SNL UK Is Back With Vengeance

What kind of Irish is your Grandad? If you’ve not had that as an ear worm since March, then you’re missing out on the UK’s best TV debut in a long time. 

When SNL UK was announced, I was a huge skeptic. I just simply didn’t think that the US format would work for a British audience. SNL has always felt supremely American to me, and I couldn’t imagine an SNL making jokes about Jools Holland or referencing pork adverts from the 1980s. While my perceptions might be there because of the sketches that go viral, I’ve always found the US version of SNL very surface level. In recent years the jokes have tended to play into more general moods and stereotypes, so I didn’t see why we needed a British version. I could not have been more wrong. 

The reason that SNL UK works is because it is absolutely batshit. There have already been too many excellent sketches to name a favourite, and phrases have already weaved their way into my vocabulary. From the perspective of the viewer it feels like all of the team have the chance to pitch a wide range of ideas, no matter how insane they are. It's this mixture of witty, silly, classic, musical, absurd and clever ideas that have caused SNL UK to be an absolute breath of fresh air. 

There are plenty of really excellent sitcoms on at the moment (Ann Droid and Amandaland to name just two), but broadly speaking British comedy has been returning to the same few formats recently. Panel shows like Would I Lie To You and Have I Got News For You have been running for years, and while I’m a big fan of a lot of the comedians that feature on them, the shows themselves are feeling a little tired. TLC are trying to become ‘the new home of comedy’ with new shows like Unacceptable, but SNL UK is currently romping its way to a BAFTA. 

The range of actors, writers and comedians (most of whom are a combo of all three) creating SNL UK is really helping to fuel the show. It hasn’t been hard to get to know the on screen stars, as well as the writers behind the camera. The show did well to seek a combination of ‘big names’ like Emma Sidi (Taskmaster) and Hammed Animashaun (Black Ops), comics who have been very successful on social media like Al Nash, and even thespians like the fan (and my personal) favourite George Fouracres. I could list what I’ve loved about every individual member of the cast, and I’m excited to see what new member Freddie Meredith brings to the table after a very strong first few sketches. 

SNL UK’s biggest success has been staying true to the comic identity of Britain. We have such a great tradition of sketch shows, and it feels that this has been the grounding of SNL UK rather than strictly its US counterpart. While I was anticipating the money, political impressions and astute observations in the weekend update, the sheer level of ‘Britishness’ has been really surprising. Rather than jokes about Britain for Americans, there have been so many reference points that only make sense on the British Isles. These have always felt natural, adding to the general sense that this incredibly difficult to produce show has been effortless. 

The show’s social media presence also deserves its own shout out. I’ve not seen any show marketing itself as well as SNL UK. Their team perfectly understands what to clip, how to tease, and I often find myself rewatching sketches from the weekend as and when they’re added to social media. 

SNL UK only has one problem- it's on Sky. It's such a shame that a lot of people won’t get to watch it. Up to SNL UK, I only had Sky TV for Sky Sports. This is the first show that I’ve actually watched on Sky, and if you don’t watch sport I’m not sure it's worth the cost. Thankfully though, the brilliant social media strategy from SNL UK means everyone has the chance to laugh along to the best show currently broadcasting on TV.

Written by, Eleanor Patamia