Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell Reunite for Dramatic ‘Kenan & Kel’ Sketch on ‘SNL’ (VIDEO)
Kenan & Kel left the Nickelodeon lineup back in 2000, but the sitcom got a reboot of sorts in a sketch on the Saturday, December 3 episode of Saturday Night Live. Better yet, the sketch had Kenan & Kel star Kel Mitchell reuniting with former costar Kenan Thompson, who’s been an SNL star since 2003.
As the sketch starts, Keke Palmer, Saturday’s SNL host, finds Thompson in the SNL break room and tells him she has an idea for a project.
“Absolutely,” Thompson responds. “Anything with Keke Palmer’s name on it, I’m there, no questions asked.”
That project, however, turns out to be a Kenan & Kel reboot called Kenan & Kelly. And Palmer has unusual ideas for the new show, as Thompson comes to find out.
“Kel’s favorite catchphrase was ‘Aw, here it goes,’” he tells viewers in a mock behind-the-scenes interview. “Keke decided to say, ‘Uh-oh, here comes the bus.’ But there wasn’t no bus!”
Palmer also adds a pregnancy twist into the show, with her character, Kelly, surprising Kenan at the Rigby’s convenience store where they work with the news that she’s having his baby (by flashing a baby bump that, it turns out, wasn’t a prosthetic).
“Keke was gunning for an Emmy Award,” Thompson explains behind the scenes. “So she wanted gritty, dramatic moments in [the reboot].”
Meanwhile, SNL cast member Devon Walker tells Thompson he could play the reboot’s new Kel. But Thompson says they already have it covered. Enter Kel Mitchell, who walks onto the Rigby’s set in character as Kel and reunites with Kel’s beloved orange soda.
But true to the reboot’s dramatic bent, Kel is gunned down in a robbery moments later.
“Oh, don’t die on me, Kel,” Kelly says, cradling a dying Kel. “My baby needs his father! You heard that right, Kenan. Kel’s the father. I slept with him just to hurt you. Why do I hurt the ones I love the most?”
And yes, between sobs, Kelly delivers her catchphrase: “Uh-oh, here comes the bus!”
Saturday Night Live, Saturdays, 11:30/10:30c, NBC
