Fallon Advises Aspiring UK SNL Stars: "Treat It as the Destination"

As the UK version of the iconic sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live comes together, former SNL cast member Jimmy Fallon has some sage advice for the show's would-be British stars. Fallon, who was on the U.S. version from 1998 to 2004, emphasizes that aspiring UK comics should treat SNL UK as the "destination" and not a "launching pad" to bigger things.

"If you get lucky and get cast, I would just focus on the show," Fallon told Deadline. "Don't think about the next move, or if you are going to be a movie star from this. Treat it as the end game." He advises the future UK talent to concentrate on making the show the best it can be, as "other things will come" if they excel in their roles.

Meanwhile, Sky, the UK pay-TV outfit that is producing the British version of SNL, is aiming to bring "chaos" and "noise" to the screen, according to the company's unscripted boss Phil Edgar Jones. As Sky's talent scouts search for the right comedians, the UK show has become the talk of the British comedy scene.

Fallon himself was once obsessed with SNL, refusing to attend parties until the end credits had rolled. "Friends would get mad at me," he recalled. "They'd be like, 'I'll put a TV set in the corner of the room.' I'd go, 'No, I gotta watch it myself, really study it... and then I'll be at the party at one o'clock.'"

The UK version of SNL is set to launch in 2026 and will be produced by UTAS UK and Broadway Video. It is poised to become the highest-profile international version of the long-running American sketch comedy series, which has already been remade in China, Germany, Italy, and South Korea.