Kenan Thompson has made it clear—he’s not planning to leave Saturday Night Live anytime soon. The 46-year-old comedian, who has been with NBC’s late-night sketch comedy series for an unprecedented 22 seasons, recently reflected on his record-breaking tenure.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly on April 4 ,2025, Thompson said,
“It would be cool if I never left the show. That’d be crazy,”
When asked about the possibility of staying on Saturday Night Live indefinitely. Thompson joined the Saturday Night Live cast in 2003 at the age of 25.
Since then, he has become the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history, surpassing the previous record held by Darrell Hammond, who was on the show for 14 seasons.
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Thompson said that although reaching 20 seasons had once been his goal, he now views continuing on the show without a definite end in sight as a real possibility. As Saturday Night Live marks its 50th season, Thompson remains a central figure on the show.
Kenan Thompson reflects on his Saturday Night Live journey
In his Entertainment Weekly interview from April 2025, Kenan Thompson discussed how his original milestone target had been 20 seasons. He said,
“Once I started getting into 17, I was like, well, if I can, I would love to stick around till 20. And now here we are at 22, so I don't know.”
He added that reaching 30 seasons would be “just another number,” but becoming a “forever cast member” is something he would be open to. Thompson emphasized that he has never stopped enjoying the work.
He referred to Saturday Night Live as “hands down” the best job on television in an earlier interview with People.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind place. It’s the people in front and behind that embrace it and need it. So when they call me, what, am I not supposed to oblige the greatest job in the world? So it’s just out of love,” he said.
Thompson’s role on the show has earned him significant acclaim. He has received five Emmy nominations for his work on the show, including one for the 2018 sketch Come Back, Barack.
Despite his long-standing success, Thompson admitted that his early days on the show were not easy. In the People interview, he recalled feeling out of place at first due to his lack of experience with stand-up comedy.
“It was very surreal and very stressful because I had to do stand-up without being a stand-up,” he said. “And luckily I made it into a situation where what I really do is good for the show, which is act.”
Thompson’s perspective on his career at Saturday Night Live has evolved with time. In his April 2025 Entertainment Weekly interview, he stated,
“I guess the only other milestone would be just to be the forever cast member… Just never leave the show.”
He explained that hitting the 20-season milestone once felt out of reach, as no cast member had ever lasted that long. While others had made it into their teens, he pointed out that no one had managed to reach 20 until now.
Thompson continues to appear in sketches regularly and is often featured prominently in anniversary specials and celebrations of the program’s legacy.
The comedian expressed that both he and show creator Lorne Michaels might just "ride until the wheels fall off."
Saturday Night Live airs every Saturday at 11:30 pm EST on NBC and Peacock.
