Saturday Night Live has announced the comedians cast for the first UK incarnation of the hit late-night US series.
They include Taskmaster stars Ania Magliano and Emma Sidi, Black Ops star Hammed Animashaun, and Ayoade Bamgboye, who was named best newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards last year.
Larry Dean, who has appeared on Live At The Apollo, and Celeste Dring, whose credits include This Country and Lazy Susan, also feature in the SNL UK cast of 11, along with Paddy Young (Everyone Else Burns and Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping) and “Instagram heartthrob” Al Nash.
George Fouracres (Steve), Jack Shep (Big Boys) and Annabel Marlow (Six The Musical) complete the line-up, billed as the “new generation” of British comedians.
SNL, broadcast on NBC in the US, is an American pop culture institution which has been running for 50 years, and launched the careers of stars including Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell.
The first UK version is set to launch on Sky in March, with a guest host helming the show each week.
Star hosts in the US last year included Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, Josh O’Connor, Glen Powell, Golden Globes presenter Nikki Glaser and recent Grammy winner Bad Bunny.
“I just love sketch comedy,” said Dean, on why he wanted to join the show. “There have been so many people who have appeared on Saturday Night Live, either as hosts or part of the cast, that are my comedy heroes – like Jim Carrey, Richard Pryor, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey.”
Fouracres said he had often watched clips of the US show and thought, “I wish we had that. Why don’t we have something like that?”
Being part of the new show “blows my tiny mind”, he added.
Producers announced the UK show’s creative team in November and have said writers will also be revealed soon.
Written, rehearsed and performed in the week of each show, every episode will be staged in front of a live studio audience and feature an opening monologue, topical sketches, live music, and a UK take on SNL’s famous news satire, Weekend Update.
Lead producer James Longman said the UK cast members represent “the freshest voices we have” and are “bold, exciting and of course, incredibly funny”.
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The UK show will be overseen by US producer Lorne Michaels.
Phil Edgar Jones, executive director for unscripted originals at Sky, said the time is right for the show as “we all need a laugh like never before”.
“The show’s long-standing legacy of discovering and nurturing outstanding comedy talent speaks for itself, and this UK version will build on that legacy with the support of Lorne Michaels, a brilliant local production team, and an exciting new generation of voices,” he said.
Saturday Night Live UK will be broadcast on Sky and streaming service NOW from 21 March.
