*Fresh off his Emmy win, Kenan Thompson might be leaving SNL to star in his own NBC comedy series.
Variety reports the series would be titled “Saving Larry” — “a single-camera comedy in which Thomson would star as a dad who has to be both mother and father to his kids after his wife dies. And he has to do it all with his father-in-law hovering over him.”
Thompson is the longest-serving cast member in “Saturday Night Live” history, having appeared in 15 seasons of the sketch comedy show.
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“Saving Larry” is produced by SNL creator Lorne Michaels. Kenan would also executive produce the series in addition to starring, which means he might exit “Saturday Night Live,” but sources maintain that there have been no official talks about leaving just yet.
As reported by TV Web, NBC orders their pilots in May – which is when we’ll find out if Thompson’s “Saving Larry” gets the green light from the network.
The actor has stated that he would like to stay on “Saturday Night Live” “forever,” and that he “fears” the thought of leaving the series.
“I think about leaving and I fear it,” he told THR’s Awards Chatter podcast in June. “This is such a special place, you want to do your part here, but you also want to make room for people that are coming behind you. This was the first year I really started feeling like, ‘OK, I could push out of it now.’ Chris Redd is super-duper strong, and I really look forward to his potential on the show. That was the first time I thought, ‘Maybe I should give this dude more room.’ If that’s the case, then it might be time to move on.”
Thompson just won a Music and Lyrics Emmy Award for SNL’s “Come Back Barack” song that he co-wrote with Chris Redd, Will Stephen, and Eli Brueggemann.
“Saturday Night Live” Season 44 premieres September 29 with Adam Driver hosting and musical guest Kanye West.
