With Saturday Night Live UK getting a release date, we can get a little more excited about it. Sadly, it won’t help to cover the gap when the U.S. series goes off the air for the Winter Olympics, but there’s still a lot of hype around it.
The Hollywood Reporter shared that SNL UK will premiere on Saturday, March 21. However, within that came the disappointing episode count.
How many episodes are in SNL UK season 1?
The show will have just six episodes, which is a far cry from the 20–24 episodes the U.S. series has mostly had. There were just a handful of years with around 12–13 episodes, and one of those was the 2007–2008 writers strike, which heavily affected many shows.
Six is just much shorter than we’re used to, and it will be disappointing to those ready for the new series. However, there are a couple of good reasons for this shorter season order, and it doesn’t mean that’s the way it will stay.
Saturday Night Live UK is a risk
While SNL has ran for 50 years (and 1000) episodes in the United States, it’s not headed across the pond until now. This makes it a risk of a show, as the style of comedy isn’t quite what the UK viewers may be used to. The question is whether it’s right for the market, and the best way to test it is with a shorter episode count.
The comedians are also relatively unknown, and that adds to the risk element of it. Had Saturday Night Live UK landed at least one known comedian, the series may have been less of a risk. Instead, it’s relying on the fanbase of the franchise as a whole and the fact that Saturday nights don’t necessarily have a lot on.
Shorter seasons are normal for the UK market
On top of that, we have to consider the UK market. UK shows tend to be much shorter than the U.S. ones. We just have to look at the likes of Doctor Who, Derry Girls, and Call the Midwife to see how the season orders tend to be between six and 13 episodes, and even then, it’s rare for a show to go past 10 episodes to season.
While there is popularity in the longer shows, there isn’t quite the budget available. Plus, the networks will want to add other shows into their lineup.
Between this and the risk, it makes sense to keep the first season to just six episodes. That episode can always be upped if the series proves to be the success the original is.
Saturday Night Live UK premieres on Saturday, March 21 on Sky.