Kenan Thompson is famous for impersonating Steve Harvey on Saturday Night Live, but the actor is branching out to star in his own comedy series, which is aptly titled Kenan. The pilot was originally picked up to series by NBC in 2019 before being revamped and pushed to the 2020-2021 season. Now, Kenan is adding another SNL star to the cast, along with two more familiar faces to TV fans.
Saturday Night Live’s Chris Redd, Watchmen alum Don Johnson, and Single Parents star Kimrie Lewis have all been cast in Kenan Thompson’s upcoming series. Per Deadline, Johnson will play Rick, Kenan’s father-in-law. Previously, Andy Garcia had been cast in the role and the character’s name was Percy. Meanwhile, Redd will play Kenan’s brother, manager, and house guest Gary.
What’s more, Kimrie Lewis has been cast in the role of Mika. Like Don Johnson, Lewis is also replacing another actor from the original pilot. The character of Mika was previously named Erica and she was going to be played by Punam Patel before NBC reworked the show. Kenan Thompson and the actresses playing his daughters — social media stars Dani Lockett and Dannah Lockett — are the only characters transitioning over from the show’s original pilot.
Kenan will follow the story of a newly widowed morning show host who’s struggling “to balance his job and his young daughters.” The series is set in Atlanta. For those worried that Kenan Thompson’s new show will impact his and Chris Redd’s duties on SNL, fear not because the comedians are set to remain on the NBC sketch show.
In fact, SNL showrunner Lorne Michaels is one of the executive producers on Kenan. The new sitcom will be spearheaded by Happy Endings creator David Caspe, who will serve as series showrunner. He co-wrote the revamped pilot alongside original pilot scribe Jackie Clarke.
It’s unclear how Kimrie Lewis’ Mika will factor into the show, but I can only surmise that she might be playing the #1 morning show host in Atlanta and Kenan’s competitor (he’s listed as the #2 morning show host in the synopsis). Whatever the case may be, I’m looking forward to finding out what their dynamic will look like when the show premieres. Either way, the cast for Kenan is shaping up quite nicely and things are looking up.
As of right now, NBC has not yet scheduled a premiere date for the show, but viewers should expect it to debut during midseason next year, alongside fan favorite series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and Dwayne Johnson’s new show, Young Rock.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for updates. For more on what to watch in the meantime, be sure to check out our complete 2020 fall TV premiere schedule.
