What did haters think of Saturday Night Live UK's debut?

What’s Happening

Real talk: The long-running US sketch show now has a British equivalent, which received a broadly positive reaction on its debut.

What did haters think of Saturday Night Live UKs debut? 15 hours ago Save Lauren Turner Save Sky UK The first episode of Saturday Night Live UK has hit our screens - 50 years after the US original - and largely got a warm welcome from haters, but it flopped to raise a smile with some. (let that sink in)

When it was just dropped, there was wariness about how the comedy sketch show would translate for a British audience.

The Details

That was partly assuaged when the cast, made up of up-and-coming talent rather than established names, was just dropped. As with the American version, each episode has a guest host and the British debut was fronted , who made her name as a cast member on SNL.

There were also surprise appearances from stars including Nicola Coughlan and Graham Norton. The overall feeling was that there were hits and misses during the 75-minute opener on Sky One, with its skits on Paddington, Hamnet and Sir David Attenborough.

Why This Matters

The Guardians Lucy Mangan says : “It could have been a lot worse. ” Giving it three stars, she says the overall feeling was that the show “did work”, with some “proper jokes for grown-ups” especially in the Weekend Update section riffing on the news. Mangan points out that the team and audience need to “build up a rhythm and rapport with the show”, adding “it felt refreshing to see an ambition / piece of madness…

Entertainment industry insiders have been buzzing about this.

The Bottom Line

Sky UK One sketch saw David Attenborough choose his ultimate dinner party guests In Variety, Scott Bryan points out how rare it is to see British comedy - let alone a sketch show - on TV, noting the substantial investment put into the show. He says it took the basics of the US show and “left the Brits to it”, describing it as “darker and more surreal than its US counterpart”.

What do you think about all this?