SNL UK: Amelia Dimoldenberg/Rachel Chinouriri (09.26.2026)

Oasis (ft. Andy Burnham): Don't Get Scammed In Anger

• I got a good chuckle out of the word "NORTH" bring blared out like that right at the top of the episode as well as how goofily decorated in a mod/posh fashion his office seemed to be.

• I was wondering how often they'd use George's Andy Burnham impression. Doesn't seem like he's done enough lately to warrant a cold open in the past couole of weeks but the writers found an angle somewhere between UK/Russia relations and his speech at the U.N. general assembly this week.

• Nice to see Celestes' Angela Rayner character again. I guess the real Rayner is still in government as a member of Burnhams' cabinet?

• Freddie & Jack as the Gallagher bros from Oasis? Pretty solid impressions from both (better than their Russian accents anyway). I guess this sorta makes up for the poor response that James Austin Johnson and Sarah Shermans' Oasis/Gallagher impressions got from actual Brits a while back.

• Ooooooooooh, I see. Burnhams' being scammed by two Russian spies/Oasis catfishers...who are also the actual Gallagher brothers because Oasis was been a 30+ year Russian Psyop this whole time. Funny concept. 

• I got a kick out of Celeste taking replacing one of the framed photos on the wall with a t.A.t.U poster as well as Jacks' line about the song "Wonderwall" being originally titled "Wonderful Wall" about the Berlin wall.

• I guess they're now forming a "take" on Burnham around how much of a gullible, naive idiot they perceive him to be? Well, at least they're not portraying him as a spineless worm who can't stand up to Russia.

• I wasn't crazy about George's speech at the end. Fun cold open even if it's not my favorite of series two so far. B-

Monologue

• Ok, so...it's just about the show she's ending.

• Reminds me of Bill Haders' 2018 host monologue (the part about him thinking "Barry" was a conflict of interest specifically)

• The jabs at SNL UK and various Britich KFC equivalents having less fame and history than their American counterparts and Ed Sheerhan being an Elmo-like puppet were pretty sharp. She's doing fine for a non-actress/influencer host so far.

• This feels a lot like a typical "introduce yourself to the audience as if this is the first they've ever heard of you" SNL US host monologue, but I don't really mind. 

• This is pretty much the best I could've hoped for her monologue if it wasn't going to contain any guest out-of-nowhere guest cameos. It feels like it ran out of steam bit at the end though with the whole "be yourself" speech.

• Speaking of, upon a rewatch of this monologue, I noticed she said she had an "upcoming romcom" so I gues she is actively making the transition from "YouTuber/influencer" to "red carpet interviewer/presenter" to "actress who pretty much plays herself in her earliest roles" (which I guess makes Awkwafinas 2018 SNL US hosting stint the only true precedent for a YouTuber host pre-Amelia). So, I guess her doing this show is just part her getting her comedic acting sea legs before starting on that romcom of hers. C+

Harry Kane For Babybel Waxy Cheese

• I'm guessing this pretape is an elaborate spoof of a slightly less elaborate actual commercial for an actual waxy cheese Harry Kane endorses? 

• Seems like it's hitting all the tropes of typical big flashy athlete endorsement commercials of the past 30 years or so. 

• Nice way to work in Amelia and Freddie (who must have been parodying some specific announcer the way he was made up).

• Already, I like how they've more than made up for the severe lack of George and Al in last weeks' show by this point. George as the FIFA president was worth a chuckle.

• Nice way to work in Paddy outside of Update as "the guy who breaks up fatbergs".

• No idea who Emma was playing but i liked the Jennifer Saunders vibes she gave off and the sheer oddity of her just straight up biting George like a vampire to get the waxy cheese back.

• The show must have some pretty mixed feelings about Harry Kane. Als' portrayal of him isn't exactly the most flattering but it is a bit nicer than the rather scathing Samaritans joke Ania told about him in a previous Update this season.

• Then again, the show has also just depicted the FIFA president as basically just living in a sewer (which I totally get) along with this Fiona Bruce person who they...also have apparently depicted as a vampire? So yeah, the show must REALLY hate them.

• Not all of this hit for me, but I liked the absurdity of it. C+

Night At Madame Tussauds

• Ok, I chuckled at Amelia's "Marylin Monroe/Dua Lipa" and I liked Jacks Chris Martin impression.

• Speaking of, I was wondering who that black extra next to that one writer portraying Marilyn was supposed to be. I thought he might've been Lenny Henry until I noticed he was wearing a trench coat while also holding a sonic screwdriver so...he obviously must've been Ncuti Gatwa.

• So, I guess this is a cross between "Night At The Museum" and "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers"?

• I like these Beatle impressions and the Chaplin/Hitler gag from Larry. Speaking of Beatle impressions, George has now gone from playing Ringo to playing John and Freddie is now Ringo. That leaves...Celeste as George and Paddy as Paul. I guess that makes enough visual sense.

• I like the idea of Emma as Tom Hiddleston (just anachronistic enough to work even if her performance and general presence came off more Tom Jones than Tom Hiddleston) but this part feels like it could've been tightened a bit (and I kind of saw that "cold dead eyes" gag coming)

• Nice ending twist with Al's character having been an Elvis wax figure this whole time. I liked the writing behind this even if bordered on being a little too Rick and Morty-ish even for this show...and even if it just so happens to be the second live sketch of the night that involves people being tricked by celebrities. B+

Fashion Sense and Sensibility

• The idea of Al Nash being a male lead in a Jane Austin-esque period romance piece is intriguing enough.

• The premise of George, Emma and Amelia just ragging on Als' big cargo jorts isn't much on paper but the flourish they're putting into it is putting this over.

• I liked the gag of one pocket just containing Skittles and another just containing old, useless receipts.

• Hammed as Als' father is the icing on the cake here (although the reveal of both their pants having the word "juicy" on the back didn'tdo much for me). I got slight Brian Blessed vibes from Hammeds' performance.

• The twist ending with George and Emma putting their differences with Al aside and allowing them to marry Amelias' character when Al points out that their whole family wears five toed athletic shoes was just as strong a conclusion to this premise as anything else they could've come up with. B-

Love Is Blind

• The premise of Al's character being half horse isn't much by itself but the "glue factory" and "oats" gags being played out with typical reality show melodrama works for me.

• Amelia seems to be in her element here. I like that she played it all the way up to the ending so straight  like she didn't even notice or care Al was half horse.

• For a sketch parodying a reality show, this sure had a decent level of sweetness, charm and real heart to it with Amelia and Al seeming to make a genuine human connection with each other.

• I don't think we needed the ending button of Als' character being disappointed in Amelia's rack...but I still liked the rest of this sketch enough that that alone couldn't ruin it. B+

Apartment Fire

• Aurora Borealis?!? (sorry just had to get that out of the way)

• This is another sketch with almost too simple of a premise but the performances are selling it (especially Jack and Larry as the exasperated fire fighters). For once, Jack playing his part over the top with big line readings was actually appropriate. Al and Amelia were fine in it.

• Nice to see George as the fire chief again even if I didn't much care for this speech either. His turn in this sketch really reminded me of his performance in the sketch from Nicola Coughlans' episode where he had to land the plane (which was another sketch like this that I'm a bit more lukewarm on in hindsight).

• I'm not that crazy about George's ending speech but I loved his commitment and I liked how this ended with him suddenly saving Annabels' character who was their left behind daughter. C+

Weekend Update w/Paddy & Ania

• Paddys' Best Jokes: Trump Meets Burnham, Netanyahu, Paul Bros, Weinstein

• Anias' Best Jokes: Trump/Xi State Visit, Sam Altman, In Hock/Keech, Blair Workout

• Nice Chevy/Jane moment with his transition from that Netanyahu joke to that Wes Streeting joke.

• That Tommo arrest joke with the Ken dolls reminds me of a very specific and very cheap joke Tina & May did on SNL US 21 years ago.

• This East London mosquito bit feels like a VAST improvement on an SNL US Update formula that Bowen, Marcello, Kenan and Sarah have been made to follow in the last few years. Still, the general UK specific humor behind it put it over for me.

• That Labour party conference joke from Ania (the one that she broke during) had real Jost/Che joke swap energy (especially with Paddys' reaction of disgust). That had to have been a cold read, right? Like somebody threw that in between dress and air?

• Jesus, that "perv glasses" joke from Paddy has to be the absolute raunchiest and most gleefully grotesque visual joke ever pulled off on either version of Weekend Update. Sarah Sherman would be green with envy if she saw it.

• That had to be the most memorable Update SNL UK has ever produced. Holy shit, Paddy & Ania really swung for the fences tonight. A-

The One Show

• Not crazy about this being Ayoades' first appearance of the night but at least she isn't completely shut out of the show. She and George play phony pleasant morning show hosts well.

• This seems like it's going for the same level of absurdity as last weeks' "The Shape" but more chaotic. 

• I do like Freddie's commitment to the intense punishing nature of this. This is a great breakout showcase for him.

• This reminds of those sketches All That used to do with Josh Server as the physically tortured on location weatherman for Channel 6 1/2 News who would always be on the scene at the North Pole or a literal desert or some such place and Chrisy Knowings as the oblivious in studio local anchor.

