Cynthia Erivo hosted the latest episode of SNL UK, and instead of stepping back into Elphaba’s shoes, she flipped roles and played Glinda in a fake trailer called“Nigerian Wicked.”The sketch reimagines Wicked as a Nollywood film set in“LagOz,”and the jokes are gloriously specific: the Wizard’s power is really just rumored wealth and a“No-lex”watch, Glinda is after a Birkin, and Elphaba’s dream is a BBL that defies gravity. Slate praised it as the funniest SNL sketch in recent memory, highlighting the low-budget visual gags and Erivo’s full-name credit moment.
The catch for American fans? The episode never aired in the U.S. SNL UK is the American sketch show’s first international spinoff, launching on Sky back in March, and its blunt“Weekend Update”segments have been drawing American viewers online for months. This viral trailer may be the moment the British spinoff fully crosses over.
The episode also closed out SNL UK’s calendar year, with season two returning in January. So if your feed suddenly fills with“LagOz”references this week, you’ll know exactly where it started. What’s the funniest sketch you’ve seen online lately?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.