BAFTA presents Saturday Night Live with Special Award

US comedy series celebrated for discovering, nurturing and promoting generations of talents.

New York, USA, 4 October 2018: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) honoured Saturday Night Live this evening with a Special Award to celebrate its influence on television comedy in the UK and around the world. Attendees included Saturday Night Live cast members Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kenan Thompson, Sir Patrick Stewart and Simon Pegg. Select guests were also chauffeured to the event in Cadillac vehicles.

BAFTA presented the award at a private event, in partnership with Cadillac, to Saturday Night Live’s creator and producer Lorne Michaels.

Sir Patrick Stewart said: "It is my absolute pleasure to present this Special Award, celebrating the exceptional achievements of Saturday Night Live. A series that has discovered, nurtured and celebrated generations of comedy talent. So many British shows have been inspired by you."

Lorne Michaels said: “Thank you so much for this. I'm accepting this award on the behalf of many of the people here. I'm really honoured with this.”

Many tributes have been coming in for the US comedy series on receiving the BAFTA Special Award.

Daniel Radcliffe said: “The cast, writers and crew of Saturday Night Live make it look very easy, but there is an undercurrent of people who mount an entire show from nothing in a week, and that really has an exciting effect when you are watching.”

Tom Hiddleston said: "Saturday Night Live is an iconic show, I am a huge fan, and we all love the show here in the UK, congratulations!”

Tom Davis, actor, writer, and BAFTA Breakthrough Brit 2016, said: "For me, Saturday Night Live has been the biggest inspiration for my whole career. It has brought the best of sketch and satire. It’s the benchmark for everything we do in this industry.”

The event saw past and present cast and crew in attendance at DUMBO House, Soho House’s newest New York outpost located in DUMBO, Brooklyn.

Photographs are available here, and video highlights will also be available on BAFTA’s website and social channels.

As one of BAFTA’s highest honours, the Special Award is presented to celebrate exceptional achievement in film, games or television. Recent recipients of the award include Downton Abbey, the Monty Python team and the Harry Potter film franchise.

Saturday Night Live has had a huge influence on British television, with a whole range of British comedy and entertainment inspired by the Saturday Night Live formula.

It has also showcased the best of British talent to US audiences through guest hosts from Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in the first season to Benedict Cumberbatch and Emily Blunt in 2017.

Broadcasting on NBC since 1975, the show has been a launchpad for a host of comedic talents including Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, John Belushi, Eddie Murphy, Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Mike Myers, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Kate McKinnon, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.

For the last few years, Saturday Night Live’s archive of sketches, including all-new material, has been made available to British audiences online, significantly raising the profile of the show in the UK. The show’s satirical sketches have also brought US politics to a worldwide audience.

For further information and interview requests, please contact:

BAFTA
Jonaid Jilani
T: +44 (0) 20 7292 5863
E: [email protected]

NBCUniversal
Lauren Roseman
T: (212) 664-5236
E: [email protected]

Photographs are available from Shutterstock
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For accreditation, photography, press releases and transcripts visit:
www.bafta.org/media-centre


About BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a world-leading independent arts charity that brings the very best work in film, games and television to public attention and supports the growth of creative talent in the UK and internationally. Through its Awards ceremonies and year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – which includes workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes in the UK, USA and Asia – BAFTA identifies and celebrates excellence, discovers, inspires and nurtures new talent, and enables learning and creative collaboration. For advice and inspiration from the best creative minds in working in film, games and television, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more, visit www.bafta.org.

About Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live (SNL), NBC's Emmy Award-winning late-night comedy showcase, enters its 44th season. The program has won 72 Emmy Awards, the most for any show in television history.  SNL also holds the title for the most nominated television show in Emmy history with 264 nominations.  "SNL" has been honored twice, in 1990 and 2009, with the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and cited as "truly a national institution."  "Saturday Night Live" was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame by the National Association of Broadcasters, and the show continues to garner the highest ratings of any late-night television program, entertaining millions each week. Saturday Night Live, which premiered Oct. 11, 1975, is broadcast live from NBC's famed Studio 8H in New York City's Rockefeller Center. The program is a production of Broadway Video in association with SNL Studios. Lorne Michaels is the executive producer.

About Cadillac

Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. Today Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio featuring distinctive design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com. Cadillac's media website with information, images and video can be found at media.cadillac.com.