SNL Separation Anxiety: SNL UK Critics, Thompson, The Rundown & More

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SNL Separation Anxiety: SNL UK Critics, Thompson, "The Rundown" & More

SNL Separation Anxiety: SNL UK's James Longman & Celeste Dring on early critics; Kenan Thompson on his run; Sarah Sherman with "The Rundown."

Published Sat, 06 Jun 2026 19:37:11 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary

• SNL UK’s James Longman and Celeste Dring address early skeptics, arguing the format creates rare new sketch comedy chances.
• Celeste Dring says SNL UK gives British comics bigger budgets, real production support, and room to aim much higher.
• Kenan Thompson explains why SNL still excites him after 23 seasons: constant reinvention, elite talent, and fresh collaborations.
• Sarah Sherman’s latest The Rundown entry spotlights classic live SNL sketches and crowns 1994’s Rookie Cop as her pick.

Welcome back to another edition of SNL Separation Anxiety, our way of dealing with Saturday Night Live and Saturday Night Live UK (SNL UK) being on their respective summer breaks while also keeping you in the loop with what's going on between seasons. This week, we've got SNL UK EP James Longman and cast member Celeste Dring discuss how they dealt with the pre-premiere critics who were already predicting the show's demise. Following that, Kenan Thompson shares what it is about SNL that's kept him with the show for 23 seasons. Finally, Sarah Sherman checks in with the latest edition of "The Rundown," offering her selection for the top live sketch.

SNL UK EP Longman & Cast Member Dring on Dealing with Early Critics: Here's what Dring and Longman had to say in response to critics who didn't see the point of a UK sketch comedy show needing to use a US format:

Dring: "So, I understand the question of, "Why do we need that? Why do we have to have an American thing?" Everything in culture is now recycled culture, and I suppose you can kind of lament that if you want, but there's another way of looking at it: It's an opportunity for lots of British comics and British voices, particularly those of us in the cast that are a bit older. There hasn't been an opportunity like this for such a long time. I do understand wanting to bring back certain ensemble sketches, but frankly, there aren't the budgets for those anymore. I've been trying to do sketch for a long time, and there's just not these opportunities, and there isn't that kind of money. So, there is an argument for saying, "Look, if you get involved in this massive institution, then what you have is the expertise, resources to take something seriously and really attack it." I've never ever worked on a comedy show where a stunt's been written into the sketch, and someone's gone, "Yeah, so the stunt woman's coming on Tuesday." What we're able to achieve on this scale is different, and I would encourage people to embrace that rather than worrying about, "Well, it's an American institution."

Longman: "I also think we're in such a risk-averse industry now. We know that the show works in theory, and if you get the elements right, you'll know it works here. People don't say about 'The Traitors,' 'Oh, that's a Dutch show.' We've borrowed and put our spin on it to try and make it work in a way that 'Traitors' or 'Big Brother' has. We've just tried to make it our own."

SNL Cast Member Kenan Thompson on What Keeps Him Coming Back: During SNL's Emmy For Your Consideration event in Los Angeles earlier this week, Thompson, Bowen Yang, Tommy Brennan, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Marcello Hernández, James Austin Johnson, Ben Marshall, Ashley Padilla, Kam Patterson, Sarah Sherman, and Veronika Slowikowska took part in a panel discussion on a wide range of topics – including Thompson's two-decade-plus run.

"We have a front-row seat to some of the greatest comedic minds in the world," Thompson shared with the audience. "The show recreates itself every single week, and you have no choice but to go along with it. The rotating influx of talent, both writers and cast, allows for new ideas, friendships, and collabs to form, and that keeps it pushing through time. I'm a witness to how the machine works. It's not rocket science. They just hire whoever's the greatest and most available."

"The Rundown" – Building the Perfect SNL Show

SNL has launched a new short-form digital original series called The Rundown, featuring memorable faces from SNL, including Dana Carvey, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Colin Jost, Bowen Yang, Questlove, Jack Black, and more. Guests will stop by Studio 8H to select a favorite segment from the show's history to add to the iconic Rundown board, building an all-star episode along the way. The latest edition finds Sarah Sherman analyzing some of SNL's iconic live sketches like "The Courtney Love Show" and "Acupuncture Gone Wrong" before picking her favorite: "Rookie Cop," from S20E08 (Dec. 10th, 1994), with host Alec Baldwin and musical guest Beastie Boys (which you can check out above):

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