Kenan Thompson is heading into his 24th season of Saturday Night Live, which will soon hit the 2026 TV schedule. With that, the beloved star will continue his reign as the longest-tenured SNL cast member. While it’s hard to imagine the series without him at this point, it's likely that the time will come when Thompson decides to step down. And, when that eventually happens, I hope he launches a great next chapter that aligns with a gig he just landed.
It's been confirmed that Thompson will be a guest judge on America’s Got Talent on Tuesday night for the third Quarterfinals episode. As explained by TV Insider, this move is due to Simon Cowell temporarily stepping away from live shows amid AGT Season 21 to recover from a non-emergency back procedure. As it stands, Cowell will be back “in a few weeks,” as his rep shared in a statement. In the meantime, though, I'm excited over the decision to have Thompson step in.
