SNL UK After Party 3/28/26 - S1 E2 “And No This Isn’t A Joke. God Knows I Wish It Was”

Host: Jamie Dornan

Musical Guest: Wolf Alice

Last week Tina Feypassed the torch across the Atlantic to the new iteration of SNL. This week, for its second episode, the show truly becomes a full-on British product and not just an imitation of the American version.

That said, is it funny? Well, let's find out at the SNL UK after party.

Cold Open

The cold open takes on a familiar political bent, but this time it is a decidedly British one, with nary a mention of Donald Trump to be found. Set in MI5 headquarters in 1997, Prince Andrew (Jack Shep) is brought in after the death of his mother, Princess Diana (showing a picture of Shep performing as Diana just last week). MI5 agents explain that no one likes Prince Charles and, since he will be king someday, they need to organize a plan to make him look good. They have come up with a full 29-year plan for Andrew to improve Charles's appeal by torpedoing his own. They've also come up with an environmental angle for Charles, but admit, "It's going to be half-assed."

The plan, of course, revolves around having Andrew become involved with Jeffrey Epstein (both before and to continue after his ultimate indictment). Andrew agrees to take on the onerous task but requests that he receive some assistance. Peter Mandelson (portrayed by Larry Dean) enters and agrees to assist. Mandelson is a long-time British politician who was embroiled in the Epstein scandal, a fact. It is likely that the bulk of audience members in the United States have no idea who he is.

Andrew’s ex, Fergie (Emma Sidi), Appears to offer her assistance in a number of ways, including making her walk even more weird.

Just before the sketch ends, Andrew is given an expression to use in the case that things get too difficult for him. This is “Pizza Express Woking." I have no idea what this means, but it got a laugh from the audience.

We then get live from London. It's Saturday night, and we are off to the races.

This opening sketch is an interesting example of how the tried and true SNL format works from a different angle. It is the same basic idea of taking a political current event and using it for laughs. It's interesting to see jokes about people that an American audience may know little to nothing about.

Monologue

Jamie Dornan serves as the host, noting that he has appeared in such projects as The Fall, Belfast, and "Your Auntie's Favorite Dreams".

Dornan Kama, who is best known to American audiences as the lead in the Fifty Shades of Grey films, notes that audiences have seen a lot of me, by which she means "my arse." He then proceeds to offer to show more (in a joke that Elon Musk supposedly pushed when he hosted the American SNL). He starts to unzip his fly; however, he shows restraint and says, "No, no, we won't be doing that."

For the bulk of the monologue, he talks about his odd hobby, which legitimately appears to be collecting rocks that look like potatoes. He shows us his collection of five such rocks and notes that people say to him, "You can't care much. You've only got five." He adds that this proves he cares a great deal, as his standards for potato-shaped rocks are high indeed.

Dornan is interrupted by an audience member who turns out to be Irish actor Chris O'Dowd. O'Dowd is probably best known to Americans for his work in the British sitcom "The I.T. Crowd." O'Dowd informs Dornan that he sucks and shows that he has in fact substituted an actual potato for one of Dornan's rocks. "Smell my spud, Dornan!" O'Dowd shouts. He then taunts him by stating that the potato isn't even Irish. It is just some "local slop," he says.

This was a great use of a monologue. It gave us a goofy, fun side of the host and included some wonderful absurdity with the classic interruption bit. No one has yet to burst in to the song for the monologue. For this alone, SNL UK is off to a very positive start.

Pub Song

In this pre-taped music video, British tourists are off to Spain, where they will spend the entirety of their time in British-themed pubs. It's a funny, energetic piece that highlights the absurdity of traveling to foreign countries only to seek out stuff you can have at home. If this were being made for an American audience, presumably the tourists would be visiting an Applebee's in some foreign land. (My wife contributed that bit. I steal from her all the time when I write these.)

This is an amusing piece that, once again, is very British while at the same time having universal appeal.

Hostage

Dornan plays a kidnapper who has taken a woman (Annabel Marlow) hostage. Dornan is making a demand, a ransom demand, for a video to the person that he refers to as Marlow’s boyfriend. She interrupts him, however, and points out that they aren't quite boyfriend and girlfriend yet, and then gives a lengthy story of how they started out as friends and then started hooking up. Dornan simply threw her in the boot of his car before they could define the relationship.

Night Time Incident

In what is perhaps the most British sketch of the entire show, a daughter (Sidi) Is concerned on the night of daylight savings time that her father has not changed all the clocks. This is because the Time Man may show up and create problems. The Time Man, it turns out, is Jools Holland, who will bring his Hootenanny to homes that have not changed their clocks.

When Holland arrives, he interviews the father and then takes him away to a boogie woogie wonderland. At the end, the screen shows a title card from the British government that says "Lose an hour, not your dad."

Who is Jules Holland and what is his hootenanny? No one in America knows. Nonetheless, we get the idea, and this pre-taped horror spoof works for its ridiculous theme.

