Kenan

Kenan Thompson holds the distinction of being the longest-tenured cast member ever on Saturday Night Live — 18 years! He became the most senior cast member in the second half of the 2013–14 season and is also the longest-serving African-American cast member, surpassing Tim Meadows, who stayed for 10 seasons. Thompson also holds the record for performing the most celebrity impressions on the show (139)! In 2014, SNL head writer Brian H. Tucker noted that simply putting “Kenan Reacts” would get a script more laughs. “Put him in your sketch somewhere, anywhere, and it will be better,” said Tucker, “because Kenan knows how to take ordinary lines and make them funny and take funny lines and make them special.” Thompson now has his own show on NBC, appropriately entitled Kenan. The single-camera comedy follows a widowed dad (Kenan) who’s juggling a high-profile job as the host of an Atlanta morning show and raising his two girls. As he tries to reclaim his life after his wife’s death, his father-in-law (Don Johnson), brother (Chris Redd), and co-workers all have strong opinions on the best way for him to live his life. Kenan premiered to strong ratings, becoming the No. 2 new series debut for the 2020–21 season with four million viewers. Its lead-in, Young Rock, is No. 1. Said Thompson, “How can you lose, piggybacking with The Rock? That guy can carry anybody.” 

Both airing on NBC, click here.