John Oliver isn’t looking to bring the laughs across the pond.
The late-night host, 48, revealed he doesn’t think a UK version of “Saturday Night Live” would work.
“It sounds like a terrible idea,” Oliver confessed when asked during “Late Night With Seth Meyers” on Monday about the upcoming London sketch comedy show.
Host Seth Meyers asked the comedian to expand on his reasoning.
“Well, it just sounds like a bad — we have had sketch comedy before,” Oliver said. “And it just feels like ‘Saturday Night Live’ is such a unique group. It’s a cult. I’m trying to not say the word. It’s a cult. And so I don’t know how you can impose that cult onto the UK.”
Meyers, 51, is no stranger to the NBC series, as he starred as a cast member on “SNL” from 2001 to 2014.
The writer then asked Oliver to share what he thinks is the most “cult-like thing” about “Saturday Night Live.”
“What night is it that you stay up all night?” Oliver asked, to which Meyers replied: “Tuesday night. You stay up all night on Tuesday.”
“That’s ridiculous,” the British star responded. “I’m saying that’s the kind of a thing a cult leader would make you do. ‘Uh, we stay up all night on Tuesdays, by the way.’”
“I think it’s been proven that ‘SNL’ is the outlier,” Oliver teased. “You don’t need — it doesn’t have to be dictated to the day that you must not sleep on that day or the great leader will be irritated.”
Oliver’s comments come a month after a British version of “Saturday Night Live” was officially announced by UK broadcaster Sky in a press release.
The London-based series will premiere in 2026, and is set to be executive produced by “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels.
The show “will follow the same live, fast-paced style that has made the show a cultural phenomenon with iconic hosts, musical guests and a core cast of the funniest British comedians around.”
Sky is owned by NBCUniversal’s company Comcast, and the new show will also have “a star-studded lineup of hosts.”
Cécile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios, explained in the press release: “For over 50 years ‘Saturday Night Live’ has held a unique position in TV and in our collective culture, reflecting and creating the global conversation all under the masterful comedic guidance of Lorne Michaels.”
“The show has discovered and nurtured countless comedy and musical talents over the years and we are thrilled to be partnering with Lorne and the SNL team to bring an all-British version of the show to UK audiences next year – all live from London on Saturday night.”
Michaels, 80, launched “SNL” in the US on Oct. 11, 1975. Many A-listers got their star on the series, including Jimmy Fallon, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, Chevy Chase, Will Ferrell and Tina Fey.
With the show currently airing its milestone 50th season, the Emmy winner revealed to The Hollywood Reporter last year that he has no plans to retire anytime soon.
“It’s more about keeping it on course than anything else, and, obviously, I really love it,” Michaels said. “And every year, there are more and more people that I rely on for other things, but, in the end, you really need someone to say, ‘This is what we’re doing.’ So, I don’t really have an answer; I just know that this is kind of what I do and as long as I can keep doing it, I’ll keep doing it. There’s no immediate plan.”
But while talking to Entertainment Tonight in 2024, the creator said if he were to have a predecessor, “It could easily be Tina Fey, but you know, there are a lot of people who are there now who are also, you know [could be good].”
Fey, 54, meanwhile, told THR in April that “he’s irreplaceable.”
“His set of gifts and skills are entirely unique,” she added. “His eye for talent! He’s one of the last three people in show business who actually understand everything. I’ll leave it at that.”
Fey’s longtime friend and collaborator, Poehler, echoed Michaels’ sentiments, stating: “I will say that I feel like there are very few things that Tina wouldn’t do well in this world.”
