While the show’s weekly budget still falls far short of its Stateside counterpart’s rumoured $4 million (£3 million) per episode, it’s a figure that is almost unheard of for a topical sketch show in the U.K., even one running to 75-minutes.

Insiders tell Variety that a typical British sketch show usually costs around £300-500,000 per episode, less than a quarter of “SNL U.K.’s” budget.

They pointed out it’s one of the reasons the sketch show format has become something of a dying art in the U.K. “They’re expensive, which is why no one does them anymore,” says one entertainment veteran. “Topical shows also have no repeatability, unlike dramas.”