• I'm surprised it took this long for a sketch where Amelia literally just plays herself but I did like how she was able to provide a warm, sympathetic ending to this with the reveal that she herself has the wide, thick feet that Freddies' character is doing the worm to raise awareness for. B-

How To How w/Hayley or Kayley

• Speaking of sketches, I'm surprised didn't air earlier in the show...

• I like how this sketch is just a blackout length jump in to an insane conversation on a "Call Me Daddy" type dumb millenial white girl type podcast just mid way through.

• This feels like a much streamlined and improved version of what that SNL US Update commentary with Chloe Fineman as Alex Cooper and Veronika Slowikoska as Alix Earle was going for. B+

Ranking SNL UK Series Two From Best To Worst

1. Amelia Dimoldenberg/Rachel Chinouriri (09.26.2026)
2. Jamie Demetriou/Royal Blood (09.19.2026)
3. Jeff Goldblum/CMAT (09.12.2026)

Ranking All Of SNL UK From Best To Worst

1. Jamie Dornan/Wolf Alice (03.28.2026)
2. Hannah Waddingham/Myles Smith (05.09.2026)
3. Amelia Dimoldenberg/Rachel Chinouriri (09.26.2026)
4. Jamie Demetriou/Royal Blood (09.19.2026)
5. Ncuti Gatwa/Holly Humberstone (05.16.2026)
6. Tina Fey/Wet Leg (03.21.2026)
7. Jeff Goldblum/CMAT (09.12.2026)
8. Nicola Coughlan/Foo Fighters (04.25.2026)
9. Riz Ahmed/Kasabian (04.05.2026)
10. Aimee Lou Wood/MEEK (05.02.2026)
11. Jack Whitehall/Jorja Smith (04.11.2026)

Overall Thoughts

• This may have been the strongest episode of series two so far. It was by far the most consistently entertaining and least uneven with no real lows and one very strong high that stood out above the rest.

• I had tempered my expectations for this episode based on the host alone but Amelia really delivered. She did pretty much exactly as well as I would've expected and the show proved it was able to work with her and ingratiate her into the show rather than having to work around her.

• Plus, it helps this episodes' reputation that it aired on the same night as another dull as dishwater season premiere of Saturday Night Live US (which you can also read my review of on this very blog).

• Cast usage was pretty consistent. They seemed to have used Annabel Marlowe and Ayoade Bambogye a bit less but thankfully they evened out everyone else's airtime using George, Al and Hammed much more (and continuing to use Jack, Emma and Freddie in ways that play directly to their comedic strengths.

Closing Thoughts

• Well, we know the next episode of SNL UK airs on October 10th. As of this publishing, we now also know that the host will be Danny Dyer, a name I have only heard in an old Rubberbandits song prior to today. I had always assumed he was just a TV presenter but today I found out he is an actual character actor who's been around and working for a number of years. Hope he does well! 

• We also do know who the host and musical guest for SNL US is that same night and, well...let's just say ol' Danny Boy ain't exactly facing stiff competition.

• Still, I hope you enjoy reading my reviews of the upcoming episodes of SNL US and UK in the next month (including their most recent US season premiere which aired the same night as this episode and my review of the SNL US season 33 finale with Steve Carrell and Usher which Deej and I will be covering on the podcast in a few weeks).

• See you again real soon!

SNL UK: Jamie Demetriou/Royal Blood (09.19.2026)

Ed, Charles And D.I.A.N.A.

• Ok, King Charles meeting with A.I. executives. This could be interesting.

• I liked how they included Celeste in this. Is Freddie just playing Elon Musk?

• Wow, very strange way to work Jack Sheps' Princess Di and the "A.I. could very possibly kill all humans" story into the same sketch (even with the context of Charles Spencers' recent memoir) but after seeing it take on a dark anti-A.I. apocalypse bent I started to get into it.

• Larry is turning out his strongest and most engaged performance as King Charles so far.

• Annabel as Ed Sheerhan was a nice touch and a nice counter balance to the grimdark A.I. apocalypse of this sketch. It comes across more like Kate McKinnons and Noel Wells' impressions of Justin Beiber from about a decade ago (or even Kate McKinnons impression of Ed Sheerhan from that time) but its' still a nice use of her musical background and singing voice.

• It's pretty funny how the writers' attempt at a pastiche/style parody of mid-2010s Ed Sheerhans' music just ended up sounding like that "10,000 Hours" song by Dan & Shay with Justin Beiber. Just speaks to how cookie cutter most male pop stars of that time were.

• A bit odd that both of this seasons SNL UK cold opens have followed the same structure of "other British people in the news this week suddenly intrude on King Charles" but it just goes to show you that even when SNL UK attempts one of these "let's just jumble every big news story of this week into a sketch" type cold opens they have a better handle on how to make those work effectively and actually NOT seem jumbled together. It's something SNL US needs to learn thing or two about.

• Quite a bleak, nihilistic ending with Larrys' King Charles suddenly declaring that "nothing matters" but it's the same kind of take on mocking world leaders I have come to expect from SNL UK by this point (and unfortunately the same approach to making the entire show I've come to expect from SNL US). B+

Monologue

• Quite an odd entrance. Not a bad one, though. I liked him tripping over the stairs, followed by his cousin suddenly tripping over him followed by the first words out of his mouth being a blunt "I was in Fleabag".

• I also liked his line "It's so fun and creative and comedy to be here."

• I wanted to like the premise of a host struggling to remember what he was in but until the song came on, I wasn't into the execution. It reminded me of John Goodmans' monologue from season 25 of SNL US only slightly more charming and less exploitative.

• Hey, Ncuti Gatwa has returned to remind Jamie which one of them was in Sex Education! Funny how he makes this cameo just as I get to appear on a podcast discussing the episode he hosted.

• Between this and Jeff Goldblums' monologue from last week, this might be my favorite musical monologue of SNL UK series two so far. 

• However, if you ONLY are able to view this episode on Peacock here in the states you might like to know that in the live Sky TV airing Jamie broke out giggling after the first line of his song and joking said something like "can we start over? No? Ok." Apparently, Peacock saw fit to cut that moment for some reason.

• Hey, it's...Al Roberts, Jamies' costar from "Steth Lets Flats". It's a shame I haven't seen that show but based on this interaction between the two of them it sure looks neat. This adds quite a bit of charm to the ending to this monologue. I especially liked the gag of him cold reading an upcoming acting credit of his.

• After chewing on this one a bit, I actually liked this more on rewatch and appreciate what a strong subversion of typical SNL host tropes this turned out to be. B-

The E-Bike Song

• I appreciate that we're really getting to see this different, more gleefully dangerous and reckless side of Jack Shep that we didn't get to see in series one (even if its just in service of one tongue in cheek joke about how e-bikes and lime scooters are dangerous as hell and expensive)

• I liked the inclusion of a rapping Freddie & Celeste, Jamie as a cop and Annabels' face on the green bike bucket (smart of them to get someone who can actually sing on this one). I even got a kick out of the older gentlemen playing Jacks' loved one in the middle.

• That musical mix of modern day PinkPantheress/Charli XCX-lite style dance pop and early millennial Albie Wobble Selekta style of British rap that permeated this short dovetails nicely enough with this. (Yeah, that's right. I just dropped a Kyle Gordon reference for lack of a better comparison. Big whoop. Wanna fight about it?)

• Still, even though this got a bit catchier and funnier on rewatch, between this and Wednesday nights new South Park episode...I'd say the latter was my preferred bit of e-bike based humor from the week. C+

The Rower

• Wait...so, this ISN'T an Odyssey parody?

• Weird time for Jamie to be doing a Bronson Pinchot impression.

• Yeah, this is definitely another sketch archetype I know I've seen on SNL US numerous times. One of the lesser known deep cuts from the classic Peyton Manning episode of SNL US immediately jumped to mind when I saw that (and so did the Riverdale sketch from Halseys' 2019 SNL US episode now that I'm thinking about it). Even if I hadn't seen either of those sketches, I'm sure I would've found the execution of this too awkward and lame to get into it.

• I liked how well Celeste played the role of the exasperated director, but other than that Jamie was playing this like either he didn't know what this sketch was supposed to be or was gently trying to take it in his own direction. D+

The Shape

• Ok, this looks pretty funny. It may actually make this sketch better for me that I have no fucking clue if it's parodying a real game show or not.

• This is decently absurd right out the gate. I'm getting some slight Mitchell & Webb "Numberwang/Remain Indoors" vibes.

• I actually like everyone's performances here. Jamie and Emma do a great job leading this. The various audience asides from Jack, Ayoade and Freddie were OK. A-

Why Did You Dump Me?

• I can sense that this is going for a similar level of absurdity as "The Shape". I like it as a vehicle for Emma, but I didn't like it as much as "The Shape".

• I liked that this did eventually switch gears into self awareness but I didn't care for how abruptly they made that shift or how long they lingered on Jamie explaining to Emma exactly how weird and crazy she is.

• I can tell this is a bit too weird to be that closely based on a real thing (except maybe Billy On The Street but like...an extrapolation of it?) so the closest thing from SNL US I can compare this to is...The Denise Show with Adam Sandler. Not bad. B-

Entertainment Exchange 

• I like that we're getting a lot of Celeste and Freddie this week (and way more Hammed than last week). I was even fine with the way Emma played the straight woman. 

