There’s no two ways about it: Kenan Thompson is a Saturday Night Live legend. Since starting his career as a child star with Nickelodeon’s All That and Kenan And Kel, he has been a stalwart on the iconic NBC sketch show, having long ago broken Darrell Hammond’s record for most years as part of the cast. That being said, all good things must eventually come to an end, and while Thompson doesn’t know when that will be, he already knows that it’s going to be extremely painful.
While speaking with People about his new children’s book Unfunny Bunny (which he was recently filmed giving away to fans on the SNL standby line), the comedian was asked if he has given thought to what the day will look like when he is ready to walk away from the show that has made him a household name, and he didn’t play aloof when discussing the subject. He knows that it’s going to get emotional, and it’s not even going to be about whatever ends up being his final sketch. Said Thompson,
I definitely do. It's, it’s gonna suck. There's just so many layers to it. It's not just the on-screen that you see in that one, you know, camera shot. It's so many people behind the scenes and years and years and years with each one of those people. So it's gonna be a lot.
Thompson first joined the show as a featured player in 2003, and he has been a member of the repertory cast since 2005. In that time, there has been substantial turnover and many comedians have come and gone, but I’m certain there are plenty of people behind the scenes who have been working on SNL just as long as he has, and one can only imagine how hard it’s going to be for him to say goodbye when the time comes.
There were surely be a lot of hugs and tears on Kenan Thompson’s final night… but he has an idea of how to perhaps circumvent all of the emotions: pull a classic French leave. He jokingly added in the interview,
I might have to just rip the bandaid and run out the back door and not say nothing to nobody and just write letters.
For what it’s worth, that wouldn’t be the worst idea. I’m sure that anyone who received one of those letters would absolutely treasure it.
For now, it doesn’t look like Kenan Thompson is going anywhere, and audiences will be able to see him back on screen tonight as the latest episode of Saturday Night Live will air tonight on to NBC at 11:30 pm ET/8:30 PT – with Alexander Skarsård hosting and Cardi B performing as the musical guest.
