Saturday Night Live UK Slammed by Critics After First Episode

Saturday Night Live UK, a spin-off from the long-running American sketch show created by Lorne Michaels, premiered on Mar. 21, 2026, with a cast made up of up-and-coming British comedians. Tina Fey hosted the first episode, and Episodes 2 and 3 are set to be hosted by Jamie Dornan and Riz Ahmed.

The debut included appearances from Nicola Coughlin, Graham Norton and Michael Cera. Reaction on social media was largely negative. @StuClark called the UK version "bad impersonations & poor taste jokes about loss of life," and said he had no plans to watch again.

@verbisan wrote it offered "nothing that punched up, made politically salient points, or shook the establishment," added that it wasn’t "divisive" or "interesting," and compared the writing to something created using artificial intelligence.

United Kingdom

snl uk, tina fey, jamie dornan, riz ahmed, lorne michaels, graham norton, michael cera, debut episode, social media, negative reviews