• I'm not crazy about this sketch, though. It feels pretty empty and I've know for sure I've seen this premise on SNL before (specifically with the Spectrum cable sketches in recent years and the "Gym Call" sketch with Timothee Chalamet from 2023 that doesn't appear to legitimately be on YouTube for some reason).

• Heck, this even reminds me of the famous "change for a dollar" sketch from Mr. Show but much weaker.

• I did like Emmas' closing line just being her straight up wishing she never had kids. I would have placed this elsewhere in the rundown so it didn't end up being one of he sketches that leads into the host introducing the musical guest. D+

Weekend Update w/Paddy & Ania

• Paddys' Best Jokes: Kraft/Epstein, Piddington/Paddington, Pond Sex

• Anias' Best Jokes: Sheerhan/Macklemore, Robert Kraft, Roast Prices Rise

• Yeah, the whole Sheerhan/Macklemore/Kraft run of jokes were the strongest part of Update for me. Maybe the Paloma Faith joke would've hit harder if I knew who she was?

• That non-joke of briefly mentioning the lib dem party without a punchline and then quickly moving on to the Spencer memoir jokes was such a Chevy Chase/Jance Curtin level bit of humor from Ania.

• Again, I haven't seen "Stath Lets Flats" but what I could parse out from what I did see was charming enough. Jamie and Al have good enough chemistry to have made this level of silly bumbling fun to watch. Maybe I should check out Stath Lets Flats if it's streamable somewhere? B-

Woman Of Darkness

• Hmm, let's see where this goes...

• Seems like Jack found a version of his character from last week's Bi King Kong sketch that actually works

• Ok, this is a decent Sarah Sherman-ish performance from Emma I could jive with.

• ...and Jamie's character thinks she's hit and wants to hit on her. Fantastic.

• ...and he wants Jack's character to wingman him after his first failed come-on. Now, he wants to bail because she wants kids.

• ...and there's a button that turns this into a safe sex PSA. Yes, that's something we always want to see at the end of an SNL sketch.

• Ok, so...this went nowhere interesting. Not even the performances could save this lame premise.

• The fact that I can't really remember another time I've seen this exact premise speaks volumes. The closest thing I've seen to this on SNL US was The Twilight Zone sketch with Pamela Anderson but even that had a better ending. D-

The X-Factor Final 12 Performance

• Ok, how the FUCK is this the first we've seen of Al Nash or George Fucking Fouracres all night?

• So...is this just 2011 era X-Factor nostalgia and the only thing even close to approaching a joke is the height of Jamie's hair as he realizes his wig is too large on air and the camera rig rips it off?

• This reminded me a lot of the opening of the 2003 SNL US Super Bowl Halftime show where pretty much the entire 2002-03 cast portrayed different American Idol auditioned as well as the SNL US Digital Short from 2012 where Andy Samberg and Kristen Wiig just had really huge afros (and just a hint of WIll Ferrells' "Mark Jensen Family Christmas" from every SNL US Christmas special you've seen in the past 20 years).

• I liked Celeste, Paddy and Anias' appearances in this. Celestes' whole look was pretty funny. I dug the throwback to Paddys' running BTS gags. I heard Ania was apparently supposed to be playing a member of Little Mix. If so, she actually does make a pretty damn convincing Jesy Nelson and/or Jade Thirlwall.

• Actually, upon rewatch this was pretty funny and charming if you view it more as just a fun end of show musical number with the cast...y'know, like the exact thing it's meant to be parodying. I can't believe it took me a whole day to realize that this was just another example of SNL UK just parodying a specific piece of viral media from several years ago (even certain hosts from series one have done this in their monologues). Fun way to end the episode. B-

Ranking SNL UK Series Two From Best To Worst

1. Jamie Demetriou/Royal Blood (09.19.2026)
2. Jeff Goldblum/CMAT (09.12.2026)

Ranking All Of SNL UK From Best To Worst

1. Jamie Dornan/Wolf Alice (03.28.2026)
2. Hannah Waddingham/Myles Smith (05.09.2026)
3. Jamie Demetriou/Royal Blood (09.19.2026)
4. Ncuti Gatwa/Holly Humberstone (05.16.2026)
5. Tina Fey/Wet Leg (03.21.2026)
6. Jeff Goldblum/CMAT (09.12.2026)
7. Nicola Coughlan/Foo Fighters (04.25.2026)
8. Riz Ahmed/Kasabian (04.05.2026)
9. Aimee Lou Wood/MEEK (05.02.2026)
10. Jack Whitehall/Jorja Smith (04.11.2026)

Overall Thoughts

• I will admit, I struggled with this episode a bit because I may have went into it with the wrong mindset. Before I actually saw any of it, I had heard from a trusted source in a certain Discord server I tend to frequent (who lives in England and saw the live airing in real time) that this episode wasn't particularly good.

• Still, I had to reserve my actual judgement for after I actually SAW the episode and the first two times I watched it in full (through my own personal means and connections I won't explain further here) I got a strange vibe and noticed how each sketch felt a bit derivative of something else (in various ways, some more than others).

• After watching this episode twice with two completely different groups of online fans (including the whole crew I recorded those podcasts with where I talked about Ncuti and Riz Ahmeds' episodes) I was able to parse out what actually worked and what didn't (much moreso with the second group, sorry ladies).

• I also grew to like Jamie more as a host. He was clearly a better fit for SNL UK than Jeff Goldblum was (since he IS an actual British actor, after all). Jamie truly blended in seamlessly with this cast while still bringing his own unique off beat vibe to the proceedings.

• Yes, it did feel like an uneven episode but that was because they took more chances than last week which naturally resulted in a few things here and there that didn't work here and there but what worked grlt really solid and hit harder than any of last week's high points.

• I do like that they took some swings at some more absurd dadaist level humor (most of which landed).

• As for cast usage, my biggest problem with this episode was the lack of George and Al, of course. However, I do like how they used Jack & Emma this episode. They were two cast members I was on the fence about (to borrow a phrase from Ed Sheerhan) but I'm now fully sold on by how they pur certain sketches over.

• I liked how they worked in the rest of the cast as well (especially Celeste, Freddie, Annabel and Hammed). Everyone else dud some solid support work. Heck, I even liked Royal Bloods' performances just fine. They were pretty good for a band who's sound could best be described as "heavily, heavily watered down Motorhead".

Closing Thoughts

• Next week, serial Chicken Shop Dater Amelia Dimoldenberg will be hosting this show. I know that she has rather tenuous connections to both versions of SNL but this sets something of a dangerous precedent for booking content creators and influencers with no real acting experience as hosts. I think the best we can hope for is that Amelia will just gel and vibe well with the rest of that cast as I'm sure they'll be able to carry her.

• I'm sure I'll also have my review of the upcoming season premiere of SNL US airing the same night, hours later posted here even sooner with host Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks. It's funny how this happens as I'm about to wrap up my coverage of an old SNL season that also had a premiere hosted by an NBA MVP (funny how things sometimes come full circle like that sometimes) but I've heard that Jalen doesn't quite have as much charisma off the court as Lebron or Michael Jordan or even Charles Barkley did. 

• I think the best we can hope for THAT SNL episode is that any number of the seven (!) featured players on SNLs' current cast get to do something that really makes them stand out from the bunch. See you again real soon!

SNL UK: Jeff Goldblum/CMAT (09.12.2026)

Harry & Megan's Return Home

• Hmm...I was so preoccupied with how they would handle Andy Burnham sketches I completely forgot that a sketch about Meghan, Harry and the royals right now would probably make much more of an impact right now.

• I still like these Charles & Camilla impressions. Emma seems to have reigned hers in and toned hers down a bit while Larry has incorporated some C. Montgomery Burns into his King Charles?

• I guess Jack as Harry and Ayoade was an inevitable sight. I can't say I was that impressed by Jack's Harry (I don't think the real Harry is that gruff so I'm not sure what he was going for). I did like Ayoades' American accent, though. The PDA between the two of them felt like it went on a couple of beats too long, though.

• I did like Larry-as-Charles' line about being grateful that Harrys" father isn't still around to see what a waste he's become for the reaction it got. I'm guessing that must be a reference to some affair of Diana's (possibly Dodi Fayed?) and not just a joke about King Charles' possibly becoming senile in his old age and it being kept from the British public?

• Wait, that's...George Fouracres as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham? I thought Paddy was the one who was being groomed to take on that role? Did he not want it or was it taken from him at the last minute? Was this just done by the writers in service of their own (possibly one off) meta joke about there being "no difference" between Burnham and Starmer?

• Ah, I shouldn't complain or nitpick too much. George Fouracres may be my favorite member of this cast. He pretty much saved this sketch and I'm glad to see he still gets to keep his position as SNL UKs' PM impersonator.

• Seriously though, I was wondering what they're take on Burnham as a person and a politician would be...since he's only been in office a couple of months now and may not have done much of note. I'm a bit surprised that the shows' take isn't just that they hate Burnham because the English people have always hated all their prime ministers except for Winston Churchill. 

• Rather, their take seems to be that Burnham tries too hard to be seen as a "relatable" British guy from your average northern everything when there's enough evidence out there to refute that claim...and that Harry and Meghan Markle may be the only ones dumb enough to buy that crap. 

• I mean, even George himself must find Andy Burnham pretty damn relatable since it sounds like he's mostly just using his own voice and accent to play him.

