NBC orders Kenan Thompson comedy … but he’s not leaving SNL
Despite claims from earlier this year that Kenan may have to leave his position as the longest-tenured person on the late-night sketch show (he’s also the longest-tenured cast member ever), Deadline reports that he has no intention to do. There’s a good chance that he will find a creative way to accommodate his busy schedule, whether it be premiering this new show at midseason so he can tape during SNL hiatuses, or the series itself could shift production to New York rather than Los Angeles. The latter seems like the smartest overall move, since that way, there’s less when it comes to cross-country travel for him and he can have a schedule that’s a little bit more stable.
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In The Kenan Show, Thompson is going to play a father who is trying to be the best he can be for his two daughters, while also trying to tackle his career and also a meddlesome father-in-law (Andy Garcia). It’s not the most refreshing premise in the world, but there are some serious comedy chops here clearly in front of the camera with Thompson and Garcia on board. SNL creator Lorne Michaels is involved behind-the-scenes as an executive producer, as is comedian Chris Rock. This is the sort of comedy dream-team that suggests that this show can be successful.
Kenan’s decision to stay at SNL echoes what he said in a recent interview on Ellen, noting that he feels like he has the best job in the world and has no interest in saying goodbye to it. Remember that Kenan’s schedule is also made even busier by his participation in the NBC competition show Bring the Funny, which is going to be coming up a little bit later this summer. He’s obviously had a lot going on, but he can figure out the various odds and ends of it later.
For now, it’s obviously easy to be happy for Kenan and all of his success — also, remember that there are still TWO new episodes of SNL this month, including one this weekend hosted by none other than Emma Thompson. If you haven’t seen the very-funny preview for that just yet, you can do so by visiting the link here right now.
What do you think about Kenan sticking around at SNL? Be sure to share right now in the comments, and stay tuned for some other news. (Photo: NBC.)