Kenan Thompson has been providing comedic relief since the 90s and his reign isn’t over yet. The Saturday Night Live star has been tapped as the leading role and is joined by SNL co-star, Chris Redd, in NBC’s new sitcom, Kenan.
Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
The single-camera comedy is set to premiere on Feb. 16 and follows a recently widowed Kenan as he struggles to balance his career and fatherhood to his two daughters, Aubrey (Dani Lane) and Birdie (Dannah Lane). He accepts help from his father-in-law Rick (Don Johnson). Rick is taking a second shot at being a dad since he missed out on a lot of his daughter’s childhood as a gallivanting sax player.
A number of changes have been made since NBC ordered a pilot of the sitcom in 2018. The show was initially set to be directed by Chris Rock and star Andy Garcia instead of Don Johnson. Additionally, there have been several variations of the title ranging from Saving Larry to The Kenan Show.
Although both Thompson and Redd are branching out into the sitcom side of television, fans can still expect to see them on their screens Saturday nights.
“I haven’t decided to leave,” Redd said during a virtual panel discussion on Tuesday. “I’m just having fun being able to create with one of my best friends and also be able to still go and and do sketch. I love sketch. I don’t want to see it as an exit strategy; I just see it as it another way to create.”
As for the 42-year-old comedian, he realized that moving between multiple projects simultaneously is part of the new culture of the entertainment industry.
“There used to be a time when people would leave the show and go into their careers but I think you can do both as long as you can,” he said.
Watch the trailer below:
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