Saturday Night Live is getting a British version of the long-running NBC sketch comedy series.
According to Deadline, the project is in its earliest stages of development at the British broadcaster, Sky. While the American SNL has been previously developed internationally for a number of countries, including China, Germany, Italy and South Korea, this would be the most high-profile adaptation of the series yet.
Sky is owned by the media conglomerate Comcast, which also owns NBC, where SNL has aired for over 40 years. According to reports, reps for SNL are currently in London discussing a deal with Sky. This comes after the British broadcaster began showing full episodes of NBC's SNL in 2020 on its Sky Comedy channel. Prior to that, clips of SNL were only available to watch on YouTube in the UK. However, a British series called Saturday Live, influenced by SNL, starring actors and comedians like Harry Enfield, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Ben Elton, originally aired on Channel 4 from 1985 to 1988, and then on ITV until 2007.
The series will likely feature British comedians and talent though a cast has not yet been revealed, as the series is in its earliest stages of development. However, unlike the version in the United States that starts at 11:30 p.m. EST on Saturday nights, the British version might not air as late in the UK.
Created by Lorne Michaels, Saturday Night Live is a live, late-night sketch-comedy series that first aired on NBC in 1975 under the original title, NBC's Saturday Night. Michaels currently serves as showrunner and executive producer. Produced by Broadway Video and SNL Studios, each episode of SNL is hosted by a celebrity guest in front of a live studio audience, featuring sketches often parodying American popular culture and politics.
The original cast featured now-comedy giants Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris and Chevy Chase. SNL is currently in its 47th season, with its current cast consisting of Beck Bennett, Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Melissa Villaseñor and Bowen Yang.
New episodes of Saturday Night Live air live from New York every Saturday.
Source: Deadline