’Saturday Night Live’s Famous Formula Has 1 Unfixable Problem

Saturday Night Live has spent 5 decades establishing a format that is instantly recognizable and runs like clockwork. Bringing the show to the UK meant deciding which of those traditions were worth keeping and which could be left behind. At the Edinburgh TV Festival 2026, SNL UK director Liz Clare and cast member Emma Sidi discussed two elements of the original that prompted very different reactions — the famous crane shot and the end-of-show credits.

While Clare rejected the crane because of the practical demands of the British production, Sidi admitted that the cast initially found the closing tradition unbearably “naff.” SNL UK could not reproduce the American original and expect every production choice or cultural convention to translate, but neither could it reinvent everything without losing elements that make the format successful. So before any episode aired, the crew behind SNL UK had the mammoth task of working out what it could change and what it needed to keep, and while one problem solved itself, another remains unfixable.

Why ‘SNL UK’ Rejected ‘Saturday Night Live’s Famous Crane Shot

One of the defining features of Saturday Night Live is its production setup, which allows the show to move between the monologue and sketches while maintaining the pace and energy of a live performance. SNL UK has adopted much of the American show’s approach, but director Clare decided against using its famous crane shot. Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival’s The SNL Masterclass, director Clare explained, “The camera setup is probably pretty standard. In fact, it’s based on the American show, bar the fact that we don’t use the Americans have got this big old bit of kit, big crane that’s become a feature of the show,” Clare said. “We decided not to employ that camera because it takes up an awful lot of space.”

The decision makes sense for a show that has to accommodate multiple sets, rapid changes and performances staged in the round. A large crane might be a recognizable part of the American production, but that does not mean it is essential to the format. Instead, the British production has adapted its equipment to suit the way the show operates. “But we do have a jib, and we’ve got some pads,” Clare explained, describing some of the alternatives available to her team. Her approach is less about reproducing the American show‘s visual identity exactly and more about understanding what its camera work is trying to achieve. As she put it, “It’s really just about making sure that what is interesting about the show is that it’s played in the round in a way that then helps all of those resets.”

Jamie Dornan’s turn as host in Season 1, Episode 2, offers a good example of how the money saved on the crane allows the series to follow the technical needs of each joke. Dornan played a criminal taking Annabel Marlow hostage, a role that required the production to recreate the appearance of a video recorded on a camcorder. Rather than relying on a conventional studio camera to capture the scene, Clare’s team found a more specific solution. “We knew that we needed some kind of camera that he could look like he was recording a sort of hostage video,” she explained. “So we actually got a live really lovely sort of digicam that was a live picture, live feed that we were able to take out of the camera and put in and used to make it look as authentic as possible.”

Why ‘SNL UK’s Cast Members Had To Embrace The American Series’ End Credits

The closing sequence of Saturday Night Live is one of its most familiar traditions. As the credits roll, the cast gathers around the host, exchanging hugs and saying goodbye to the audience. For Sidi, however, the practice initially seemed awkward and unnecessary. Her reaction highlights a different challenge for SNL UK. Technical decisions can be made according to the needs of the production, but cultural traditions can be harder to assess up front. Sidi admitted that she had never been particularly fond of the American show’s endings. “That’s something with the American show… the ending, the goodbyes bit. I would just see it and go, ‘This is just so naff. I can’t bear to see this,’” she said at the Edinburgh TV Festival. From the viewer’s perspective, the sequence can look like an overly sentimental ritual, particularly when performers who have spent the episode confidently delivering jokes suddenly show their relief that it is over in the farewell.

However, making SNL UK changed Sidi’s perspective. The cast were experiencing the pressure of putting together a live show, working through rehearsals, changes, and the demands of performing. Sidi explained that she understood the tradition differently once she had experienced that process, “And when we’re doing it now, I get it because we have done the heist during the week, you know?… So we’re hugging and crying… fuck it, we’re luvvies now,” she joked. “You are just like, thank god we did it. It’s so real that hugging at the end.”

SNL UK could have dropped the closing sequence to avoid something the cast found embarrassing, just as Clare dropped the crane. Removing them would not change the quality of the series or make a sketch easier to stage. Yet it would have removed a moment that the people making the show have come to value. Sidi even acknowledged that viewers might still find the sequence uncomfortable: “So sorry you have to watch that, but we’re gonna keep doing it!” Now halfway through its second season, Saturday Night Live UK is still developing its own identity away from the American original, but some things stay essential to the show regardless of where it is being made.

Saturday Night Live UK Season 2 Part 2 returns on Sky One in the UK in January 2027 and streams the next day on Peacock in the U.S.