Posted in: NBC, Peacock, Sky One, TV | Tagged: snl, SNL UK

SNL Separation Anxiety: Padilla, Black/Macdonald, SNL UK S02 & More!

SNL Separation Anxiety: Ashley Padilla on life at Studio 8H, SNL UK team on Season 2 dream hosts, Jack Black honors Norm Macdonald, and more!

As promised, we're back with 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. SNL's Ashley Padilla discusses life at Studio 8H, SNL UK showrunner James Longman, and cast members Jack Shep, Emma Sidi, and Celeste Dring offer their Season 2 dream hosts, Jack Black explains why Norm Macdonald tops his best monologue list, and more!

Ashley Padilla Finds SNL More Collaborative Than Competitive: During The Hollywood Reporter's Comedy Actresses Roundtable with Keke Palmer, Rachel Sennott, Lisa Kudrow, and Quinta Brunson, Ashley Padilla was asked about how she navigates working on such a competitive show as SNL – but she doesn't quite see it that way. "It's funny, because I do not see the show as competitive. That sounds so silly to people. It almost feels disrespectful to people. I remember someone saying to me, 'There are sharks in the water there.' That was what I was going into. But I see it as a collaborative place to be funny with wonderful friends. And if your thing gets on, that's awesome. If not, you've got to help your teammates and their sketch. You'll try again next week," Padilla shared. "At the Groundlings, you have to write for yourself to get on that stage. So, I had that tool with me going in. I empathize with my peers who maybe came from the stand-up world or don't write sketches [because] they're like, 'I need help!' But I'm having a good time."

SNL UK Showrunner, Cast Share Some Season 2 Dream Hosts: During a conversation with The Ankler about the recently wrapped first season, showrunner James Longman and cast members Jack Shep, Emma Sidi, and Celeste Dring laid out who some of their dream hosts would be for SNL UK Season 2:

Shep: "I love Tilda Swinton. I think that would be so funny. She'd have such a filmic approach to it in a way that I'd find so genuine. What would Tilda's monologue be? It's genuinely unpredictable."

Dring: "I'd say Joanna Lumley, she'd be really fun. And I'd love Stephen Graham; he's a really committed dramatic actor. It's always really cool to play off that and put them in a comedic space. And I have an idea for a sketch for Stephen Fry, so I kind of need him to do it."

Sidi: "I got a bit of SNL jealousy last weekend, seeing Will Ferrell. If he could just come over here, that would be really helpful and really nice."

Longman: "There are lots of comedy legends I would love to have pop in at some stage, like the Michael Palins of this world, and Jennifer Saunders, and Joanna Lumley. We grew up watching Tom Cruise. He's never done it."

In the newest SNL "Cut for Time" sketch, "Making Amends," a son's (Jeremy Culhane) efforts to reconnect with his estranged father (James Austin Johnson) in the hospital get a bit complicated, thanks to the patient in the next bed (Mikey Day):

"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, 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 Jack Black going over what makes the perfect monologue, before explaining why Norm Macdonald's monologue from Season 25 made the cut. Following that, we have a look at Macdonald's monologue from 1999:

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!