When it was first announced that Saturday Night Live would transfer to the UK, I called the show “doomed”. I was writing on a heady wave of confidence. British audiences are derisive about importing American formats, the show’s cast of young comics seemed absent of the necessary star power, and the series was due to air on Sky One, a channel that no one (except, perhaps, Richard Branson and the Duke of Westminster) can afford. It looked doomed. And yet the show is back now for a second series, which kicked off last night with renewed vigour. So, is SNL UK turning into a bit of a sleeper hit?
“I’m the new PM,” Andy Burnham (George Fouracres) announces during the season-opening sketch, “and I’m nothing like the last one!” The line is delivered with a wink. Back in March, Fouracres raised the curtain on the first series playing Keir Starmer. Times have changed, but the sources of comedic inspiration are reliable. The royal family make an appearance (“don’t tell me you’ve spent all your Netflix money!”, Charles (Larry Dean) laments to a returning Harry and Meghan), as does Celeste Dring’s Claudia Winkleman impression (the return of The Traitors in a couple of weeks will likely prove irresistible to the writers’ room). The only new cast member – Freddie Meredith – debuts in a passable scene in which he plays a young man being fed pick-up lines by Jeff Goldbum, who hosts this episode.
