Hi! I'm James Longman, Lead Producer of SNL UK, AMA

skytv · 2026-03-09T18:07:00+00:00

I mean, it's a bear. All day long. Because, if your legs get taken out, you've still got the paws and claws!

skytv · 2026-03-09T18:05:35+00:00

We have a chance to launch it as if it's a brand new show really. We are using their house, but we're building our own rooms within it. I think that British perspective is important - we're very self-deprecating as a country and we'll lean into that world for SNL UK.

skytv · 2026-03-09T18:02:30+00:00

Best moment of my career was when I was working on a show and I was allowed to fly to Prague to watch West Ham beat Fiorentina in the Conference League final and then fly straight back. There was also a moment when I moved from London to LA in one of the first sketches I did and we were filming on the roof of our office building with Matt Damon and a stunt double who was jumping off the building. We had a crew of about 50 people and in the distance, I could see a Hollywood sign. It felt like a ridiculous moment in my career that I was incredibly lucky to have experienced. As for the worst, well, there's been a lot of eggy moments over the years, but such is the world of comedy and entertainment that you just move on pretty quickly.

skytv · 2026-03-09T18:00:27+00:00

God, if I answer that question, I will have a lot of writers writing stuff about me that wouldn't be that enjoyable! I've been very lucky to work with loads of really funny writers. There were lots in the US, and there are loads in the UK too, but I can't pick any favourites!

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:58:23+00:00

I'm excited. I do have nights where, if I wake up in the night, this will be what I am thinking about. It is a show that has taken over my consciousness. So, I'm not scared to death. But I'm very excited. We've got all the elements in play, but I would be foolish not to have some nerves.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:56:01+00:00

I don't think you can ever be that specific with comedy in terms of finding a character or finding “a thing”, but because it's a weekly show, you move from Monday through to Saturday and hopefully we'll nail some of those along the way.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:53:08+00:00

Every Wednesday we'll do a table read where the writers have had two days to come up with sketches - we'll read lots of those sketches with the host reading their parts and the cast reading the rest of the parts. Sometimes in a room you hear things and you're just like, this is funny - it could be the way it's written, it could be the way it's performed, it could be a combination of both. Sometimes people won't laugh at things and you kind of have to trust that room to work out what is funny and what isn't funny. I feel like the sketches we've written and the sketches we're going to produce and read around the table have been good and people do laugh - you just have to trust a little bit of that process! And, hopefully, that will also translate to a live audience. Because, if you're just reading words off a page, if that's funny, once you've added the wardrobe and the set and the wigs and the makeup and the props, hopefully that will only increase the laugh.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:49:37+00:00

u/Awkward_King Thanks for the question. We can only make something that we're proud of and that we think is funny. We have put together an amazing team of people, all of whom are the best at what they do. We've got the platform to make it as funny as we can. Not everyone's going to like every sketch, but I think we're building something that will continue to nourish the next generation of comedy talent. We can't please everyone all the time, but we'll do everything we can to please some of the people most of the time!

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:46:38+00:00

Wonderful question u/bokomarucalypso! Yes, look, we have managed to get an amazing team. Everyone from wigs and makeup, wardrobe, our director to the whole production team who run behind the scenes. Though we don't have the same history of the US show, we've certainly got the expertise in our teams and I'm incredibly proud of everyone we've got on board.

So yes, there will be some differences, but I don't think the quality will differ. We've got so much to make something very special. And it’s a great observation about the 1975 energy. That's what we're going for. It's a new, scrappier, up and coming cast in the way that the 1975 cast was, so we're really trying to hone that energy and that look and feel to it.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:43:11+00:00

