{"id":489268,"date":"2026-03-22T12:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T12:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/489268\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T12:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T12:41:08","slug":"what-the-critics-are-saying-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/489268\/","title":{"rendered":"What The Critics Are Saying"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSaturday Night Live UK<\/a> debuted last night 50 years after its U.S. inspiration\u00a0launched in the U.S. as\u00a0NBC\u2019s Saturday Night. <\/p>\n

\n\tTina Fey, so instrumental in\u00a0SNL<\/a>\u2018s modern era, was drafted in to add some gravitas to the UK incarnation, with Wet Leg the musical guest. They joined\u00a0SNL UK<\/a>\u2018s debut cast \u2013 Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi and Paddy Young. The show is expected to debut on Peacock in the U.S. on Sunday evening. Jamie Dornan and Riz Ahmed are confirmed as hosts for episodes two\u00a0and three\u00a0with Wolf Alice and Kasabian providing the music.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe atmosphere over the show in the UK has been apprehensive, with many in the UK industry skeptical that the series can justify the significant outlay Sky will have put down. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe critics have now had their say and it\u2019s fair to say the reaction has been mixed, but skews positive. A number of critics see green shoots in the show and a few really warmed to it.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline\u2019s Baz Bamigboye was unimpressed by the first episode, calling it \u201cA laughter-free yawn that\u2019s not a patch on Lorne Michaels\u2019 American original: \u201cThe show launched on Sky Saturday night with a\u00a0dire Cold Open<\/a>\u00a0featuring prime minister Keir Starmer quivering over taking a call from Donald Trump where not one single memorable line was uttered. Tina Fey<\/a>\u00a0popped up as guest host. Why? Up popped\u00a0Bridgerton\u2019s\u00a0Nicola Coughlan to ask just that question. And then there was Graham Norton of\u00a0The Graham Norton Show\u00a0fame, to add his penny\u2019s worth\u2026Saturday Night Live UK. What is it?! Painful, that\u2019s what.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tReviews were largely kinder elsewhere. The Telegraph gave the show 4\/5 stars, saying: \u201cTina Fey shines as guest host in shockingly competent spin-off\u2026Predictions that a transatlantic SNL would crash and burn proved wide of the mark.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Financial Times agreed: \u201cBritons may be sceptical of Saturday Night Live UK \u2014 but its debut episode shows promise With Tina Fey as guest host and some close-to-the-bone humour, Sky\u2019s SNL translation was often inventive and sharp\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Guardian gave the show 3\/5 stars, saying: \u201cIt didn\u2019t fail and it could have been a lot worse: impressions of Keir Starmer, sketches about dodgy skincare products, and some \u2018god-awful performances\u2019 aside, the inaugural episode\u2019s ambition was refreshing to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Independent also gave it 3\/5 stars, noting: \u201cSome hits, some misses, and a bang-on Princess Di impression\u201d, before adding: \u201cJudging a show like\u00a0SNL\u00a0off its opening episode is foolish. The chemistry between the cast needs time to settle, and the reaction on TikTok and Instagram will likely inform which sketches have legs (the Head Wound Harrys and David S Pumpkins, so to speak), and which end up in the writers\u2019 room bin. What\u00a0SNL UK\u2019s opening episode does demonstrate is a willingness to push the envelope, to risk bad taste. Borrowing a beloved American format might feel a bit stale, but there are notes of new ingredients that\u00a0could\u00a0offer something fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWebsite Latenighter was largely impressed, writing: \u201cThe central question facing this transatlantic experiment was whether it would feel like a distinctly British version of\u00a0SNL\u00a0or simply an American imitation set to Greenwich Mean Time. Saturday\u2019s debut landed somewhere in between. It featured a promising young cast of British, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish comic talent, fronted by as strong an\u00a0SNL\u00a0star as anyone could hope for:\u00a0Tina Fey The result was a show that unquestionably stuck the landing, even if it didn\u2019t fully announce itself as something entirely new or unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Times of London, however, was left cold by the first stab at SNL UK, saying \u201cBritain is funny but this isn\u2019t yet\u2026There\u2019s talent in the cast \u2014 shame this Sky One debut was four parts American gurning, one part Princess Diana.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tChuck Thomas, an executive producer at News UK and former TV producer who co-created ITV\u2019s Quizmania, was a fan, describing the show on X as \u201ca masterclass in live television. Loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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