John Oliver does not approve of a U.K. version of “Saturday Night Live.”
In an interview Monday night on “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” the British comedian said it “sounds like a terrible idea.” When asked by “SNL” alum Meyers to expand on that thought, Oliver added, “We have had sketch comedy before, and I just feel like something like this is such a unique group.”
But then the “Last Week Tonight” host let his true feelings out, joking: “It’s a cult. I’m trying to not say the word — it’s a cult. And so, I don’t know how you can impose that cult onto the U.K.” Naturally, Meyers questioned what exactly makes “SNL” cult-like, to which Oliver referenced the cast’s long-standing tradition of pulling all-nighters every Tuesday to prepare for the show.
“That’s ridiculous,” Oliver said. “I’m saying that’s the kind of thing a cult leader would make you do. We stay up all night on Tuesdays, by the way!”
Oliver made the point that great comedy can still be produced without losing sleep. “I think it’s been proven that ‘SNL’ is the outlier,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be dictated to the day that you must not sleep on that day or the great leader will be irritated.”
The U.K. “SNL” was announced last month, and is set to launch next year on Sky. Lorne Michaels, who created the sketch show and has headed it up since its debut in 1975, will serve as an executive producer.
Watch Oliver’s full interview on “Late Night” below.
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