SNL UK After Party 3/21/26 - S1 E1 “Is this a British Thing?”
Host: Tina Fey
Musical Guest: Wet Leg
There is a long and storied history of American television adapting British shows to various levels of success. All in the Family, Sanford & Son, The Office and Ghosts have all made their way across the Pond to American Television sets. But now, America is returning the favor by sending one of our most revolutionary shows to England (Oh! The Irony!)
Saturday Night Live has launched on Sky TV. Will this format work in the home of the Bard, or will it get lost in translation? (Wait, they speak English there so …. oh never mind).
Let’s find out on the inaugural edition of the SNL UK After Party!
Cold Open
Right out the gate we learn that the UK version of the show will adhere to the American format. We have a political cold open that is centered - t least indirectly - around Donald Trump. The setup here is that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (played as a bundle of fear and fecklessness by George Fouracres) is too nervous to talk to Donald Trump on the phone to discuss his hesitancy to send forces to the Straits of Hormuz. To help him out, Deputy PM David Lammy (Hammed Animashaun) brings in a Gen Z consultant (Jack Shep) to help Keir learn how to communicate. Keir ends up creating a voice note to Trump. The note is a milquetoast refusal to go to war, but a desire to still be friends. Ultimately, the PM is willing to do anything except “take a stand”.
In the end, the cast members turn to the camera to shout, “Live from London, it’s Saturday night!”
This was a very British take on a very SNL cold open. Presumably the jokes would have hit harder with people who know more about the PM and his Deputy. But it was a solid opener in any case. It was certainly in line with expectations. A political bit up top based on current events with shots at politicians.
Not a bad intro to the show.
Monologue
SNL vet (and potential heir apparent to Lorne Michaels some day) hosted the show. Fey is a pro and was comfortable in front of the London crowd in a studio that could have been mistaken for Studio 8H at 30 Rock.
Fey jokes about how she has a difficult understanding the cast, pointing out “One boy may be Scottish, or choking.”
In a time honored tradition, she starts to take questions from the audience, where we quickly get the first cameo of the night. Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlin asks Fey why a British icon such as Dame Judi Dench or Shrek wasn’t the first host. Fey says, “because none of you f’ers would do it.” Except she said the actual word.
Michael Cera then appears (He’s Canadian, so part of the empire. Educate yourself) and points out that Fey cursed. The host said that’s okay on British television, so he asks if he can curse. She says it’s fine, and then he proceeds to do so in exactly the way you’d expect Michael Cera to do so. The next celebrity pop up is British interviewer Graham Norton, whose studio the show is being produced in. Norton gets on stage and starts to interview Fey, who balks at first, until Norton points out he has a way of making American celebrities likable to British audience.
This is a decent monologue segment - light on monologue - heavy on “bits”. But it works, and the studio audience seemed to be enjoying this experience quite a bit.
Underage’
Next up is a pretaped commercial parody for an anti-aging cream called Underage’. The cream is so effective, it will lead authorities to arrest husbands on women who use it, because they will think the man is a “nonce” (Brit-slang for pedophile). It’s really a classic single joke premise that may go on longer than it needs to. Still, it is funny and has enough of an edge to it to work.
David Attenborough’s Last Supper
Fouracre introduces himself by saying, “I’m David Attenborough, and it can’t be long.” He explains that his brother (from Jurassic Park) has managed to bring several famous Brits back to life so Attenborough can have dinner with them and ask what makes Britain great. Luminaries such as Winston Churchill, Princess Diana (Shep, killing it here), Agatha Christie, Freddy Mercury, Cilla Black (who, based on crowd reaction, you would know if you were British) and others joined the table. The joke here is that the assembled lot never talk about anything of substance, instead they just dicker over what starters (British for “appetizers”) everyone is going to order. It’s amusing enough, and is pulled off with gusto and it is fun to see the various characters - particularly demure Princess Di.
Movie Review
Animashaun portrays a movie critic named Boovie who hosts “Boovie Goes to the Films”. Which is a lovely piece of absurdity right out of the gate. He sucks up to two stars of a recently released film before declaring their current movie f’ng (again using the real word) sucked.
He then say “It was so bad all the way through. What happened?”
When the star asks for their PR person, Boovie states that “He’s gone to get me some fruit.”
This sketch is absurd (and feels like something Kenan Thompson might do). The shock value of the f bombs work really well here for punctuating the comedy.
This one was very funny and breezy.
The Budger
In another taped segment, a crew works hard to make the internet as bad as possible. One guy makes the x’s you click to close a box very tiny, while another “budges” what customers are clicking so they click on the wrong thing.
It’s like a British spy drama, but for terrible internet.
This one didn’t exactly pack in the laughs, and didn’t really feel worth the production, but it wasn’t upsettingly bad. If you’ve watched enough Slow Horses or British tech spy stuff, it’s at least relatable.
Shy baby
In this sketch, a doctor (Fey) is showing an ultrasound to two expecting parents. The baby pretends to be shy, but is just faking it for attention. Fey talks about what a monster this baby is and ends up coaxing it out by inviting it to do karaoke. Then everyone dances for some reason. There are a few laughs here. It’s an okay mid-show sketch.