• I actually got a chuckle out of the "Makerfield? Maybe I'll make a field!" joke. This cold open got off to a bit of a shaky start but had a strong finish. B+

Montage

• I like this new intro. They sure injected a whole lot more color and life into it.

• I've seen someone say this reminds them of the SNL season 32 intro. I'd say the SNL UK Series One intro is more reminiscent of seasons 32-34 SNL US. To me, the SNL Series Two intro is more reminiscent of the SNL seasons 35-37 intro.

• It also reminds me a lot of the season 14/15 and season 21 SNL US intros in that there's brief shots of the cast interacting with each other in certain shots (which I guess the SNL US season 32-34 intro might have as well, so there's that).

Monologue

• Is it just me or does Jeff Goldblum now sound a lot like a cross between Alan Alda and Elon Golds' impression of him from the Dana Carvey show at this point?

• Wasn't expecting a smooth jazzy musical number from Jeff, but it's charming enough. I'm OK with it, forced cockney Britishisms and all.

• Hell, I'm even getting slight Walken vibes from it. Even in general, this whole thing feels like a 1995-2002 era SNL US musical monologue with a modern intro. Is this supposed to be a parody of "My Way" or "Mac Tonight" because it sounds like a cross between both.

• Even the seemingly obligatory Jurassic Park callback was fun. Nice way to work in CMAT (who sounds like they couldn't get Ella Langley or Chappell Roan so they went with her non union British equivalent). B-

Gregor J. Dupont: Professional Baby

• This is already making my night. I'm ecstatic that we're getting another absurdist pretape with an original George Fouracres character.

• So, this character hs basically a cross between Peter Serafinowicz's "Brian Butterfield" and Jon Lovitzs' "Master Thespian"? It's still very fun. I'm not complaining.

• The highlights of this for me were the haunting, ghostly playtime/sleepy time noises, the line running and union rule that he doesn't have to play a baby after 6pm and the sea chanting.

• Who were the ones playing Larry & Ayoades' partners in their uniformly negative testimonials? Were they writers or extras? 

• I also liked the added absurdity of Jeff playing George's father who is also a working actor and does a similar gig to his son as a professional ending.

• I also thought that Emma videotaping George's play as if he actually were her son was the best possible ending this could've had. A+

Invisible Friends

• Strange that they're essentially doing two sketches in a row with male cast members playing children, but OK. I'm not mad, but it's certainly a choice. Jeff playing this role as basically himself was a nice touch that didn't steal focus from the rest of this sketch.

• I do like that this escalates beyond just Als' initial "WTF is this grown ass man doing in my child's bedroom reaction" into Celeste knowing Jeffs' character, Hammed as an "invisibility maintenance man" repairing the entire "invisibility network" that went down and Als' character having his own "invisible friend" who's basically just Annabel in a blatant sexpot role that probably would've gone to Emma is this were last season (which shows just how much range Annabel has since she handles this just as well).

• I even got a kick out of the Twilight Zone-esque twist of Al's entire family being "invisible". Decent first appearance from Freddie. B+

Cyrano De Goldblum

• Nice that they're essentially giving Freddie his first showcase sketch in his first episode (but boy does that line about him being "five sad wanks away from a trip to the gun store hit hard in 2026...especially coming from a British show).

• I do like the twist that Annabels' character is some how responding positively at first and then reasonably concerned with her responses to Freddie's statement before catching on to what's happening. That's a nice counter to the very predictable premise of Freddie repeating Jeffs' exact words and directions in the most literal verbal way possible, even interpreting directions of physical actions as lines to repeat.

• I also liked the gag of Freddie basically narrating Jeffs' mugging and police encounter followed by Annabels' character recognizing Jeff from "Cats And Dogs" of all things.

• Speaking of Jeff...did he just flub a line or miss a cue? Did Freddie or Annabel miss a cue? What the hell happened there exactly that botched that ending? B+

The Piano

• Is this a parody of an actual British reality show? I think it must be if it has so many impressions of specific British celebrities (and I'm guessing Ayoade is playing a real British musician as well?)

• Speaking of impressions, I liked getting to see Celestes' Claudia Winkleman again and Jack Sheps' Mika wasn't as much of a demerit against this sketch as I was thinking it would be. He and Ayoade bought a nice sinister, blithely cynical energy to this that helped sell it.

• If this is a real show, I'm guessing either tightly controlled public reactions may be part of the gimmick behind it (like with all reality shows) but the gag may be "what if this got the worst reactions possible that all just centered on peoples' real airport hassles?"

• Ah, I shouldn't overanalyze this sketch. I don't need all this background info to get what it's going for.

• Is Annabel just playing the same generic drunk bridesmaid she played in the Paddington pretape from Tina Feys' episode? 

• Somehow I knew this would include some out of nowhere vomiting. Nice breakdancing from Freddie angrily reacting to all the flights being canceled flight from Larry.

• This feels like it was modeled after a specific late 2010s/early 2020s type of SNL US pretape (the one with Nate Bargatze as a golfer comes to mind for some reason...I'm sure there's several others that parodied various types of US reality competition shows that I'm forgetting).

• Most importantly, this felt like SNL UK  attempting their own version of "Farewell, Mr. Bunting" or any of the several gratuitous gore heavy Sarah Sherman pretapes SNL US has given us in recent years (except the SNL UK writers know how to reign it in properly and contain the comedic value of it as tightly as possible). 

• My only question would be how that bomb detonation would kill Jeffs' character but only leave Celeste covered in dust but otherwise unharmed? B-

Yoga Class

• Nice to see them give Celeste Dring a character showcase of her own. I'm getting slight "David S. Pumpkins by way of Kate McKinnon/Kristen Wiig character choices and Chloe Finemans' accent work" vibes from this but I don't even mind. Freddie was a nice addition.

• Boy, I sure wanted to like this sketch more but it seemed to be entirely based around Celeste doing the worst Swedish accent you've ever heard. Besides that, it didn't escalate or go anywhere and that nothing else was...paht oof eeet. Still, I wouldn't go as far as to say that James Longman or whoever else us charge of picking which sketches go in the live rundown "dahn't dew eet" to this one.

• I did like her urging her yoga Class to help her move a family of three into a new house and the ending reveal that the whole things was a ploy to get Jeff to fix his own neck crick by turning his head. C-

Weekend Update w/Paddy & Ania

• Paddys' Best Jokes: England Till I Die, Protest Leader, Trump Punchline Taken By Legal Team, Sanctions, Monty Gone (such a Norm MacDonald ass joke), State Funeral

• Anias' Best Jokes: Migrant Protests, Trumps New Hair?, Nigel Farage, Eaton College, German AfD win

• Boy, these migrants protest jokes are more of the type of jokes that I only kind of understand if I process them as "these are the type of jokes Jost & Che might tell about Jan 6 protestors".

• Paddys' mustache looks to be a bit...wispier than it was a few months ago. So, it looks like he shaved over the summer for nothing...and may have been so bummed about losing out on a certain role that he hasn't shaved since?

• You know, as recently as July I was starting to see Paddy Young as basically England's answer to Colin Jost (both SNL Weekend Update anchors who each have to sit through the same female castmate playfully roast them at the desk) but I'm starting to see more parallels between Paddy and...David Spade circa October 1992.

• I bring that up here because I bought it up on a certain podcast that was recorded on the Friday before this episode aired live which...at this point, I think might get edited out, so...we'll see.

• So, Emmas' French maid is basically an exact cross between her "woman who can't be ignored" and Nora Dunns' "Babette the French sex kitten" from 40 years ago? Also, did this character start with Emma figuring out how to do an impression of Ayoade and get turned into something else?

• Ah, I'm not mad at this character. I mean, the premise of "French maid who's bad at cleaning but good at sex appeal" is a bit hack but she added some charm to it. B-

Bi King Kong

• PLEASE tell me that's at least Larry in that gorilla suit. This seems like a cross between two specific sketches from Jack Whitehalls episode but done in a fashion that belabors it's own point at first glance because there's only so much work they can do with inconsistently sized props and setpieces in one live sketch.

• Even if the giant nose ring felt like a big cheap laugh, this had a few small things going for it. For instance, having Jeff Goldblum essentially play himself dovetailed nicely with this conceptually and broadcasting this in 4:3 aspect ratio was a nice touch.

• Nice transatlantic accents from Al & George especially. Their performances really helped put this over. Jack seemed to be struggling a bit with his, but the moment where Al accidentally knocked his hat off might have accidentally been the funniest part of this. D+

Yet Another 45 Seconds With Fouracres

• Boy, am I glad to see this back!

• Nice that he's branching out from songs but still finding ways to incorporate fenale guest cameos in this. I guess he felt another song might have been redundant since this already featured tonight's musical guest anyway.

• I didn't even mind that it was basically another Star Wars parody since it ended in a sprawling light saber battle that was fun to watch with a sudden ending that rendered it unnecessary the whole time. B-

Now, this would normally be the point where I rank this episode among the others of its respective season so far, but I can never really do that for a series premiere obviously, so since SNL UKs' previous series was eight episodes I'd like to rank the entire run of this show as a whole...

