There’s plenty of Kenan Thompson comedy to go around at NBC, as the network has put in a series order for a new comedy series starring theSaturday Night Livestar. Previously calledSaving Kenan,The Kenan Showwill be written by Jackie Clarke with Chris Rock directing and executive producing. Of course, Thompson will star on the show, playing a man who “strives to be a super dad to his two adorable girls (Dani Lockett and Dannah Lockett) while simultaneously balancing his job and a father-in-law (Andy Garcia) who ‘helps’ in the most inappropriate ways.” Punam Patel will also star. From Universal TV and Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video, Thompson will be executive producing the series as well.
What might immediately concern fans of Thompson’s is how this will affect his tenure onSaturday Night Live, where he’s been performing regularly since 2003. This makes him the longest tenured cast member in the long running show’s history, managing to snag a Primetime Emmy Award in the process for his work on the show. Specializing in impressions, Thompson also holds the show record for performing the most impressions on the series, far surpassing Darrell Hammond’s previous record of 107. Needless to say,SNLwould not be the same without Thompson’s presence. Fortunately, Thompson says he has no plans to departSNLeven with the new workload, so it’s good for fans to know the actor plans on sticking around for now.
NBC’s order ofThe Kenan Showmarks the third TV series on the network withKenan Thompsondirectly involved. He has also been hard at work filming the comedy competition seriesBring the Funny, which will see him appear as a judge along with Chrissy Teigen and Jeff Foxworthy. The show will feature various comedy acts competing for a chance to win $250,000. If all of this time spent at NBC wasn’t enough, Thompson will also have his hands full working as a producer for Nickelodeon’s upcoming revival of the kid’s sketch comedy seriesAll That. As this will all require a brutal work schedule on Thompson’s part, it doesn’t seem likely he’ll be able to keep it up forever, and he may eventually have to make a choice.
Thompson is known mostly for his work on television, but he is planning to make a return to the big screen with an upcoming sequel to the Nickelodeon movieGood Burger. Co-starring withKenan and Kelcollaborator Kel Mitchell, the movie has maintained a cult following for over two decades. Previously, Thompson starred in movies likeFat AlbertandSnakes on a Planeas well, and has done voice acting more recently in such titles asThe GrinchandWonder Park. He will also be voicing himself on the upcoming animated seriesScooby-Doo and Guess Who?.
This is the second original comedy series to recently get a series order from NBC, joining the Kal Penn’sSunnyside. When it comes to sitcoms, it always hard to predict exactly just how successful they will be, regardless of who’s starring. For Thompson’s sake, hopefully the show turns out to be a hit. This information comes to us fromDeadline.