Weekend Update
Hosts Ania Magliano and Paddy Young have good energy and project how much fun they are having. This pairing and vibe works well in the first episode. The jokes are solid, and even a tad nasty at time (in a good way). There are also some incredibly dumb (in a great way) jokes. For example, Young during one story notes that helium is also in short supply due to the conflict with Iran. He then says when asked how short the supply is, helium sellers said … and then he does an elaborate bit where he pulls out a helium tank and takes a hit. He then says - in a normal voice - “We are all out.” This was delivered beautifully and was very funny.
Another joke about the the Ayatollah Khamenei is brilliantly idiotic.
Update wouldn’t be update with desk guests, and this episode does not disappoint. The anchors are joined by Captain Birdsong, a “fish finger” sales mascot who has been enlisted to head to the Strait of Hormuz. Is Captain Birdsong a real mascot? No clue. But, real or not, the Captain has a dark side (and weak beard glue), so the bit is entertaining.
I think it will be fun to watch Magliano and Young in this slot.
Stratford Upon Avon
In a partial parody of Hamnet, Shakespeare keeps going to London to produce his plays and comes home to his family a little different each time. First he has an earring (I won’t use the adjective for it here that they did, but I was somewhat shocked until I remembered the word has a different vibe in the UK). Then he has a chain, and finally he comes back with an E-Scooter and a bunch of Ketamine that Hamnet gets into. And then, once again, the sketch ends with everyone dancing.
The writing on this one had some fun moment. At one point Shakespeare leaves to produce “Henry IV Part Two: Henry V,” and Fey’s screaming as Shakespeare’s wife got a literal LOL out of me.
But, man, if this dancing to end sketches things continues I will be sorely vexed.
Paddington Bear Experience
In another taped segment, families are invited to an immersive Paddington Bear experience. But, it’s not a guy in a suit. It’s an actual enraged bear that gruesomely mauls attendees. One child says, “None of this happened in the films,” while another attendee notes, “He doesn’t like marmalade. He likes human hands!” while displaying bleeding stumps.
This was a fun, gory bit of silliness.
Dressing Room
Well, ok.
Fey is depressed and is offered a bra fitting by a store employee (Emma Sidi). Sidi offers to make Fey feel better by loudly yelling that her breasts are much larger than they are. Then the guy from Bridgerton (Rege-Jean Page). This one is kind of a mess and relies solely on the idea that breasts are funny. I guess.
Oh, turns out the store employee’s last name is Jugs. So that’s what we are dealing with here.
45 Seconds with Fouracres
I don’t know what this is or how to describe it. Fouracres (who is an honest to goodness Shakespearean actor who has performed at the Globe) sings, screams, does voice and accents, and then is joined by Nicola Coughlin to sing an Irish song.
Is it funny? In a weird way, yes. Maybe.
Is it interesting? I think so.
Is it good? Beats me.
The Goodbye Wave
Best Sketch: Movie Review made me laugh. It didn’t belabor itself, and it was able to showcase the effectiveness of a few well placed curses. This was silly, funny, and nicely executed.
Worst Sketch: This is a little tougher. I am on the balance beam between the Dressing Room and the Budger. I think the sheer sophomoric nature of the dressing room leans me in that direction.
Random Notes:
- The comedy wasn’t the only part of the show to enjoy freedom to use profanity. Wet Leg performed two songs, one of which was riddled with f bombs. The use of “forbidden” words on the show worked really well overall. The writers didn’t use them gratuitously. They were properly deployed for comedic effect and impact. This could become a problem with lazy writers, but this debut episode used the swears as seasoning and not the main course, and it worked well.
- There were a few technical difficulties and camera errors, but it was overall a surprisingly smooth maiden voyage.
- The show is a little shorter than an American episode of SNL, and the season will be significantly shorter. Maybe this will help keep things fresh and prevent the burnout that is inevitable with the ludicrous demands of the American show schedule.
- It’s going to take me a minute to get to know this cast, but from what I’ve seen so far, I like them as a group. Some have been on the British game show, Taskmaster, which is such a fun show. I think it’s headed to America, but I think this is one show where the whole British sensibility of it is probably what makes it work. There are also standup and even an original cast member of Six. If you want to read up on the cast, check out this page on Peacock.
SNL UK is definitely cousins with the American version. The format is very familiar - cold open/street exterior cast intro film/monologue/taped bits/Update/two musical numbers, etc. Another similarity is an over-large cast. It will be hard for all these talented performers to shine in the crowd. So far, I’d say Fouracres and Animashaun are the stand-outs, but there are others in the ensemble that are strong, and hopefully we’ll get a chance to see all of them take the spotlight in the coming weeks.
The UK branch of Lorne Michael’s empire is now up and running, and it is a welcome addition to the franchise. I look forward to see where this goes. A new perspective on a half-century old show is exciting and is something worth cheering on.
Grade: B
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