Ranking Each SNL UK Episode From Best To Worst

1. Jamie Dornan/Wolf Alice (03.28.2026)
2. Hannah Waddingham/Myles Smith (05.09.2026)
3. Ncuti Gatwa/Holly Humberstone (05.16.2026)
4. Tina Fey/Wet Leg (03.21.2026)
5. Jeff Goldblum/CMAT (09.12.2026)
6. Nicola Coughlan/Foo Fighters (04.25.2026)
7. Riz Ahmed/Kasabian (04.05.2026)
8. Aimee Lou Wood/MEEK (05.02.2026)
9. Jack Whitehall/Jorja Smith (04.11.2026)

Overall Thoughts

• This was an episode that started out pretty strong, lost minimal steam at the end but remained consistently entertaining through.

• SNLs' season premieres usually have this "shaking off the rust and cobwebs" feeling to them as they get themselves back into the weekly grind, but even SNL UKs version of that shows a lot more effort and creativity.

• Jeff Goldblum was...basically Jeff Goldblum but still, he proved himself to be a host that the cast and writers easily worked with as they quickly figured out how to cleverly worked into the show rather than having to work around.

• Aside from another noticable lack of Hammed and a reigned in Jack, cast usage was pretty strong for everyone. Celeste and Annabel might have had the best nights they've had in the entire run of the show and they actually gave some substantial airtime to Freddie Meredith...their newest cast member. I sure wish SNL US could do this as well.

Closing Thoughts

• Well, that was fun. Next week, Jamie Demetriou hosts SNL UK. He's another one of those actors I can't say I've seen in anything but I'm sure he'll blend right in with the cast and this will be a strong show.

• I'll have a review of that posted on this blog by this time next week. Around that same time, I will have recorded the next episode of We Heart Hader reviewing the Shia Labouef/My Morning Jacket season 33 episode of SNL US which I will have a review of on my blog roughly the week after that when that podcast episode is released. See you again soon!

SNL UK: Hannah Waddingham/Myles Smith (05.09.2026)

Ten Downing Street: May 2046

• Hey, a Peter Serafinowicz cameo! Very nice! As expected, he does a solid Nigel Farage impression.

• I mean, it is a little troubling to see SNL UK seemingly start their own version of the recent-ish SNL US trend of bringing in seemingly random celebrities to play prominent and widely disliked right wing political figures, but I don't mind it here because SNL UK does have sharper political writing than SNL US. 

• As long as they're just showcasing underrated British comedians who may be less known stateside and not just getting big names to overshadow the actual cast, I'm fine with this type of cameo. Maybe Peter could also host an entire episode of SNL UK and we could get a Brian Butterfield sketch? That would certainly be great!

• I'm not that familiar with whoever Ayoade is playing, but it doesn't really hinder my appreciation of this sketch since I pretty much know what it's going for.

• I get a kick out of the idea that these two assholes have used their power to turn 2046 London into a burnt out, post apocalyptic husk of its former self. Heck, I even like to imagine that this sketch takes place in the same universe as Mitchell & Webbs' "Quiz Broadcast" sketches and that this may be a prequel to them meant to show how "the event" was caused (REMAIN INDOORS! DO NOT THINK ABOUT THE EVENT!)

• This also turned out to be a good way to sneak in George's Starmer, Celestes' Rayner and Als' Churchill again (although the "Big Ang" and "Big Chungus" references were a little odd and dated).

• Heck, I even liked the self-deprecating meta comment on SNL UKs' recent renewal. Other than that, this was a fairly ambitious cold open that got off to a strong start and knew where to stop once it had no other place to go. B-

Monologue

• There wasn't a whole lot to this monologue, but Hannah put it over flawlessly.

• She had the best energy and most infectious enthusiasm out if any SNL UK host I've seen so far.

• I liked how clever the "high heels" gag was and how she glossed over her "glamorous" acting roles (did she also play Barry Gibb at one point?). 

• I didn't know she landed a small part on Game Of Thrones at one point, but hey, good on her for striking while the iron was actually hot there.

• The different accents she pulled off while showing us what her "fantasy roles" would be was the highlight of this. She even managed to maintain her poise while doing a Chewbacca impression! A-

Sunburnt Lawyers

• This was just such a gleefully stupid and anachronistic concept on paper that it just had to work in execution! The reason it did work was through sheer commitment to such a simple premise.

• Among my favorite moments were their interaction with Celeste, Emmas' bits with the wig and later with the fan in Larry's office, Hannah's line "my skin feels like the sound of bees", Jacks simple reaction of "wot?" to Hannah and Emma applying some kind of sunscreen or ointment to their skin in court and of course the reveal that their sunburns always help them win the case. B-

End Of Year Musical

• It actually took me a minute or two to tell Annabel & Emma apart from each other because Annabel just seemed to be doing the exact same voice and mannerisms that Emma did as her character "Juggs" from the bra fitting sketch in the premiere with Tina.

• After having recently heard about Annabels background in musical theater and her great singing/vocal abilities, I figured out quickly that was her as the other teacher. Plus, I just as quickly figured out Emma was playing one if the students and realized I still can tell them apart facially.

• At first, this reminded me a bit of that really dumb "Hip Hop Nativity" sketch from Billie Eillishs' SNL US episode (similar setup and wardrobe choices) but thankfully this switched gears real quick and focused up on something more nuanced.

• They say the third season of Ted Lasso basically became Jason Sudeikis just using the show to work out his own personal issues surrounding his divorce from Olivia Wilde once he took over as showrunner. I wonder if this sketch was purposely written as a meta commentary on that?

• This was a pretty simple and straightforward premise really but Hannah and Annabels' showing off their pipes really put this over for me. I did like Hannah's line about having once starred in a knockoff of Beauty & The Beast called "Pretty Girl, Big Dog".

• This really picked up once Hannah and Annabel invited Jack, Ayoade, Emma and Celestes' characters to rehearse the group number that unsubtly shades all of them (although I could've done without their whole "we're not gonna say why" speech to Jack's character). B+

Speed Awareness Course

• Two sketches in a row that involve Hannah's characters teaching a class of students? Both of which just involve her character just...unloading her personal life on her students through her lesson plan? OK. Odd rundown so far, but I'm not complaining...

• As much as this seemed to borrow from and soften up those "job seekers" sketches from The League Of Gentleman (which thankfully none of this cast will be soon thanks to the recent series two renewal), I enjoyed this for how much Hannah threw herself into this role, the odd little details of all her temptations to get the class to speed, and of course, how they payoff was essentially a becyclopsed Al Nash entering the scene (in the same outfit he wore in that OG radio sketch) to confirm that every detail Hannah's character dropped about her own odd family life is 100% true.

• Hell, I can even relate to the "six hour exams" part since my full time job heavily involves proctoring those...but perhaps I say too much? Oh well, that's gonna have to be a story for another time.

• Even the button on this sketch was relevant to everything that proceeded it. This turned out to be a PSA against speeding rather than for the polar opposite of the thing that was just shown. Well done. A+

Daniel Day Lewis & The Triplets

• As odd as it felt seeing either iteration of SNL come back from a commercial and go straight into a pretape, this turned out to be one of the more quietly brilliant pieces of the night. 

• Kudos to Larry for getting to land another impression on the show (although I think they could've tightened up or shortened the "it's not about the yogurts" speech before the big reveal).

• Of course, George played off Larry AND Emma brilliantly. I especially liked Als' line about how he feels such an intense emotional connection to the show "Young Sheldon" went on to be a set designer for that show.

• My other favorite moments were the lines from Larry about "repeated six month comas" and an "Abraham Lincoln phase" and of course the reveal that Reese Witherspoon got the part he was up for followed by the "There Will Be Blood" family photo. B-

Weekend Update w/Paddy & Ania

• Paddys' Best Jokes: Young People, Starmers' Image Problem, Met Gala, Texting Joke

• Anias' Best Jokes: Election Results/Reform Party, PM Under Pressure, Minister Warns, Katy Perry, Nolan Odyssey, Yogurt As Junk Food?, Horse Meat

• I liked Als' commentary as brief as it was. It felt more like a bit designed for Jack but I could see the need for Al to play a middle aged conservative leaning voter. Also, I feel like I have just enough cultural context for what this was going for since we apparently have plenty of people in the states who were too afraid to admit publicly that they just straight up voted for Trump for any reason out of fear of social backlash.

• Jack's commentary as the character "Scrimpsch" feels the absolute most like something that we could've seen done on SNL US the UK show has done so far. I could definitely see either Marcello or (more likely) Bowen having done this in the past year or so (or hell, maybe even Fred Armisen if this were 23 years ago) but he actually makes this work much better than either of them would have. I was able to get into this just enough to get how Jack was making Ania break. 

• I liked his lines about wishing wells and ants as well as how he kept skipping ahead to random numbers like nine and seventeen when he was listing off his tips. I also liked the detail that he was left behind on a class trip from Europe and no one (not even his parents) bothered to look for him

• One odd thing about this is how I could only recognize every other song that he was parodying. I could pick out the tunes of "It's Hard Out Here For A Scrimpsch" and Natasha Beddingfields' "Unwritten" but not the other two.

• OK, the wrestling match between Hammeds' Rhino and George's Attenborough is definitely the highlight of this episode if not the entire run of SNL UK so far. 

• True, this does feel like any combination of Bowen, Sarah, Marcello or Mikey could have done this but Hammed and George definitely made this work better by framing this as a "Ric Flair vs El Niño" style wrestling match instead of a Springer-style daytime trash TV confrontation and just generally leaning into the whole "damn, they didn't have to go THAT hard" vibe.