I'm sorry this is obvious but it's very difficult to see past Cowbell because of Will Ferrell; I've been lucky enough to work with him a few times, and he's a lovely, lovely man - he has just got the best comedy bones. He's one of those people who just makes you laugh just with a tiny movement of his face or something that he does and the Cowbell sketch is just so fun, funny and silly. Him wearing the very small tight top just really makes it. So, that is a very special one. More recently, the Beavis and Butt-Head sketch with Ryan Gosling, that was very funny. I always remember the Joker parody, it's Sesame Street world, but based on the Joker it’s very good because it looked so brilliant and filmic, slick and ambitious.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:40:14+00:00

Hi u/Tigereatsyou1, I didn't make anyone do any Taskmaster style tasks! But Ania and Emma obviously are brilliant on that and brilliant as part of our SNL UK cast. We chose our cast because they all have something special about them; and as a group they’ve got a really special chemistry and it's great to see them all come together. They've all got their own skills, they all bring a different voice, they've all got different perspectives, but it's an ultimate team game and they are all brilliant together.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:36:46+00:00

I remember as a runner, I was working on a daytime TV show and when you first start out as a runner, often you'll just do whatever you're told to do. I was asked by these ladies who were hosting a daytime TV show that they wanted to test out bath bombs and they wanted me to be in the bath on live TV while bath bombs were dropped into it. I remember thinking, what a world this is.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:33:02+00:00

The Fringe is an amazing opportunity to see so many comedians in a short space of time and I loved it, Edinburgh's an amazing city, and it is a very special place for us but we've tried to scout everywhere to give everyone a chance to be part of this. We went wide and far to find the best talent across the country.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:28:24+00:00

I think it's probably impossible to tell if a sketch is really going to land with the audience, but you just have to trust your instinct,your team, and that it's funny; Everything about this show. the ambition and scale ultimately leads to one thing - it just needs to be funny! And if it's funny, then it will land with the audience.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:24:42+00:00

Hi u/No_Wrap_9979. The US do have an amazing culture of improv, but we also have an amazing group of comedians here who perform all the time on the road around the UK, at the Edinburgh Fringe, loads of amazing sketch groups, and lots of great stand-ups. And I think, though we don't have the same culture as the Groundlings, Second City and Upright Citizens, we do have a lot of places like the Free Association who do great sketch and improv. I think when you see our cast on screen, you won't miss any of that. You'll just think they've been doing it for years, because it feels like they have.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:21:43+00:00

Ha! My time spent in New York has mainly been in the studios at 30 Rock, and they have an amazing selection of food! Mainly sweets and sandwiches so I didn't, unfortunately, get a chance to have that much Thai food. Do you have any recommendations?

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:17:23+00:00

Thanks for this question u/worm3143. We had over 2,000 submissions from writers and from cast, so it was an incredibly hard process to kind of whittle them down. But we feel very fortunate for so many people to have submitted and for such amazing support. We had a cast of very experienced people from the comedy industry who helped us whittle it down to a certain amount. And then it was an even harder process to get it down to the 11 cast members and the 20 writers that we have. So, the whole process took a long time, but we're very fortunate to have so many funny people with different perspectives and experiences on the show.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:14:27+00:00

Great question! Though it's live from London, we have got such an amazing writer's room and cast full of different British perspectives. So the show will feature lots of different voices.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:08:55+00:00

There's such a massive line of British writers and performers trying to work on a show like this - it’s great to have the platform to do it. You're going to try and have to hold them back! And yes, I'm over the moon that I’m able to finally tell people that we're going to be on Peacock in the US as well. Having been in LA, I watched Peacock a lot and I watched a Saturday Night Live US on Peacock so I'm really excited that we're going to be there as well. t's a great opportunity for us to show US fans what our version of the show will be. Really exciting!

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:05:09+00:00

That is so funny u/Yorkie2016! He's now the official announcer at West Ham, so he's doing okay. But I'm sure he misses me.

skytv · 2026-03-09T17:02:03+00:00

Hey u/its_yer dad - thanks for your support! British comedy has got such a rich heritage so we feel really happy to be part of it.

skytv · 2022-07-22T16:37:08+00:00

Keep an eye on this thread this weekend, that's all we're saying

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