Sky is making progress on its Saturday Night Live UK cast.
The show that has got the British comedy community talking is taking further steps since Deadline revealed its creative team month, according to Sky unscripted boss Phil Edgar-Jones, who was speaking at Content London.
“Casting at the moment is well underway,” said Edgar-Jones. “We’re looking at writers and have had a great response from the comedy community. This is an opportunity for us to nurture that next generation of comic talent.”
Sky’s briefing document from earlier this year said candidates are being asked to cast each sketch with a potential SNL guest host, with successful candidates needing to be available from mid-January to early April before the show launches later next year.
Pressed to give more information on SNL, Edgar-Jones stressed that he needs to remain tight-lipped.
“I get phone calls all the time from people telling me, ‘Don’t say anything’,” he added. Edgar-Jones joked that this has been a struggle as his nickname at Sky is “leaky Phil.”
SNL UK revealed creative team last month. Daran Jonno Johnson, who helped pen Disney+ series Wedding Season, is head writer and Liz Clare, an experienced live TV director behind events including the BAFTA Film Awards, has been hired as series director. Both join James Longman, executive producer of The Late Late Show with James Corden.
Edgar-Jones has a wide remit but one area he won’t be pushing into is the guessing game genre made famous by The Traitors. “There’s a danger at the moment that everyone is looking at big strategy, Traitors-y formats,” he added. “I think we have to be careful in the market by going after stuff that’s already best in class.”
“More soap or fun”
Meanwhile, Sky drama is looking for a tone shift.
The pay-TV giant is seeking drama series that have “more soap or fun” to them, according to exec director of scripted Meghan Lyvers.
“They can feel really messy,” Lyvers added. “They don’t have to feel like guilty pleasures, just pleasures. We do big heavy dramatic pieces well but would like to diversify our offering in terms of tone.”
Separately, Sky’s long-running hit comedy Brassic is coming to an end and Lyvers said her team is “on the hunt for a new Brassic-like show and that is not an easy ask.” “It’s a tall order but something we’ve been speaking about with producers more and more over the last few months,” she added.
Lyvers also said Sky wants to try and up its number of limited series, like the upcoming Amadeus starring Will Sharpe, and do more tentpoles like its hit adaptation of The Day of the Jackal, which is into Season 2.