I realize I could look up Jules Holland, but I kind of like not getting the reference, so I'm standing pat.

The Battle Within

Well, we return to more familiar territory with this one. This sketch involves a movie set in which an actor (Dornan) is returning from war to reunite with his mother (Celeste Dring). Of course, because Dornan is so handsome, the actress playing the mother is inappropriately attracted to him, and the scene plays out with her inappropriate touching and attempts to kiss Dornan. This is a tired and dead trope already. On the American side of the pond, let's hope that the "hot host” thing doesn’t become a staple of the British version as well.

It’s a single joke sketch that has lost any real teeth.

In another similarity to the American version, this sketch has absolutely no idea how to end, so it just does so abruptly.

Weekend Update

I am really liking the energy and casual approach of Weekend Update hosts Ania Magliano and Paddy Young. They are not afraid to make absolutely stupid jokes that are all the more funny because of their stupidity. For example, Magliano this week talks about Israel intercepting Houthi missiles, as in "Houthi Hell fired that missile."

Although a Trump joke makes it into the mix, most of the political jokes are aimed at British politicians, and some of the jokes are quite barbed. At one point in the segment, the two hosts hold hands for a segment called "Hand in Hand with Aniyah and Pad," where the two hosts check in to see if we're okay. They tell us the silver lining of possible impending war, and point out that in the past, wars have given us such good things as “antibiotics, jet engines, and something to talk to your dad about.”

For another desk bit, I'm the host or joined by a cast member Ayoda Bamgboye to talk about Britain’s falling birth rates. turns out the issue is men like Paddy, who is likely so dehydrated his “sperm looks like dusty oats.”

The cap to the bit is a statement that - essentially - there need to be more men like Martin Lewis. Who is that? I have no clue. But the audience did, and found it very funny.

Work House

In a Les Miz inspired musical, factory workers who have the job of gluing down bits of a wrap to the paper its in revolt via jaunty songs. This sketch is objectively not nearly as much fun as the John Mulaney helmed musical parodies that appear when he hosts the American show. But, man, the lead (I THINK its Marlow, who originated the role of Katherine Howard in Six) is very good. When she is told she looks tired, she proclaims that “I’m the opposite of tired, whatever that is,” and proceeds to belt out a show stopper of a tune.

The sketch is not hilarious (though the absurdity is appreciated), but this is a great highlight of the cast’s talents.

Beans Broz

In yet another taped we get a commercial for the Beans Broz, housed their grandma’s secret recipe for beans on toast. The problem it their grandmother was arrested the week before for injecting a bull full of children with Hepatitis C. The joke escalates as the brothers attempt to distance and “atone fort the sins of our wicked family.”

It’s a funny piece that works well.

Dinner Party

In the final sketch of the night, Dornan and his wife host another couple over for dinner. One of them (Hammed Animashaun) is a famous rugby player. Dornan tells him that he could have been a pro himself, but Animashaun interrupts him to say please don’t say its due to a bad knee.

Dornan excuses himself to the kitchen and a few moments later calls his wife in to reveal he has, in fact, cut off his testicles and glued them to his hips so he could say that it was that the prevented his rugby career.

A ridiculous conversation with Animashaun follows that relies on shock factor and some prosthetics that would not have gotten past American censors.

It’s an odd sketch appropriately placed in the odd sketch of the night slot.

The Goodbye Wave:

Best Sketch:

While I admired the production values of the Work House sketch, I thought the Beans Broz commercial did the best job of heightening and getting laughs. A beans on toast food truck run by a family seeking to clear its honor felt very fresh, British and funny.

Worst Sketch:

The Battle Within was just rehashed single joke filler that I wish had gotten lost as we transported it across the seas.

Random Notes:

- Wolf Alice was not my cup of tea. But the lead singer (is she, in fact, Wolf Alice?) did have some fancy Sgt. Pepper’s epaulets. So there’s that.

- The roughly one hour run time of the show really works. Even when sketches tank, the show doesn’t feel like a slog. Is that something that the American versions should consider?

- Annabell Marlow was this week’s stand out, and Ayoda Bamgboye at the Weekend Update desk was great. It feels like the show’s writers/producers are making an early effort to give everyone a chance to shine.

- The acting overall on this version of the show seems to be a higher caliber than we would expect on a sketch comedy show. The American version absolutely has some talented actors, but the level here seems elevated. I don’t think it’s just the accents.

Anyone who may have been concerned that SNL UK was going to be a pale imitation of the American show have - thus far - been given no reason to worry. This week’s episode was decidedly written for British audiences, and that is by no means a criticism. In fact, I really enjoy seeing topical comedy from a different perspective, and seeing that you can get a joke even if you don’t know who the joke is about. I may never know who Jools Holland and Martin Lewis are (I refuse to do the 10 seconds of research that would require), and “Pizza Express Woking” may forever remain a comedy mystery. But that’s okay. SNL UK should be a little confusing to Americans, and I look forward to being somewhat baffled again next time.

Grade: B+
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