Kenan Thompson may never leave SNL

[TMC]

https://deadline.com/2025/04/kenan-t...re-1236359838/

Kenan Thompson has starred on Saturday Night Live for 22 seasons and he doesn't seem to be leaving anytime soon.

[TMC]

How has Kenan Thompson survived for so long on Saturday Night Live when so many actors have not able to get through a fraction of years on SNL as him?

Q: How has Kenan Thompson survived for so long on Saturday Night Live when so many actors have not able to get through a fraction of years on SNL as him?

“Survived?”

Kenan Thompson’s career has stalled at Saturday Night Live and either he likes things that way. Or his management is and has been quite terrible and it’s been unable to find him the myriad television opportunities and film roles he should have been undertaking decades ago. Perhaps it’s some measure of both.

Let’s review:

1. SNL has a documented history of not retaining Black performers, good or not - Along with Tim Meadows, Thompson remained on the series for years, despite not being referred to as its “star”, and despite not earning seven to eight figure salary that a sitcom leading role or a feature film career might have earned him. SNL enjoys having him on there as it mitigates (at least in Lorne Michaels, the showrunner and creator’s) mind the allegations of discrimination.
   
2. Thompson is a good performer, but not a great one - He was never going to be compared to Eddie Murphy, he doesn’t seem to have the ability to write sketches, and he apparently isn’t viewed as being a “threat” to any of the other performers who are using the series as a stepladder to better things. He’s similar to those people who the local news cover who remain on jobs for an inordinate amount of time and are viewed as being “exceptional” rather than mediocre.
   
3. He’s not traditionally handsome - He’s not very tall, he’s not muscular, and his looks are not “chiseled”. While he’s good in sketches where he’s a “friend” or slightly a “nebbish”, he wouldn’t be as believable if the bit (or an expanded role) called for a romantic character. Rather than changing that, Thompson seems to be steering into the skid, and remaining how he’s always been.
   
4. It’s a “safe” job - Thompson tried his hand at his own series (the 2021–2023 sitcom Kenan) and the public roundly rejected him, as it was cancelled due to low ratings. If the series (which, in my opinion, was quite bland) had succeeded, then it’s probable that he would have left SNL and concentrated upon it. It wasn’t, and Thompson retained a place to “land” when it did fail.
   
5. It may be one of the few stable things in his life - Thompson was the victim of embezzlement when his accountant stole nearly $2 million USD from which represented his entire savings from his childhood acting career. Thompson was in a relationship and then married to a former model for more than fifteen years and that relationship ended in divorce. In what was a move of questionable taste and discretion his ex-wife (with whom he has two children) began dating one of his former co-workers on the series and apparently their relationship is still ongoing. SNL and the security its represents may be one of the few things in Thompson’s can depend upon and that’s why he’s remained there for more than two decades.

Kenan Thompson found a “niche” and that’s apparently where he’s content to remain.