As I sit at my desk writing this article, it is 75 degrees and sunny in Los Angeles… but I’m fully aware that things are not nearly as comfortable presently in many other regions of the United States. The streets of New York, for example, are covered in ice and snow, and pedestrians have to bury their heads in their jackets to protect from the freezing wind whipping between skyscrapers. In that kind of cold, you welcome anything that helps get you warm… and I suppose that might include watching heartwarming acts by Saturday Night Live stars.
Each week before a new episode of the long-running sketch show, fans line up outside 30 Rockefeller Plaza in the hope that a spot in the audience will open up and they’ll enjoy an in-person Saturday Night Live experience. A seat isn’t guaranteed, and a person might get stuck waiting outside in the cold for absolutely nothing, but I suppose it would be worth it if it meant getting to meet Kenan Thompson and having him give you a copy of his new book:
For those unaware, Kenan Thompson published a children’s picture book called Unfunny Bunny that was published earlier this month – and while I could be cynical and call this self-promotion, I choose to focus instead on him spending time with fans who clearly love him.
Thompson, of course, has earned the credit of being a sketch comedy legend at this point in his career, as he has spent the majority of his life performing in the medium. It was all the way back in 1994 when he was introduced to audiences as one of the original cast members in Nickelodeon’s All That, and there was only a four year gap between him leaving the kid-centric show in 1999 and him joining the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2003 (first starting as a featured player before being promoted to repertory in 2005).
While the list of comedians who have come and gone from the show in the last 23 years is long, he has been a stalwart presence, and he long ago shattered Darrell Hammond’s record of 14 seasons in the cast (though Hammond is still a part of the show behind the scenes, as he became the announcer in 2014 following the passing of the great Don Pardo).
Kenan Thompson has a face that’s always delightful to see, and TV viewers can presently do so weekly, as Saturday Night Live is currently in the midst of its 51st season. The upcoming SNL on January 31 – hosted by Alexander Skarsård and featuring musical performances from Cardi B – should be rather special, as it’s the thousandth to air, so be sure to tune in to NBC at 11:30 pm ET/8:30 PT.