Jeff Goldblum to Host the Season Two Premiere of Saturday Night Live UK

Saturday Night Live UK will open its second season on Sky on 12 September 2026 with Jeff Goldblum as guest host. The booking gives the British edition of the long-running American format a recognisable international name for its return episode.

Goldblum has hosted the original NBC Saturday Night Live twice, first in 1993, and remains a familiar face from Jurassic Park to Wicked. For a young UK franchise still proving it can live on Saturday night television, a host with that catalogue is a statement of intent.

Where SNL UK stands after season one

The British version has been assembling its own company of players rather than importing the whole New York cast. Emma Sidi and Jack Shep are among the performers who have already been lined up for an Edinburgh TV Festival masterclass with writers, producers and commissioners from the show, part of the festival's final year in Scotland.

Live sketch comedy on British television has a different risk profile from a pre-recorded panel show. Timing, topical writing and the ability to recover from a line that does not land are the whole product. Season two will be judged on whether that muscle has strengthened.

Why Goldblum fits

Goldblum's public style is talkative, musical and slightly off-centre. That is useful in a show that needs a host who can open with a monologue, disappear into wigs and still hold a song if the band calls for one. He is also a known quantity to older viewers who remember the American series in its 1990s run.

The premiere date, 12 September, sits just before London Fashion Week's main stretch and in the same month as a crowded autumn television diary. A live event on a Saturday can cut through that noise if the sketches are sharp.

The wider UK comedy picture

British comedy news this week has been mixed. There have been deaths to record, including confirmation that Chris Langham died of cancer aged 77, and there have been catalogue celebrations such as a limited-edition Blu-ray box set of Inside No. 9 due in November. SNL UK is trying to add a weekly live habit to that landscape.

Edinburgh's awards season has just closed, with Jamie Wolf named Edinburgh Fringe Comedian of the Year and a set of Malcolm Hardee Award winners announced. Some of that talent will filter into television; some will not. A sketch show still needs its own room of writers.

What to expect on the night

An SNL premiere usually offers a host monologue, a mix of recurring and new sketches, and a musical guest. Sky has not had to publish the full rundown for this article to stand. The confirmed facts are the date, the channel and the host.

If the episode works, season two starts with momentum. If it does not, the rest of the run will have to rebuild week by week. That is the bargain live television has always offered.