SATURDAY Night Live UK has hit screens with a bang – costing a staggering £2million per episode as it launches in Britain.
The big-budget show is bringing in a string of A-list stars, promising a glitzy new era for British comedy.
The UK version of the iconic US sketch show is expected to feature a rotating line-up of celebrity hosts and musical guests.
Bosses are said to be pulling out all the stops to replicate the success of the original.
The studio is usually used for The Graham Norton Show, which is not set to return until the autumn.
The budget would have paid for the studio for two months, as well as the 11 cast members and a team of 20 writers.
There is also the producing team, which includes “The Late Late Show With James Corden” vet James Longman as producer and “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels as executive producer.
James Longman said: “The UK is absolutely packed with incredible comedy talent right now and this cast represents the freshest voices we have.”
Its launch weekend was fronted by Tina Fey, who is a star of SNL in the US.
Ratings showed the first episode pulled in a respectable 226,000 viewers, but gained mixed reviews with risks of the show being “too American” for a British audience.
Fey’s opening monologue attracted over 1.6 million views in less than 48 hours.
The series is available on Sky and Now TV and will see a host of famous faces hit the small screen.
Each of the eight episodes will see a different celebrity front the show, following the same format of its American counterpart.
50 Shades Of Grey hunk Jamie Dornan who’ll be joined on the second show by Wolf Alice.
Then it will be Star Wars actor Riz Ahmed fronting episode three when he’ll be joined by Kasabian.
Alongside a famous host, the show’s main cast are Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi and Paddy Young.
Saturday Night Live UK has already been extended by two weeks.
The show was originally planned to run over six weeks, but two more 75 minute episodes over two weeks have been added, according to Deadline.
The US version of the show has been a staple in the US for decades, launching the careers of comedy stars from Eddie Murphy to Kristen Wiig.
Other big names who’ve fronted SNL have included Harry Styles and Ryan Gosling. Previously, the likes of Daniel Craig and Emma Stone.
The show will be available on Sky as well as streaming service Now.
