Front Row Saturday Night Live arrives in the UK
Mar 23, 2026
Phil Dunster, actor from Ted Lasso, talks about his new comedy Rooster and working on US TV. Dr Clive Chijioke Nwonka, BFI film curator, curates a season on boxing films and explores why the sport suits cinema. Natalie Jamieson, culture journalist, reviews and gives a verdict on the UK launch of Saturday Night Live. They also discuss casting, comedic rhythm, and boxing on screen.
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SNL Casting Still Aims To Create Future Stars
- Lorne Michaels' model favors early-career performers to create breakout stars rather than relying on household names.
- Natalie highlights Sean [Hammered] as a standout, showing the format still surfaces emerging comic talent.
Liveness Creates Shareable Moments More Than TV Ratings
- Live broadcast preserves an unpredictable alchemy that pre-recording can lose and fuels communal social-media moments.
- Natalie cites Tina Fey's monologue racking 1.8 million YouTube views as proof social reach now outweighs linear ratings.
Boxing Films Condense Inner Conflict Into Two Figures
- Boxing films work because the sport is an intensely personal duel that naturally dramatises inner struggle and character arcs.
- Clive Chijioke Nwonka argues two people in a ring produce strong visual, sonic, and tactile cinematic language.