Kenan Thompson Addresses His Future at ‘SNL’ Following Big Cast Exits

Saturday Night Live saw some major casting changeups this spring, but longtime star Kenan Thompson is not going anywhere. Thompson is approaching the two-decade anniversary of his time on the show, and he has seen other cast members come and go. With the departures of Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Pete Davidson, Thompson is sticking with SNL.

Thompson hosted a charity event in New York City this weekend where he spoke to reporters from Entertainment Tonight. When asked if he was planning on leaving SNL with his co-stars, Thompson said: “I mean, not that I know of. I know we at least trying to get to the 50th, ’cause that’s gonna be a special year, you know what I mean? And then after that, it’s like, I don’t know exactly how long I can do it.”

‘ONWARD AND UPWARD’: “Saturday Night Live” (@nbcsnl) comedian @KenanThompson discusses the departure of four of his friends from the show this season. pic.twitter.com/rzERailRMw

— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) June 14, 2022

That makes it sound like Thompson is planning to stay on SNL for at least three more seasons, and that after that even he isn’t sure if the show itself will stay on the air. SNL has had an unusually long life for a comedy show – and for a TV show in general. Thompson said that he still feels honored to be included in the legendary series and that there’s no other job like it.

“What keeps me coming back is them asking me to come back,” he said. “If I felt like I was overstaying my welcome, or unwanted, then I would like to show myself the door, but yeah, it’s also a one-of-a-kind place.”

Thompson joined SNL in 2003 during Season Season 29 of the series. He is now the longest-tenured cast member of the show by a long shot with 19 seasons under his belt. For comparison, the next longest-running cast member was Darrell Hammond with 14 seasons. SNL just wrapped up Season 47 and will kick off Season 48 in the fall.

Thompson started his career as a child star on a CNN news show. Before SNL he was best known for his role on Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy show All That followed by his own Nickelodeon sitcom called Kenan & Kel. He and Kel Mitchell also starred in the movie Good Burger – an adaptation and expansion of an All That sketch by the same name.

This should make it no surprise that Thompson gravitates towards SNL, whose format likely inspired All That and the way it was run. Fans can revisit Thompson’s early work now on Paramount+, and stream Saturday Night Live on Peacock. The sketch show returns in the fall with at least one familiar face in the cast.