Saturday Night Live Korea

Season one

Written and directed by filmmaker and playwright Jang Jin, the show was officially announced on November 24, 2011 at a roundtable press conference in Cheongdam-dong. The original cast was composed of 17 members: Jang Jin, Ahn Young-mi, Lee Han-wi, Jung Woong-in, Kim Bin-woo, Jang Young-nam, Kim Won-hae, Lee Hae-young, Lee Chul-min, Lee Sang-hoon, Park Joon-seo, Kim Ji-young, Kim Ji-kyung, Min Seo-hyun, Han Seo-jin, Go Kyung-pyo, and Kim Seul-gie. The premiere episode on December 3, 2011 was hosted by actor Kim Joo-hyuk.

Then-showrunner and head writer Jang Jin spoke about the difficulties in recruiting guests, saying "When you’re offering a film, you give them a script, ask them how it is and if they say no, say that's good and turn around, but to get people to appear in this show, I had to beg. I even asked them to appear on the show by giving them my next movie script." The first season ran from December 3, 2011 to January 21, 2012 for eight episodes.

Season two

The second season ran from May 26 to July 14, 2012 for eight episodes. The cast members were Jang Jin, Lee Han-wi, Kim Won-hae, Kang Sung-jin, Jang Young-nam, Jung Sung-ho, Kim Min-kyo, Lee Sang-hoon, Jung Myung-ok, Kang Yu-mi, Im Hye-young, Park Sang-woo, Ahn Young-mi, Kwon Hyeok-su, Go Kyung-pyo, and Kim Seul-gie.

Season three

The third season ran from September 8 to November 15, 2012 for seventeen episodes. The cast members were Jang Jin, Shin Dong-yup, Kim Won-hae, Jung Sung-ho, Park Sang-woo, Kim Min-kyo, Jung Myung-ok, Lee Sang-hoon, Oh Cho-hee, Jang Yoon-seo, Son Bo-min, Seo Yu-ri, Han Seo-jin, Kwon Hyeok-su, Go Kyung-pyo, and Kim Seul-gie.

Season four

The fourth season ran from February 2 to November 23, 2013 for 38 episodes.

Jay Park and Park Eun-ji joined as regular cast members (they had both previously hosted in season 3). Meanwhile, Jang Jin, Go Kyung-pyo, and Oh Cho-hee exited the program. The season 4 cast members were Shin Dong-yup, Kim Won-hae, Lee Sang-hoon, Ahn Young-mi, Kim Min-kyo, Kim Seul-gie, Jung Sung-ho, Jung Myung-ok, Kwon Hyeok-su, Park Sang-woo, Seo Yu-ri, Lee Byung-jin, Jin Won, Jay Park, and Park Eun-ji. New cast additions later in the season were Choi Il-gu, Yoo Se-yoon, 2EYES, and Clara. Jin Won exited the show on episode 18, and Kim Seul-gie did the same on episode 24.

Directors Ahn Sang-hee, Baek Seung-ryong, Kim Min, and Yoo Sung-mo are described them as "SNL Korea's F4."

Season five

The fifth season ran on March 1, 2014 to November 29, 2014 for 35 episodes.

Narsha and Seo Eun-kwang (BtoB) joined as regular cast members, while Clara exited the program. Weekend Update was discontinued, and replaced by a mini-talk show hosted by You Hee-yeol.

Season six

The sixth season started on February 14, 2015 and stopped in June 20, 2015 for a temporary hiatus for the airing of The Genius: Grand Final. It resumed on September 19, 2015 and ran until December 19, 2015.

Current cast members

bold denotes Weekend Update anchors

Musical theme of the opening and closing, and between segments, are performed by the band Common Ground (커먼그라운드).

Former cast members

Format and segments

The Korean version follows a similar format as the American version, with a host, cast members and several skits for each episode.

Ratings

The season finale of season two, broadcast on July 14, 2012, was hosted by boy band Super Junior, which was the first non-music program they appeared in as part of the promotion for their sixth studio album Sexy, Free & Single. According to AGB Nielsen Media Research, the episodes achieved a nationwide rating of 1.334%.

Episode 13 of season 3, broadcast on December 1, 2012 and hosted by Jay Park, achieved a nationwide rating of 1.54%, with a peak of 1.85%. It recorded 1.04% ratings in the 20 to 49 age group, as well as 1.96% with a peak of 2.49% for women in their 40s, making it the most-watched program in its time slot for both age groups.

Controversy and hiatus

On an episode that featured the boy band B1A4, SNL Korea released a behind-the-scenes video on their Facebook. The video features an introduction of the band and discussion of their upcoming appearance. As soon as the members are formally introduced, a group of female staff members grab the band member's genitals and run off. The video was taken off of the show's Facebook shortly after along with an apology to the member's of B1A4. However, shortly after the incident, boy bands INFINITE and Block B released video's on their twitters under the hashtag "SNL_성추행" (SNL Sexual Harassment) stating that this behavior was common on the show. A sexual assault case was filed by petition agency, E-People, against comedian Lee Se-Young but the charges were eventually dropped.

SNL Korea was met with heavy criticism after airing a sketch that featured a joke about actress Um Aing-ran's chest. Um had been diagnosed with breast cancer earlier in the year and underwent surgery. Jung Yi Rang, the actress who portrayed Um in the sketch, was unaware of the severity of the condition and issued an apology to Um. Season 8 of the SNL Korea ended on 24 December 2016 with singer Hwang Chi-yeul as the last host. tvN issued a statement saying that the show plans to have another season with the promise of a new image.