Live from London, it's Saturday night! 'SNL' taking sketch comedy across the pond

LONDON (AP) — Live from London, it’s Saturday night!

Wait, London? You heard that correctly. “Saturday Night Live” announced Thursday that it plans to launch a British version of the U.S. sketch comedy show that is celebrating its 50th anniversary across the pond.

The U.K. version, produced with Sky Studios, will have a British cast of comedians — to be announced later — and follow the same format with famous guest hosts and star musical acts.

“SNL” creator Lorne Michaels will be the executive producer of “Saturday Night Live UK,” while staying in the same role with the show on NBC in New York.

“For over 50 years ‘Saturday Night Live’ has held a unique position in TV and in our collective culture, reflecting and creating the global conversation, all under the masterful comedic guidance of Lorne Michaels,” said Cecile Frot-Coutaz, chief executive of Sky Studios. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Lorne and the ‘SNL’ team to bring an all-British version of the show to UK audiences next year — all live from London on Saturday night.”

The long-established show regularly roasts the powerful. U.S. President Donald Trump and tech titan Elon Musk have been skewered lately, and both have previously hosted the 90-minute show.

“SNL” airs live at 11:30 p.m. Eastern time from a studio at Rockefeller Plaza and typically opens with a sketch that wraps as the actors turn to the camera, break character and announce, “Live from New York, it's Saturday night!”

Its mix of political satire, off-beat skits, fake commercials, comic music videos and its regular “Weekend Update” spoof on the news has launched the careers of many comedians and actors.

Its roster of famous cast members include the late John Belushi, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Kenan Thompson and Kate McKinnon.

Efforts to launch “SNL” in other countries, such as France, Japan and Italy, have typically been short-lived, though a version of the show remains on the air in South Korea.

FILE - Lorne Michaels attends the SNL50: The Homecoming Concert at Radio City Music Hall on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)