Description: The October 24, 2026 parody swaps Cynthia Erivo's Wicked role, changes Oz to LagOz and makes the Wizard broke. Here are the Nigerian references and song puns.
Cynthia Erivo, the films' Elphaba, plays Glinda in pink, while Oz becomes “LagOz,” a combination of Lagos and Oz. The lavish musical is retold as a deliberately rough, melodramatic Nigerian home-video trailer. The supposedly all-powerful Wizard cannot even afford a genuine watch.
Episode and cast
Saturday Night Live UK aired on Sky One on Saturday, October 24, at 10 p.m. British Summer Time. Erivo hosted and played Glinda in a blonde wig and pink tracksuit. Ayoade Bamgboye played Elphaba, Hammed Animashaun the Wizard and Blossoms were the musical guests. Bamgboye wrote the sketch; Will Farrell directed it, a different name from US actor Will Ferrell. The official clip is online. This account relies on programme information and reporting rather than claiming to have watched the full broadcast.
In the movies Erivo plays Elphaba and Ariana Grande plays Glinda. The switch itself is the first joke.
LagOz and the flag colours
LagOz combines Lagos, a Nigerian city, with Oz. The Emerald City becomes “Emerald, White and Emerald City,” echoing Nigeria's green-white-green flag. Nollywood is the common name for Nigeria's film industry. The sketch imitates the intense acting, abrupt editing and simple image quality of some 1990s and early-2000s home-video films, not every Nigerian movie today.
The Birkin, BBL and Nolex jokes
The witches' musical rivalry becomes a sudden slap from Glinda. Instead of a magical transformation, Elphaba worries about paying. Glinda asks the Wizard for a Birkin handbag; Elphaba requests a “skinny BBL,” a cosmetic body-contouring procedure, that “defies gravity.” This twists the title of Elphaba's signature song, “Defying Gravity.”
But the Wizard is broke and his supposed Rolex is a “Nolex.” Repeated almost-kisses end with a giant explosion and the title “Nigerian Wicked: LGBTQ!” This nods to fans imagining the witches as lovers; it does not rewrite the films' official story.
Why now?
On October 26 UK comedy outlet Chortle reported around 1.7 million YouTube views, 1.6 million Instagram views and 1.4 million TikTok views. Those are platform plays, not unique viewers. Fan comments noticed a camera reflected in a mirror, beaded curtains and an argument about an egg. NME reported the writer's surprise at the response. This demonstrates specific online circulation, not identical popularity worldwide.
Bottom line
The green witch turns pink, Oz moves to Lagos and the Wizard's luxury watch is fake. The comedy replaces every epic Wicked moment with an absurdly ordinary shopping problem.
