Kenan Thompson may be bidding adieu to “Saturday Night Live” and New York City at the end of this season.
Thompson, who started on the show in 2003, had planned to leave last season, but showrunner Lorne Michaels asked his stalwart performer to hang around one more year, TMZ reported.
The decision might not be set in stone quite yet though, according to Entertainment Weekly. An NBC spokesperson claims the TMZ report is "inaccurate as the season hasn't even started and cast decisions aren't made until the end of the season."
The NBC sketch comedy show has suffered through some massive cast turnovers in the last couple of years, and has recently cut four feature players just this summer.
The former Nickelodeon star is the senior cast member on the series, and will finish with 12 years under his belt. His record only ranks behind Darrell Hammond (14), Seth Meyers (13) and Al Franken (tied with 12). He’s also the long-running African-American cast-member in the show’s 40-year history. He surpassed Tim Meadows' record of 10 years last season.
His most memorable characters have included Jimmy "the rent is too d*** high" McMillan, "What's Up With That" host DeAndre Cole, Al Sharpton and Charles Barkley. He also played many of the African-American female characters after Maya Rudolph left in 2007.
Thompson is in talks for a new show, and plans to move his wife and new baby girl to Los Angeles after he leaves “SNL” next May, according to TMZ.
He became the first “SNL” cast member born after the show’s 1975 premiere (May 10, 1978). Thompson was also the first cast member to appear on a children’s comedy show (Nickelodeon’s “All That”). His comedy partner, Kel Mitchell, also auditioned for “SNL,” but wasn’t hired. The two co-starred on “All That,” “Kenan & Kel” and the movie “Good Burger.”
“Saturday Night Live” has made a few notable changes this season. Writer Michael Che will replace Cecily Strong at the Weekend Update desk. He and co-anchor Colin Jost will become Update’s all-male duo. Che is also the first African-American to anchor the news segment.
Pete Davidson, a 20-year-old comedian, will join the cast as a feature player. The show cut four of last season’s new feature players, although Mike O’Brien will stay on as a writer.
Hammond will return to the program as the show's new announcer. Don Pardo, who served as announcer since the beginning of "SNL," died in August at age 96. The former cast member had subbed in for Pardo once before in 1999 when the long-time NBC employer developed a case of laryngitis.
Host Chris Pratt will kick off the historic season 40 with musical guest Ariana Grande on Sept. 27. “SNL” has also lined up Sarah Silverman, Jim Carrey and former cast member, Bill Hader, to host this fall.
