Kenan Thompson is a national treasure to the sketch comedy genre. After spending five seasons as a cast member on Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy show All That, four seasons co-headlining his own Nickelodeon show Kenan and Kel, and graduating to the comedy big leagues, Saturday Night Live, Thompson may finally be leaving for his own series.
Thompson, who is currently holds the title as the longest Saturday Night Live cast member in the shows 44 seasons, may be leaving the late-night sketch show after 16 seasons.
NBC has ordered single-camera comedy Saving Kenan to pilot. This family comedy revolving around Thompson who is newly widowed and is devoted to be everything for his children, but also needs to deal with his persistent father-in-law in the process. Even though the pilot process is not guaranteed a pick up to series, NBC has a long track record in giving SNL alums their own time to shine in primetime and late-night. SNL Executive Producer Lorne Micheals is set to Executive Produce Saving Kenan, along with Thompson.
If the pilot couldn’t sound more of a slam dunk, Chris Rock (another SNL alum) is set to direct the pilot and Executive Produce the series. Rock has directed episodes of Everybody Hates Chris, which was based of his own life. Rock has also directed Amy Schumer’s comedy special Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo, and produced late-night entries Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell on FX and The Rundown with Robin Thede for BET.
TV Talk With JWalk 