moment rather than just a curiosity people were checking out once. That is what Saturday Night Live UK needs if it is going to stick around: sketches people want to clip, lines people want to quote, and guests people want to talk about.
For a first episode, this is a promising start. There are a few rough edges, but there is also personality, confidence and a clear willingness to get a bit weird with it. More importantly, it does not come across like a copied-and-pasted American format with a few British references thrown on top. At its best, Saturday Night Live UK is funny, silly and properly British, with enough standout moments to make the whole experiment feel worth it.
If the show keeps trusting its own voice, backing its cast and letting the weirder sketches breathe, Sky could have something really fun here. Overall, the first episode delivered plenty of laughs, and more than enough reason to tune in again next week.
Saturday Night Live UK airs on Saturdays at 10pm on Sky One in the UK.
Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling and the moments shaping modern entertainment.