For Jonno Johnson, co-head writer of Saturday Night Live UK, each episode is less a TV production and more a high-stakes heist. "But those heist movies very rarely end with everybody sat there with the haul and then going, 'Oh, I've just remembered I booked us in for another seven heists,'" he jokes. After a whirlwind summer that included his first solo stand-up show at the Edinburgh Fringe and a revealing talk at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Johnson is back for Season 2, ready to pull off the impossible again.
The first season of SNL UK arrived in March to a mix of skepticism and excitement. Critics and audiences alike wondered if the beloved American format could survive a British makeover. But the show, which airs on Sky in the UK and Peacock in the US, proved the doubters wrong, thanks to a five-year development process that involved SNL creator Lorne Michaels. Now, just four months later, the team is back with a newfound confidence and a 12th cast member.
Johnson, whose previous credits include Siblings and Parlement, admits that nothing quite prepares you for the relentless pace of SNL. "There was a sort of two-month period of us acclimatizing to the process for the first season," he says. But now, Season 2 "just… feels kind of like a ninth episode." The routine is familiar: Mondays are for brainstorming, where the writing team and the week's host toss around ideas. It's a collaborative free-for-all, with everyone "privately hoping somebody else says something funnier so you can jump on their sketch instead," Johnson reveals.
The host's reaction is surprisingly influential. Rather than pushing their own interests, the writers watch to see what makes the host laugh. That's why a Jack Whitehall episode might lean into sports, or a Jeff Goldblum episode might get delightfully weird. "You're so excited by the new week and the new vibe," Johnson says, which is why they rarely dip into a bank of old ideas. Those are saved only for emergencies.
By Wednesday, the team has whittled down the initial 35 pitches to a manageable number for the table read. This is the most nerve-wracking day of the week, where writers present their drafts to the entire cast and crew. Johnson describes the early days as "fairly intimidating" and "excruciating," but the team has developed a thick skin, aided by their own acronym: PDS, or Pin Drop Silence. It's a euphemism for the moment when a joke lands with a thud, and everyone pretends not to notice.
Only six sketches make it to air each week, which means writers must be comfortable with rejection. Johnson, who sifted through 1,800 applications to build his team, looks for resilience above all. "There's far more control for individual writers" on SNL than on any other UK show, he says. Writers are the masters of their own fate, and if a sketch dies at the table read, that's their call. Senior writers like Joseph Moore, Keith Akushie, and Humphrey Ker are there to advise, but the final decision rests with the writer.
It's this blend of creative freedom and brutal efficiency that makes SNL UK so compelling. As the show returns for its second season, Johnson and his team are ready to pull off another heist, one sketch at a time. For fans of the format, it's a masterclass in how to keep a comedy institution fresh, even when the odds are stacked against you. And for those who love a good behind-the-scenes story, it's a reminder that the magic of live TV is often born from chaos.
