SNL UK cast want season two to turn up the heat
The cast of Saturday Night Live UK are looking to the American original for ideas as the show’s second season unfolds. Celeste Dring, Jack Shep and Al Nash say they’d welcome more physical comedy, bolder set pieces and sexier, cruder sketches—while the show’s demanding production schedule keeps every change in tight focus.
Key takeaways
The cast see season two as a chance to push the UK version further, without losing sight of what works for its live audience.
Dring wants to take on more stunts herself.
Nash is keen on escalating premises, gross-out gags and spit-takes.
Shep would like more sexy, crude and lewd sketches, inspired by the US show.
The production can start with around 35 sketches, but only a handful make the broadcast.
A tightly timed comedy machine
A weekly episode is written, rehearsed and reshaped across just six days. Dring told Collider that the scale of the operation can make late edits difficult: once a sketch is locked, changes need to reach departments including costume, make-up and set design. Shep described the process as a chain reaction involving a crew of around 300.
The writers and cast reportedly begin with roughly 35 sketches, with six prioritised after the Wednesday table read. More material can be cut at Saturday’s dress rehearsal, just hours before the live broadcast. That leaves plenty of unseen ideas—and sometimes sketches that the performers thought were working.
Online hits, live audience first
The show’s sketches can find big audiences online, but Shep said that viral potential doesn’t shape how he performs. His focus is on landing the jokes for the people in the room. That instinct will feel familiar to anyone who enjoys live comedy: a room’s reaction is immediate, and there’s no edit button once a punchline is out.
For London audiences who want that close-up connection, Comedy in Your Eye hosts professional comedians in an intimate Camden pub setting, with a top-secret lineup at its weekly Tuesday and Thursday shows. It’s a different format from a televised sketch show, but the thrill of seeing comedy land live is part of the appeal.
Bigger stunts and spicier sketches
Dring said she was envious of co-star Ania Magliano, who was harnessed and pulled off a set, after Dring herself was not allowed to perform certain falls. She’s hoping for more opportunities to do physical comedy in the new season.
Nash wants the UK series to borrow the American show’s knack for taking a simple premise and steadily raising the stakes. He’d like more comic set pieces and gross-out humour, including spit-takes. Shep, meanwhile, made a case for sketches with more sexual and lewd material—an area he feels the US original handles well.
Season two began on 12 September, with further episodes expected in early 2027. The cast’s wish list suggests they’re ready to make the UK version bigger, messier and more daring—while keeping the live audience at the centre of the joke.
Sources
‘SNL UK’ Cast Teases a Spicier Season 2 Inspired by the American Original, Collider.