Keenan Thompson Eyes ‘SNL’ Exit for His Own Comedy Show at NBC

Keenan Thompson may be eyeing an SNL exit in order to appear in his own comedy show for NBC.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Thompson is set to star in Saving Larry, which is about a man who is left to raise his kids alone while his father-in-law looms over him after his wife dies.

The show reportedly has a significant production budget, but still has to shoot a pilot and then get picked up to series. At this point, it likely would not be until spring 2019 before a decision was made.

Thompson is currently SNL‘s longest running cast member, so if he does make the leap he’ll be ending a 16 season run on the show. He is currently the only remaining cast member to have been hired in the early 2000s.

If he made the leap, Thompson would not be entirely without his SNL family, however, as creator/producer Lorne Michaels is set to produce Saving Larry as well.

This also would not be Thompson’s first time starring in a sitcom as he famously starred in the beloved Nickelodeon show Kenan & Kel from 1996 until 2001. He joined SNL just a few years later.

Speaking to THR in June, Thompson spoke candidly about the possibility of leaving the show and admitted he was not fond of thinking about it.

“I think about leaving and I fear it. This is such a special place, you want to do your part here, but you also want to make room for people that are coming behind you,” he said.

“This was the first year I really started feeling like, ‘OK, I could push out of it now.’ Chris Redd is super-duper strong, and I really look forward to his potential on the show. That was the first time I thought, ‘Maybe I should give this dude more room.’ If that’s the case, then it might be time to move on,” Thompson added.

It should be noted, however, that Thompson has developed other sitcoms in the past, but they have all either not been picked up for pilot or order to series.

While Thompson is not quite exiting the show just yet, one featured player cast member is. Luke Null, who arrived to the show last season with Heidi Gardner and the aforementioned Chris Redd, was previously announced as not returning to the show ahead of its new season.

Saturday Night Live season 44 will premiere on Sept. 29 at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.