• Great job by the Ghosh brothers from Quality Wrestling Academy in Portsmouth for choreographing that and also appearing in it. B+

Phantom Of The Foot Locker

• I wanted to like this more since it's another out there, goofy premise that also functions as a showcase for Al Nash (who comitted to this well as did Hannah who had the theater background to pull this off but sadly, I don't think this went anywhere.

• Yes, they captured the haunting, ethereal vibes of "Phantom of the Opera" well and transplanted them into a random British Foot Locker with ease...but sadly, this sketch was kinda flat and just...there.

• The gag with Hannah's daughter revealing she has a Phantom like face mask of her own was the most telegraphed joke I've seen on this show so far. George's line about hoping Hannah and Al don't rekindle their old love through music comes in a close second. C-

Glasses Of Wine

• Wow, right into a Wilson Phillips style song. Ok.

• Celeste was borderline unrecognizable here at first but she managed to steal the show. I liked how she went into the audience...and was apparently so drunk even she didn't know if she was playing herself or a character.

• I guess this was another showcase for Annabel and Hannah's singing talents, so it was nice of them to cede some of the spotlight to Ayoade & Celeste so they could have their moments.

• I also liked how this progressed through about four different stages of drunkenness and escalated uniquely as it went on.

• Nice number to end the episode on, too. I liked how the melody of the song just bled into the closing credits. B-

Ranking SNL UKs First Series From Best To Worst

1. Jamie Dornan/Wolf Alice (03.28.2026)
2. Hannah Waddingham/Myles Smith (05.09.2026)
3. Nicola Coughlan/Foo Fighters (04.25.2026)
4. Tina Fey/Wet Leg (03.21.2026)
5. Riz Ahmed/Kasabian (04.05.2026)
6. Aimee Lou Wood/MEEK (05.02.2026)
7. Jack Whitehall/Jorja Smith (04.11.2026)

Overall Thoughts 

• This was an astounding episode and a huge step up from the previous week's episode with Aimee Lou Wood. Most everything hit well and Hannah was an outstanding host who the show knew how to instantly tap into the strengths of. 

• She elevated a lot of the show and I would definitely like to see her host again as soon as possible. Myles Smith was decent. Even if I'm not too crazy about his music, it's nice to come across an actual British musical guest on this show that I've somehow already heard and still didn't know I'd recognize until I saw heard him perform live.

• As far as cast usage, no one really dominated but Al, George and Jack came close. This episode also seemed to be a strong showcase for the women (even Ayoade in more supporting roles).

Closing Thoughts 

• The next episode of SNL UK(which will probably air later tonight at this point) will be the first hosted by Ncuti Gatwa. It's a pretty big get for this show to get the current Dr. Who to close out their first season, so this should be a fun episode.

• Of course, SNL UK also has Will Ferrel and Paul McCartney for theie own season finale the same night which is equally exciting (as guarded as my excitement for such an episode can be) and you'll probably end up being able to read my review of Ferrells episode before yiu read my review if Ncutis (or possibly at the same time, who knows?)

• Also, we're switching around the next two episodes of the We Heart Hader Podcast for reasons that should seem obvious but will be fully explained by me in another seperate blog post before the next episode comes out very soon. See you then!

SNL UK: Aimee Lou Wood/Meek (05.02.2026)

Chuck & Camillas' Hijacked Flight Home

• I should've guessed that they'd do this sketch this week. I figured that they'd cast Larry & Emma as Charles & Camilla respectively. Those roles call for brits who are good at facial mugging and stuffy royal aristocratic accents which Emma (and to a lesser extent Larry) have shown that they can pull off in spades.

• Although I was hoping to get a bit of a break from Keir Starmer cold opens (I mean, it's not an impression I see myself getting sick of that easily or anything, but I like seeing them try something different every once in a while) I do like this new wrinkle to Georges' Keir Starmer character in that he's suddenly daring and courageous but only in the name of keeping himself in power because he's so damned ineffectual that redirecting the royals' plane is what he has to resort to.

• I did like the other sudden bursts of brief Austin Powers-like violence but I feel like I might have enjoyed this more had I any idea who Celeste was supposed to be playing or what she might be planning. I did get a kick out of the dumb lisp she was speaking with, though. All I've been able to gather from some light Googling is that Angela Rayner is a member of the British Parliament (I found out more about her from one of Anias' jokes on Update, but more on that later.

• I did appreciate this sketch being written so that no one was supposed to know who Jack was playing (just a regular Brit who was "indoctrinated online by the radical center left"). I did like the visual of him tearing away his outfit to reveal an identical outfit. His character being "poisoned" by Camillas edibles wasn't much of a great ending, though. B-

Monologue 

• This feels the most like we'd get from any SNL US host out of all the SNL UK monologues we've gotten so far.

• I didn't get the Kim Cattral scatting reference but I did like the Sex Education/White Lotus joke. 

• My favorite part was when she just started speaking random gibberish. Very Eric Idle Rutland/Pythonesque.

• I also liked the conceit of the rest of this monologue being her trying to prove to the audience that she is, in fact, an unrelatable weirdo in an effort to break free of her bubble, relatable image...but she kind of lost me with the whole astrology/past lives rant.

• Most of all, I'm just glad she didn't bring up her feud with the American show from last year and left that to the mid week YouTube promo. C+

Dangerous Women

• So, the basic premise of this faux 80s synth vaporwave video is that the "dangerous" woman who is the subject of the song just turns out to be a dumb, accident prone klutz with little to no self awareness or safety awareness?

• This is one of those things that feels like it should've been done by some kind of sketch show years ago but somehow hasn't despite it being the simplest of ideas and yet at the same time also feels like something that only a show with a uniquely British sensibility would produce.

• Does anyone else see a slight resemblance between Aimee Lou Wood and Cecily Strong here? Maybe I only say this because this seems like something that SNL US would've done during her time there.

• Other than that, I feel like this was a solid premise that was lacking a little something in musical execution (although Celeste and Hammed turned in strong performances here. If Hammed can actually sing that well, it's a shame it took this long for him to get to show off his chops). C+

Doctor Who

• Anyone else wondering why they wouldn't...wait a couple of weeks to do this sketch? You know...when they have the ACTUAL current doctor hosting? We're they just afraid to pitch this to Ncuti or was this something Hammed wrote specifically for himself?

• Anyway, I liked the conceit of this sketch being that the doctor and his current companion are forced to interact with a visually nauseating mcguffin of a prop. I just wish they had the ability to go a bit further with it.

• There wasn't much else here. I suspect even if you were around real Doctor Who Superfan who was dialed in to this there wouldn't be much for you here either. Wasn't crazy about the ending either, but I'm at least glad that Dr. Who producer Russell T. Davies was pleased with it. C+

Marios' Got Marital Problems

• Interesting...accent choices here. George doing the classic Fr. Sarducci-esque Italian accented Mario we all knew and loved was an obvious correct choice (even if some of his lines weren't 100% distinguishable).

• Aimee playing her Princess Peach as an Amy Poehler/Rachel Dratch-esque Americanized Jersey Italian stereotype added a new wrinkle that...honestly dovetails well with this sketch. 

• I guess it works because Princess Peach was never portrayed with one specific idiosyncratic accent that Mario fans wouldn't accept her without?

• Hell, Aimees' pretty much doing the exact same voice for Princess Peach that Chris Pratt used to play Mario in those newer Mario movies. Could that alone be at least the partial inspiration for this?

• Anyway, no need to overthink this sketch any further. This sketch worked well as an exploration of what struggles a real Italian working class plumber and his girl friend/spouse would go through in a more real world setting...except, you know funneled through the lens of Mario & Princess Peach.

• This is such an obvious "parallel thinking" type of idea that I'm surprised no one else has done this exact thing before (by which I mean all the other Mario parodies I've ever seen take place in the world if the video game & cartoons rather than "the real world".

• This was very funny but due to its rapid fire pacing and the performers essentially breathlessly shouting their lines over the audience and each other to be heard (maybe it's a sound mixing issue?) so I'll just say I also liked Jacks' ending walk on as Toad and whoever ran in an out in the Yoshi costume gave me a bit of a laugh). B-

Famouz 5

• Yeah, I'm not familiar with the "Famous Five" and have no cultural context for them whatsoever. 

• I do have PLENTY of cultural context for just the concepts of endless IP reboots and rehashes coming out of Hollywood and just how generally irritating it is when any new piece of media is when it's creators just blindly attempt to reach out to the generation after mine with just a casserole of now formerly hip new slang abd buzzwords.

• So yeah, I do get what this was going for...but even if I didn't feel something was missing this would still be an idea I've seen mined to death over and over again so I still wouldn't be into it. The fakes reviews were the only part of this that hit for me...which is very sad. D+

Lost Luggage

• So...this is just another "Jack plays a girls' gay woke best friend" sketch with Aimee in the role that probably would've gone to Annabel on the week there was a male host...but Aimee is trying to blatantly sneak a bomb that actually turns out to be a George Foreman Grill past security?

