Kenan Thompson's Best Saturday Night Live Sketches
10 of Kenan Thompson's Funniest "Saturday Night Live" Sketches
As "Saturday Night Live"'s longest-running cast member, Kenan Thompson has appeared in countless sketches during his tenure. Originally joining the comedy series in 2003, Thompson will appear in his landmark 20th season in 2022.
Thompson, who is hosting the 2022 Emmys on Sept. 12, has proved to be an extremely versatile member of the "SNL" cast, playing everyone from overenthusiastic talk show hosts to real-life figures like Steve Harvey. Though a number of his costars, including Pete Davidson and Kate McKinnon, announced their departure after the 2021 season, Thompson has never indicated his plans to leave — though he did say that it might be a good idea for the show, itself, to end after season 50, as that's when creator and producer Lorne Michaels's current contract ends.
As for why he hasn't yet walked away from the series, Thompson told Deadline in 2021, "It's a wild place! That's why I am never in a rush to leave because I have never seen anything like it and number two, there aren't many live shows left. It never gets old because it's sketch comedy and it changes every week."
Thompson has had a varied career outside of "SNL." He got his start on Nickelodeon's sketch comedy show "All That" in 1994, and starred with frequent collaborator Kel Mitchell on "Kenan & Kel" from 1996 to 2000. He started appearing on "SNL" in 2003, becoming the show's first cast member born after 1975 at the time. In 2021, he also led NBC's sitcom "Kenan," which ran for two seasons before being cancelled. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2022.
Ahead, check out some of Thompson's funniest and most iconic "SNL" sketches over the years.
