“Saturday Night Live UK” Assembles Creative Team for 2026 Sky Debut
LONDON – Sky and Universal Television Choice Studio’s (UTAS) UK production team have announced the core creative leadership for Saturday Night Live UK, slated to launch in 2026. The series, a remake of the iconic NBC late-night show, will be produced in partnership with Broadway Video and filmed at a BBC Studioworks facility.
The team is led by executive producer Andy Longman, previously of the Late Late Show and founder of Jolly Octopus, a production company backed by BBC Studios and co-founded with Ollie Brack. Longman expressed his excitement, stating, “After several years in LA, it’s amazing to come back home to such a vibrant and exciting live comedy scene. Saturday Night Live has set the bar for live sketch comedy for half a century, and to help bring that legacy to London using our amazing on-screen and off-screen talent, along with a tremendous investment in UK production, is a massive honor.”
Joining Longman are director Clare, whose credits include major live UK broadcasts such as An Audience with Adele, glastonbury, the BRIT Awards, MTV Video music Awards, and Britain’s Got Talent; and sketch performer and composer Johnson, a member of sheeps, with previous work on Parlement (France TV), Siblings (BBC), and Elliott from Earth (Cartoon Network).Shanna Baynard will serve as executive in charge of production, bringing experience overseeing major series and live specials featuring comedians like Kevin Hart and Michael mcintyre.
UTAS UK Productions is overseen by managing director Helen Kruger Bratt, with Andy Smith serving as led producer alongside production executive Sam Salter. Sky’s executive director of unscripted originals, Edgar-jones, revealed his ambition for the series, stating he wants the remake to bring “chaos” and “noise” to the screen. He also noted that Sky talent scouts have been assessing emerging comedy stars at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
SNL UK will be the most high-profile international version of the show, following previous remakes in China, Germany, Italy, and South Korea.