• Honestly, one could rewatch this sketch to examine how it explores the dynamics of this type of platonic male/female relationship (especially since Jack's character seems to regret coming out to Aimee at the wrong moment) because there seems to be more than one layer to this. Still, the ending reveal is the only thing that came close to working for me. C-

Weekend Update w/Paddy & Ania

• Paddys' Best Jokes: Melania Meets Charles, Clog Dancing, Heroin In Southport

• Anias' Best Jokes: Royal Visit, WHCD Gunman, Nigel Farage

• Oh boy, I don't know about this "professional lip reader" premise. As much as I like getting to see Hammed make his Update debut, the last time I saw an SNL sketch centered around reading famous people's lips was in the infamous Jacob Elordi/Renee Rapp episode from two and a half years ago.

• OK, Hammed is clearly making this work much better than the Elordi sketch and he had the audience on his side...but then again he had a low bar to clear. I did chuckle at the Camilla/Melania and Camilla/Charles portion of this bit.

• Great to see Larry get his first Update commentary as himself. I really like his range and accent work. As an American, I did appreciate his bit on how our northern blue state liberals talk vs how southern red state conservatives talk. I also liked his bits on green party voters and how he deftly avoided falling into the "how do they vote in China?" trap Paddy set up for him.

• I didn't quite get Anias Angela Rayner joke but at least I was able to gather that Ms. Rayner us another English career politician who's blatantly angling to take Keir Starmers' job as Prime Minister.

• I did get a kick out of Paddy shouting at his underground pit of tortured writers as well as how he turned that into a recurring callback to the point that he invited Ania to climb in with him at the end.

• Ayoade played such an Ego Nwodim in season 46 of SNL US coded character here that I kind of wished Paddy hadn't introduced her by her actual name as that kind of took something away from it at first.

• Upon rewatch, I discovered that this works because it's actually just Ayoade genuinely speaking her mind doing a standup like bit from her own personal experience rather than just doing the type of specific niche character piece that Ego would've done. Overall, I'd say it was a very fun bit. B+

Posh Gits

• The title of this sketch alone has me intrigued. I hope it doesn't bear TOO much resemblance to a certain Kroll Show sketch beyond its title.

• Apparently, this is based on an actual British reality show called "Made In Chelsea". Haven't seen that one, but I will say what this reminds me of the most is MADtvs' parody of MTVs' Laguna Beach from 20 years ago.

• This sketch was clearly trying to have some fun with how dumb it was. I will say that Hammed, Jack and Larry pretty much made this for me.

• Hey, look! Paddy and Ania make their live sketch debuts! I mean, they're basically extras, but still. B-

How British Pork Got The Lot

• OK, I know I spoke against either SNL cast just recreating old, obscure viral clips in a previous review and that's part of what this was but I did like this sketch.

• As much as this reminds me of the old Polaner All Fruit/Aspic Beef Jelly bit from Family Guy, I did like that this had the extra layer of "we're going to deconstruct this obscure 1984 British Pork Commercial just to show you how it could look more normal and friendly instead of terrifying".

• Also, as slightly questionable as it seemed at first to see Hammed with pieces of bone sticking out of either side of his nose, I did get a kick out of the insane visuals of the "pork council" scenes.

• Who was that in the bald cap sitting next to Emma? Was that Jack or an extra? I wouldn't put it past them to put Jack in this sketch with no lines since they pretty much just did that to Emma.

• I don't blame George for breaking at all having to deal with Al's director character bringing down the insanity of this premise and also the mistimed camera filter glitch possibly throwing him off. Plus, I have seen George's Instagram post about how he had been obsessed with this ad for years and I assume that he, Al and Hanned may have cowritten this together...so, good for them that they could bond over this and have a sketch labor of love come out of it. B+

Ranking SNL UKs First Series From Best To Worst

1. Jamie Dornan/Wolf Alice (03.28.2026)
2. Nicola Coughlan/Foo Fighters (04.25.2026)
3. Tina Fey/Wet Leg (03.21.2026)
4. Riz Ahmed/Kasabian (04.05.2026)
5. Aimee Lou Wood/Meek (05.02.2026)
6. Jack Whitehall/Jorja Smith (04.11.2026)

Overall Thoughts 

• This was one of the more uneven episodes of SNL UK. I don't quite know what to make of it. On the one hand, the writing and performances were quite strong from all involved. On the other hand, this episode was front loaded with sketches that I wanted to like but couldn't quite get into because they just lacked a certain appeal.

• One thing this episode does have going for it is that the writing made it feel more and more like a uniquely British/European comedy show with it's own identity. SNL UK is continuing to step out of the shadow of SNL US. I mostly say that because there was very little about these sketches that made want to point out a specific SNL US sketch from the past that they reminded me of.

• Really, the only way this episode resembled an SNL US episode is that most of the weaker sketches were up front and most of the more odd niche sketches that I found myself actually liking were buried near the end. Weekend Update was a strong highlight of thus episode though as was MEEK who turned in some strong performances even if her type of music isn't exactly my cup of tea lyrically.

Closing Thoughts 

• Next week, SNL UK will have Ted Lassos' Hannah Waddingham as host. I know she was also in Sex Education with Aimee Lou Wood. I'm not terribly familiar with the rest of her work (which I can also say about much of the previous SNL UK hosts), but she seems to be in good company having worked with this episodes host as well as an alumni of SNL US, so she'll be able to get some good advice on how to succeed on this show even for just a week.

• Speaking of SNL US, my review if their latest Olivia Rodrigo double duty episode is up for all to read. I was fortunate enough to be able to time them so that they could both be published simultaneously. Who knows if I'll be able to pull that off again next week or the week after?

• What I do know is that the next blog I will be working on is a review of the Elliot Page/Wilco episode from SNL US season 33 which I hope to have finished writing by next Wednesday when Deej & I are supposed to be recording a whole new episode of the We Heart Hader podcast on that one. That blog and podcast should be published in two weeks when that podcast episode is released but, boy am I glad to have an extra week to work on that one because it's gonna be a tough one to get through. Hell, that one's probably gonna be one of our shorter podcasts for reasons that will seem obvious by the time it comes out.

• You'll probably be able to read my reviews of next week's SNL US and UK episodes before you get to read or listen to that one, but anyway that's what I'll be working on. See you soon!

SNL UK: Nicola Coughlan/Foo Fighters (04.25.2026)

Who Wants To Remain A Millionaire?

• Huh, is "Millionaire" really this relevant in Britain in 2026? I do remember it at its Y2K era peak here in the states when Regis Philbin hosted it and SNL parodied it with Darrell Hammond in the host's role.

• Even MADtv parodied OG "Millionaire" during that time with sketches like this one which this sketch reminds me of more than anything (even this one from SNL US)

• Al Nashs' Jeremy Clarkson impression is a nice touch here. I had no idea this was Mr. Clarksons' current gig or what that "real farmer" comment was alluding to.

• See, I've only ever known Jeremy Clarkson from his old show "Top Gear" that would sometimes be run on BBC America...so, I've only ever known him to be a fake car guy in addition to being a real ass hole (hey, there's another word you can say on SNL US that you can't say on SNL UK!)

• This was a nice twist on the usual Fouracres/Starmer cold opens they usually do every other episode. I liked that these get increasingly harsher and more pointedly angry toward him and his sheer spineless incompetence each time.

• I also liked how they balanced out the barely concealed anger in this cold open with the sheer silly stupidity of Sir Keir using all of his lifelines on one question and still failing to answer the simplest of questions (especially one concerning whether or not one should ever hire a career politician who was not only friends with Epstein post conviction but also sold him sensitive government secrets).

• I liked the evil, creepy touch Larry's Peter Mandleson impression gave to this as well. It's one of those impressions I can't really gague the accuracy of, but it seemed pretty minimalist and character focused so it just gets the job done. B+

Monologue 

• Aside from the "SNL UK & Ireland/shouting at a female comedian on TV" joke and the other joke about paying homage to the original 70s SNL US by doing staggering amounts of cocaine, I wasn't crazy about the jokes Nicola was given for this monologue. Still, she did all she could to elevate this material.

• Nicolas' brief turn to camera for that brief Jack & Emma gossip reminded me a bit of SNL US monologues I've seen from Anna Faris, Kerry Washington and Margot Robbie.

• Sadly, Jimmy Fallons' cameo added very little of value here and we really could've done without him. 

• I mean, it is nice to see a sprawling backstage monologue on SNL every once in a while and kudos to SNL UK for just having done their first one and showing us around their own London studio a bit more Jimmy has shown he's adept at making these work better than most...but at the same time I feel like Nicola could've handled this one all on her own.

• I guess whenever SNL UK shows us their backstage in the future the extras in Napoleon/beefeater/ABBA costumes will be their equivalent of our backstage llamas, Lincolns and Vegas style showgirls as the go to, clock punch, background gags?

• I did enjoy Nicolas interactions with Paddy, Ania & George (even if it was like the fourth or fifth gratuitous callback to Nicolas' cameos in the first episode).

• Anyway, for all of it's minor flaws, this monologue didn't a fine job of keeping up the energy at the top of the show and making the viewers feel confident that the host would be a strong sketch performer. B-

Yo! Nicola Raps!

• Wow, the fake "Hot Streak" poster in the background. I guess that's six callbacks to the first episode at this point?

• Anyway, yeah...I definitely saw the same parallels between both of Natalie's Raps that everyone else did (including Celeste, George and the writers since they actually called it out mid-sketch).

