Saturday Night Live has made its way across the pond this past week, debuting its UK edition with host Tina Fey, often dubbed as NBC royalty, and musical guest Wet Leg.
This first episode was a clear, strong reminder that the UK edition is not set up to be its direct American counterpart, but its own entity. British humor is awkward, slow-paced, slow-burned and leaves room for the jokes to breathe. That was entirely evident in the not so well received trailers SNL UK released on YouTube ahead of the show’s debut the following Saturday. Viewers of the trailers found jokes to be flat, awkward and oddly timed. The trailers itself seemed to be appealing to American viewers and their humor, but neglected to appease the critical British crowd, finding it “beyond terrible” and “absolutely brutal” from @nothingbutcactus7639 on YouTube. However, when the first episode aired, the majority seemed to find the show tolerable, and sometimes even likeable. Maybe the real genius of SNL UK is to set the bar so low that anything above that is borderline mildly amusing.
Watching the first episode, it felt to me that Tina Fey and her charming humor works best back in America. Although she adjusted to the quirks of British humor, it felt inauthentic and hard to watch her dial down her audacious humor for the sake of appealing to the dryness of the Brits. It felt stiff and restrained. The best part about her monologue was her run through of British sitcoms. She was quick-witted and amusing and hit well with the Brits and the few Americans and Canadians who oddly grew up watching British TV.
The main difference I noticed between SNL US and SNL UK is the delivery of the jokes. The US tends to hone in on quick and sharp jokes, focusing on topical and big punchlines. The UK edition is visibly more comfortable with taking time for the joke to unfold, making the payout worthwhile, but can sometimes lose a crowd that’s impatient to wait for a joke. The sketches unfold patiently, like “The Budger.” Hilariously funny, and my personal favorite skit of the night. It’s kind of the skit that gets the best of both worlds. Americans can get a good chuckle out of it, but also packed with that dry and odd/dark humor that is unmistakably British. Another standout skit of the night was the Undérage commercial skit, which played into the UK’s twisted humor. It’s uncomfortable but clever at the same time, making it entertaining. Both of these sketches are the pinnacle of the beauty of SNL UK; it lets the jokes breathe. There is the willingness to embrace the silence, be still in the awkwardness and still moments of comedy and let that take reign and make it worthwhile. SNL UK has the confidence to push their audience into strange and unusual corners without losing them entirely.
The most compelling presence of the whole night was surprisingly not Tina Fey, but standout comedian Jack Shep, who may be quickly establishing himself as SNL UK’s breakout star. If there is a US comparison, he would possess the quirk, commitment to the bit and precision of Bill Hader. He is sharp and seeps into his characters undeniably, but also keeps a level of unpredictability and leans away from the comfort zone. Shep completely stole the show in his depiction of Princess Diana in the skit “The Last Supper”, which went viral for his comically spot-on miming of Diana’s facial expression and quiet demeanor. His performance is so brilliant, you can actually see a bit of Diana in him. From every small gesture of the tilting of the head, to the awkward pause and doe eyed stare into the camera, Shep commands the sketch and quickly made a name for himself just on the first episode.
Wet Leg’s performance was entrancing. The mixing and audio quality is a lot better than the very low bar of SNL US’s live performances. The vocals were stable and clear and the guitars were crisp. They were honestly an excellent pick for SNL UK’s debut. Confident, off kilter, and playful. It’s important to note that the SNL US soundstage has been the same since its start. It is notoriously tiny, with no room for great sound and audio equipment for performers. Whereas SNL UK’s soundstage is also the same studio as the Graham Norton Show, notorious for great audio quality.
By the end of the night, it was clear to see that SNL UK is not the weird cousin to SNL US, but instead maybe a twice removed estranged family member that you can’t really understand. The UK is not trying to outshine its American counterpart, but instead really make an entirely new name for itself. The show’s debut is strong, and has promise to make its own lineage of iconic one-liners and something distinctly of its own. Despite internet critics hoping for its flop, the show carried charm and surprising amusement. Its debut episode proved that maybe the Brits can be slightly likeable afterall.