Kenan Thompson might be ready for primetime. The Hollywood Reporter has word that the veteran Saturday Night Live performer, who’s been with the long-running sketch comedy series since 2003, could be eyeing an exit. It was previously reported that Thompson was in talks for the primetime series Saving Larry, which has received a sizeable production slate, but has not yet been ordered to series by the home of the peacock. If it does, it could mean Thompson would have to exit SNL after 15 seasons.
Thompson, who will star in Saving Larry’s titular role and executive produce alongside SNL vet Lorne Michaels and 30 Rock‘s Andrew Singer, plays a father who is forced to be both a mother and father to his kids after the death of his wife, all while having his father-in-law hovering over him and judging his parenting.
Universal Television and Michaels’ Broadway Video are set to produce the series which, if given a full season pickup, more than likely means the exit of Thompson from the four-decades old NBC sketch series, ending an impressive 15-year run that has seen him work with other performers who have ballooned into stars, including Kristen Wiig (Wonder Woman 1984), Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth), Bill Hader (Barry), Jason Sudeikis (Horrible Bosses) and Fred Armisen (Portlandia).
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Thompson just won an Emmy this year alongside SNL co-star Chris Redd and series writers Will Stephen and Eli Brueggemann for original music and lyrics for their song “Come Back Barack,” and he can be seen in the upcoming Illumination adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss story, The Grinch, which hits theaters on Nov. 9.
