So, what does Kenan Thompson do next? He’s getting his own NBC comedy series, and one that evidently won’t require him to part ways with “SNL.”
NBC said Friday that it had given a series order to “The Kenan Show,” a new family comedy series that will make its debut next season. In a news release, NBC said the show will focus on Thompson’s character as he “strives to be a super dad to his two adorable girls while simultaneously balancing his job and a father-in-law who ‘helps’ in the most inappropriate ways.” The cast also includes the siblings Dani and Dannah Lockett as his daughters and Andy Garcia (of the “Ocean’s Eleven” films) as the father-in-law.
Lorne Michaels, the creator and longtime executive producer of “SNL,” will serve as an executive producer of “The Kenan Show,” as will Chris Rock (an “SNL” alumnus), who will also be a director on the series.
NBC declined to comment beyond its initial announcement but a person familiar with planning at “Saturday Night Live” said that Thompson is returning to that show as a full cast member.
Such an arrangement is not entirely without precedent: Aidy Bryant, another member of the current cast, will continue to star in her Hulu series, “Shrill,” and Fred Armisen (who left “SNL” in 2013) balanced his time there with his work on his IFC sketch series, “Portlandia.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.