Kenan Thompson Opens Up About ‘SNL’ Future
There’s been a whole slew of speculations since the news broke that Kenan Thompson is planning his SNL exit. So with that, Thompson stopped by the Today Show to talk about those rumors.
Currently Thompson is the longest standing cast member out of the current cast members, but that doesn’t mean he’s looking to leave the sketch comedy show. Although he’s been around for eleven years, Kenan doesn’t plan to go anywhere — we think.
Thompson was kind of vague about the whole thing, telling Hoda, “You don’t have to worry about stuff like that. We need to worry about the premiere Saturday. It’s the 40th anniversary! That’s what we need to focus on.”
Even though Kenan wasn’t going to give a yes or no answer, Thompson did stick around for an impromptu impersonation of weather man Al Roker — glasses and all.
Earlier The Inquisitr reported that Thompson wasn’t going anywhere, but now we aren’t sure. A rep from SNL said of the rumors, “the season hasn’t even started and cast decisions aren’t made until the end of the season.”
Originally TMZ reported Kenan really wanted to leave SNL this year, but executive producer Lorne Michaels was able to convince him to stick around for now. It was the major cast overhaul that gave Lorne leverage with Thompson when he pleaded him to at least stick around for one more season.
Thompson originally joined the sketch comedy in 2003, but it felt like familiar ground. As a child, he was a regular cast member on the hit Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That, which was modeled after SNL. If there was ever a person groomed for SNL, it was Thompson.
The comedian and actor has been very successful on the show, standing out as a solid impersonator, which SNL can never get enough of. His most popular impersonations are Steve Harvey, LL Cool J, Raven Symone, and Charles Barkley.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, the cast has gone through yet another shake up. Weekend Update’s Cecily Strong is out behind the desk and will be used in regular sketches, while last season’s featured players Brooks Wheelan, Noel Wells, and John Milhiser were let go after their first season. Nasim Pedrad left on her own accord after scoring her own comedy series.
As for new additions, Michael Che and Pete Davidson are both joining the new season as featured players.
Saturday Night Live’s new season kicks off with host Chris Pratt this Saturday.
[Image via NBC]