• Still, I saw more parallels between this Please Don't Destroys' "Three Sad Virgins" (particularly the parts that were just about Dune, the pauses mid-video to explain what isn't working and subsequent attempts to misunderstand and overcorrect).

• I can't say this hold up on rewatch but it was fun at first to see Nicola throw herself into a hard-core gangsta rap about some children's book fairy tale gibberish...but I've seen this trope get pulverized into tge cold, cold ground by way too many different people over the course of the last 25 years in SNL UK and this felt like an even more watered down version of that.

• Plus, Jimmy didn't really need to be here as his part could've been played by any of the male castmembers. C+

What A Life! (Paula From Accounts Has)

• You know, before I actually got to watch any of this episode, I saw some strong buzz online surrounding Nicolas' general performance as host. Some even went so far as to say she should be SNL UKs' first ever five timer. From this sketch alone, I can definitely see why one would say that about her immediately.

• I mean, right out the gate Nicolas' first actual sketch sees her playing much the same gruff, dumpy, slightly socially inappropriate character that previous SNL US Five Timers like Melissa McCarthy and Emma Stone have crushed before (hell, even SNL US two timer Kristen Stewart had a good handle on how to play this type of character in her first try).

• Anyway, I liked seeing Nicola really committed to this character and how she threw herself into it, just straight up barking out all of the deranged and bizarre details of her truly insane life. B+ 

Big Horrid Clump

• Wow, barely two minutes in and Annabel has already entered to slam Emmas face into a table Roadhouse style and call her a bitch. We're off to the races, folks.

• Anyway, I wasn't too crazy about the reveal of what this was going to be premise wise but it picked up some steam  with everyone listing the horrid items in their own clumps (especially Nicola and Ayoade) and really kicked into high gear with the reveal that each clump will gain sentience and come to life, moving on its own the second you even think about the distinct possibility that you may actually need an item from the mass once a now gauzed up Emma bought up the possibility.

• I liked how this took the part of my brain that immediately calls up a previous SNL sketch to compare a current one to from "Closet Organizer? Nah" to "Oh, Big Dumb Hat/Cup" to "Hey, Almost Pizza!"

• By the way, am I the only person who could easily get this sketches' title sung to the tune of Chappel Roans' "Pink Pony Club" stuck in their head? Oh, what's that, reader? You've never even heard that song nor do you know who even sings it? Well, whoop de fuckin' doo, bud. Good for you. C+

QVC: The Jewelry Store

• Huh, is it me or is it a bit of an odd coincidence that SNL UK does a QVC sketch when their biggest sponsor appears to be eBay live? Hell, I'm starting to think that eBay live paid for this particular QVC product placement (just as much as I'm starting to hope none of this show's writers happened to have watched Scary Movie 2 on their week off).

• Anyway, there might not have been much to this at first besides the fact that Emma's character was a hand model/jewelry saleswoman who suddenly grew an Arsenio Hall length right index finger...but what really makes this work is the "show don't tell" mystery & lack of lore to it (especially if you want to distract from how Mikey Day-ish some of the dialogue is).

• For example, Emma's character has absolutely zero explanation for her hand situation besides "it grew" for the right one...and the left one she has no idea what the fucks' going on there because she is just now finding out about it for the first time herself.

• Hell, they even leave the audience guessing as to whether her left hand is a necrotic zombie hand that is just starting to rot off her wrist or if it's...like, a deer or a dog type or LOTR ent type hand? Is Emma about to be arrested by The Dog Police?

• I liked how this ended with Emma literally just passing out but then coming back to strangle Nicola. It's always best to leave your audience wanting a bit more than to try to punch above your weight. B+

Weekend Update w/Paddy & Ania

• Paddys' Best Jokes: Robbins Fired, Condom Shortage, Russell Brand, Jackson Film

• Anias' Best Jokes: Mandelson & Starmer, Tribute To Queen Elizabeth 2, Piers Morgan Interview, Woman Of The Week, Leaving UK, Meghan Retreat

• Anyone else getting heavy Norm MacDonald vibes from a lot of the jokes tonight? Specifically, the Queen Elizabeth/King Charles/Russell Brand/Piers Morgan stuff (not JUST the Michael Jackson biopic/Phone ban stuff or Anias' "Woman Of The Week" and Meghan Markle joke...y'know, the obvious Norm comparisons).

• OK, Anias' Japanese Earthquake joke definitely felt like something Michael Che would tell.

• I think maybe Paddy should back off doing that patented "sheepishly shirking and shying away from the camera" move he does for a bit. He did it after nearly every joke tonight and it really only worked after the BTS runner (which he didn't do tonight). It's not something I want to see myself getting sick of or anything. I hope that's not his ONLY move.

• I wasn't too crazy about Emma's commentary (and not just because she wasn't just doing a Glenn Close impression when Paddy introduced her as "the woman who won't be ignored"). Her character reminded me of the type of aimless, pointless one shot characters Kristen Wiig and Heidi Gardner would do on Update in their heyday (with some of Kate McKinnons' movements worked in for good measure).

• I liked that they finally have Larry his own Update commentary. Part of me was a bit bummed it was at such a blackout length but part of me felt that we didn't need to spend a ton of time on it.

• I didn't think we really needed to see Jimmy here either. Hell, calling ANY SNL US alumni as "Weekend Update legend" is a bit of a stretch in my mind. I will admit I did get a kick out of the Lily Allen jokes and Epstein pronunciations.

• So, now that we know that Paddy does a decent Trump impression...would we be correct to assume that was him who growled "hello?" over the phone in the first ever cold open from Tina's episode?

• All in all, not the best Update for guests or commentaries but this was perhaps Paddy & Anias' strongest showing all season. B-

Landing A Plane

• OK, I know for sure I've seen this exact setup on SNL US numerous times in recent years (and I'm sure Dave Grohl was in one of them)...but it's such a vague, general area of things to write sketches about it could be anything.

• This appears to be poking fun at male ego and bravado which, at this point, I'm positive SNL UK is better equipped to handle.

• George did a great job leading this sketch and yet somehow Hammed had most of the best lines but I did like how Larry was the jumping off point for the mini top gun themed rant 

• Emma played her role well and the whole thing was well acted...but everything about its conclusion (yes, even including Emmas' final speech) felt incredibly telegraphed.

• I feel like we could've lost the Dave Grohl cameo and not have it effect the sketch at all (especially since he had to jog over to the musical guest stage for his second performance...they seem to have had some trouble timing all of those "running off to the next sketch/song performance" moments all night.). B-

Late Girl

• Huh...a live sketch framed as the conclusion to a modern "Cabin In The Woods" type slasher film. This should be interesting.

• OK, now Nicola has entered the scene as the bitchy, self centered, oblivious self victimizing one.

• Yeah, this feels like something I could have seen SNL US pull off but it mostly feels like something that would've better been done in a video from one of those Instagram/TikTok fashion/nostalgia influences. Still, Nicola is elevating this as well she can.

• Jack and Annabel were a bit much here (I've come to realize I like them much better when they're seperated on screen then when they are paired together) but I did like how they eventually dropped their whole "we just survived a bloody massacre that took all our friends" conceit just to be sparky to Nicola.

• I think what actually worked the most for me was Al and Larry suddenly popping up in the end as the crazed killers just to chastise Nicola for being late. C+

Another 45 Seconds With Fouracres 

• Well, I AM glad that this is becoming a recurring segment...but I didn't quite like this as much as the first one...but it might be growing on my after some repeat views

• Still, I'm even more glad that George got much more than this 45 seconds of screen time in the show...and that he appears to be doing well in general. B-

Ranking SNL UKs First Series From Best To Worst

1. Jamie Dornan/Wolf Alice (03.28.2026)
2. Nicola Coughlan/Foo Fighters (04.25.2026)
3. Tina Fey/Wet Leg (03.21.2026)
4. Riz Ahmed/Kasabian (04.05.2026)
5. Jack Whitehall/Jorja Smith (04.11.2026)

Overall Thoughts 

• This one showed a great deal of improvement from the previous episode. As a host, Nicola really yelled with the cast and writers and they really keyed in on her strengths as a comedic performer.

• They also really sharpened up their own writing for the most part in that most if the show's resemblance to its stateside counterpart came from it's choice of musical guest and alumni cameo.

• What few elements in the writing of the sketches that reminded me of previous sketches from SNL US and other shows  actually managed to work in the shows' favor rather than against it.

• As far as cast use, there seems to be more of a focused on George, Emma and Annabel this week. Celeste seems scaled back a bit. She, Al and Ayoade seemed more relegated to support roles. Jack and Hammed seemed a bit scaled back this week.

Closing Thoughts

• The next episode of SNL UK will be airing this weekend and will be hosted by Aimee Lou Wood. From what I've seen of her, she seems like she has enough comedic experience to do well on this show. 

• She's previously had some choice words about Sarah Shermans' portrayal of her White Lotus character on SNL US. I'm glad those two have worked it out amongst themselves personally.

• While I am still a bit annoyed myself that the online promos for this SNL UK episode have indeed referenced it...they did so in a way I actually found funny and I hope that they just...leave it at that.

• Also, this same weekend SNL US will return to our airwaves to enter it's home stretch of the season with an new double duty episode with host (and musical guest) Olivia Rodrigo. You'll probably get to read my review of that one before you read my SNL UK Aimee Lou Wood review, but see you then!