Saturday Night Live UK has nearly wrapped on its first season.
The show kicked off on March 21 with inaugural host and SNL hall-of-famer Tina Fey, who shepherded the relatively unknown cast of British social media stars and stand-up comedians to a solid start. The Hollywood Reporter‘s review determined: “Good cast, spotty writing — like the mothership,” about the London spin-off of Lorne Michaels’ long-running NBC sketch show.
That first episode onSky (available on Peacock in the U.S.) was watchedby over 220,000 people in Britain. With musical guest Wet Leg, the opener’s sketches were wide-ranging and made use of the U.K.’s over-performing rolodex of talent.
Taking over from Fey on March 28 was Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan, supported by rock group Wolf Alice. He passed the hosting baton to Riz Ahmed, promoting his new Amazon series Bait, alongside Kasabian on April 3, and on April 11, British comedian Jack Whitehall hosted with musical guest Jorja Smith. Those in the U.S. might recognize Whitehall as the emcee for the F1 75 Live event last year.
Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan hosted the next show after a brief hiatus on April 25, with the Foo Fighters as her musical guest. She was promoting season two of her Channel 4 dramedy Big Mood. Then, White Lotus alum Aimee Lou Wood will take the reins this weekend, May 2, next to British singer-songwriter Meek.
The final two hosts have now been revealed: On May 9, Ted Lasso‘s Hannah Waddingham will front SNL UK next to musical guest Myles Smith. The series finale on May 16 boasts Ncuti Gatwa, of Doctor Who and Sex Education fame, as the first season’s final host, with musical guest Holly Humberstone.
Though the show got off to a strong start in viewership, its third episode — with Ahmed —took a 42 percent audience plunge. It was watched by just 130,950 people in the U.K. Whitehall’s viewership dropped even lower, watched by 120,000 people on the evening of April 11.
Theseason regulars on SNL UKinclude Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi and Paddy Young.
Here, THR rounds up a definitive list of the hosts and musical guests for season one of SNL UK.
Mar. 21: Tina Fey, Wet Leg
Mar. 28: Jamie Dornan, Wolf Alice
Apr. 3: Riz Ahmed, Kasabian
Apr. 11: Jack Whitehall, Jorja Smith
Apr. 25: Nicola Coughlan, Foo Fighters
May 2: Aimee Lou Wood, Meek
May 9: Hannah Waddingham, Myles Smith
May 16: Ncuti Gatwa, Holly Humberstone