Saturday Night Live has been an American institution for nearly half a century, launching a roll call of the nation’s most beloved comedians in the process. And now it seems that the U.K. wants a piece of that action. A British version of the long-running NBC variety series is reportedly in the works over at Sky, according to Deadline. The trade writes that the project is in the early stages of development.
Assuming the concept takes off, this will be the most high-profile international adaptation of SNL, as created by veteran producer Lorne Michaels in 1975, following on from less notable reimaginings in the likes of China, Germany, Italy, and South Korea. Deadline reveals that SNL reps are currently in London negotiating a deal with Sky, which⏤just like SNL‘s home of NBC⏤is owned by Comcast.
It’s said that this reboot is the “talk of British entertainment and talent circles,” with U.K. comedians battling to be involved. Finding the right cast will obviously prove key to the show’s success as SNL‘s longevity is due to its constantly evolving lineup of talent and the comedic chemistry between each successive batch of stars. There’s no indication of who could appear in the British version yet, though.
One thing that Deadline notes is that SNL U.K. won’t air as late as its U.S. counterpart does, which starts 11:30pm ET. This news comes after Sky started showing full episodes of the American SNL last year on the newborn Sky Comedy channel, marking the first time the series had been available to watch for U.K. viewers outside of YouTube clips and aside from a brief airing on ITV4 in 2006.
Sky’s project is the second British take on SNL following Channel 4’s Saturday Live, which ran from 1985-88 and featured Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in its cast.
The original Saturday Night Live is currently airing its 47th season weekly on NBC.