Quick Info
Status: Ended
Network: Channel 4
Type: Scripted
Rating: 6.7/10
Saturday Live
Overview
Saturday Live was a British television comedy and music show broadcast by Channel 4 from 1985 to 1987, and in 1988 as Friday Night Live. Influenced by the American show Saturday Night Live, it was produced by Paul Jackson. The series made stars of Ben Elton, Harry Enfield, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, and featured appearances by Patrick Marber, Morwenna Banks, Chris Barrie, Emo Philips, Craig Ferguson, Craig Charles and many others. The show featured comic duo Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall in their act The Dangerous Brothers. All episodes were transmitted live, although some material was pre-recorded. Recordings of shows were edited into compilation repeats, retitled Saturday Almost Live. The show was succeeded by Friday Night Live, a shorter and slightly more tightly-formatted show with Elton as the permanent host, which ran for a single series in 1988. The show's titles consisted of reforming clay animations, highly comparable to early MTV idents.
This production, originally released in 1986, has captivated audiences with its unique storytelling. As a Scripted series, it brings a fresh perspective to the Comedy genre, maintaining a strong viewer rating of 6.7 across its 3 seasons.
- Storyline Highlights:
- • Explores themes within Comedy.
- • Produced in .
- • Original Language: English.
Directed By
Written By
Starring Cast
Seasons
Specials
27 Episodes • Aired 1985-01-12
No season overview provided for this season.
Series 1
10 Episodes • Aired 1986-01-25
No season overview provided for this season.
Series 2
10 Episodes • Aired 1987-02-07
No season overview provided for this season.
Friday Night Live
10 Episodes • Aired 1988-02-19
The third series, Friday Night Live, renamed to reflect its scheduling move to the titular day, is the last of the programme's original iteration. Shorter and slightly more tightly formatted show, it retained Ben Elton as permanent host.
