The Best SNL Sketch in a Long Time Just Aired—but Not in the U.S.

Television SNL UK might be coming for Saturday Night Live’s crown. By Enter your email to receive alerts for this author. Sign in or create an account to better manage your email preferences. Unsubscribe from email alerts Are you sure you want to unsubscribe from email alerts for Nadira Goffe? Oct 26, 20264:43 PM Broadway Video/SNL Studios/Sky One Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. We might not be in Kansas anymore, but we’re not in Oz, either. Instead, the funniest Saturday Night Live sketch in recent memory—from this weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live UK, which featured Wicked’s co-lead, the Nigerian British actress Cynthia Erivo, as the celebrity host—landed us in “LagOz” with its now-viral skit “Nigerian Wicked.” The three-minute video functions as a trailer for a fictionalized Nollywood version of Wicked, where Erivo role-swaps from her usual Elphaba to play Glinda, while SNL UK cast members star as Elphaba and the Wizard, respectively. Of course, the accents and dated costuming reminiscent of throwback Nigerian films are funny in their familiarity, but the humor really lies in the specific Nigerian subversions of Wicked details (“LagOz” being one of the most genius of them). There is a maximalism to Nigerian films—intensity of emotion, range of effects, styling, and dialogue—that shines through, and is also poked at, in these few minutes. In LagOz, the Wizard’s (or “Wizaad’s”) power comes not from his famed magic, but from his rumored wealth; the witches approach not the Emerald City, but the “emerald, white, and emerald city” à la Nigeria’s flag; and Glinda desires a Birkin bag from the Wizard, while Elphaba wants a BBL that “defies gravity.” The Wizard shows up wearing not the Rolex he is rumored to possess, but something Erivo’s Glinda dubs a “No-lex,” leading to the eventual realization that “di Wizaad is broke.” One would think that Wicked content in the back half of 2026—nearly a year after the disappointment that was Wicked: For Good—would feel passé, but the dedication to the bit instead amounts to one of the freshest-feeling clips to come from SNL in a minute. There’s more I could wax poetic about. It’s the hyperspecificity, like the constant references to Baileys Irish Cream, a popular liqueur in Nigeria, that really makes the skit sing. The low production value of the fake Wicked film is also funnily relevant to Nollywood, down to the low-res camera and the shoddy visual effects and mistakes, like boom mic operators being caught in shots and the lack of green makeup on Elphaba’s wrists. From a technical standpoint, I also delighted in the whimsical visual transitions between scenes and the array of bombastic sound effects. The cherry on top of it all is the skit crediting Erivo by her full name: Cynthia Onyedinmanasu Chinasaokwu Owezuke Amarachukwu Echeumuna Erivo. That’s some real Nollywood commitment. On the whole, this past weekend’s episode was a highlight conclusion to the inaugural year of SNL UK—the American sketch show’s first international venture—which premiered back in March. (The episode is the final show of the calendar year, but not of the current second season, which is set to continue in January.) In addition to “Nigerian Wicked,” a number of other skits from the night have found tons of love online, like “Modern Music,” a pop music parody which sees Erivo and cast member Annabel Marlow discordantly singing lyrics about their … feminine powers, let’s say. Also appreciated on social media is the sketch which shows Erivo as a version of Rapunzel who has an overgrown toenail instead of incredibly long hair; this Rapunzel launches into a deeply British verbal sparring match with her would-be Prince Charming. SNL UK is certainly emerging as a beloved sketch comedy show, if not the sketch comedy show to watch. Despite the unsteady viewership numbers for the series, the growing narrative among fans is that SNL’s British counterpart, which is far more unabashed in many ways than its stateside predecessor, is mopping the floor with the original, which has struggled to maintain its stronghold on American culture. Not only has Erivo’s episode proved conducive to social media virality, but other snippets of recent SNL UK episodes have also earned nods of approval from Americans, particularly for how the Brits have spoken on American-related issues. Specifically, SNL UK’s “Weekend Update” segment has earned the respect of Yanks, who have expressed delight at how the U.K. version has brazenly covered issues like Ed Sheeran’s fence-sitting stance on Palestine and Shane Gillis’ misogynistic SNL opening monologue. It is far too early to tell if SNL UK will become the dominant version of the format, eventually eclipsing its American counterpart, though it certainly seems like Sky, the British broadcaster for the series, is committed to seeing the venture through for “the long run.” Still, the growing buzz for SNL UK should put NBC and Lorne Michaels on notice: Whether SNL UK is capturing the hearts of the British might still be a question, but it certainly seems to be capturing the hearts of Americans. Africa Comedy SNL TV United Kingdom Wicked