Media Market Journal » Kenan Thompson

Justin Timberlake ‘SNL’ Teasers Promote ‘Friday Live Pie’

Jeff Rosz — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:07:20 +0000

Justin Timberlake has the honors of following up Kevin Hart this week as Saturday Night Live host. He will be pulling double duty as the actor will be the musical guest as well to promote his new album, Suit & Tie. Kenan Thompson was at JT’s side for the SNL promos which are probably some of the best we have seen all year. Hit the jump for the view and be sure to tune in March 9th for the broadcast. Perhaps Andy Samberg can be convinced to make his second cameo appearance of the season for obvious reasons.

Watch the Justin Bieber ‘SNL’ Promos

Jeff Rosz — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 21:16:48 +0000

Saturday Night Live is all new this weekend with host and musical guest Justin Bieber. The Biebs has cameo’d before on the long-running sketch series, but this will by far be his longest appearance to date. Depending on how things go, the show could be a big deal as SNL paved the way to big screen stardom for musicians in the past including Justin Timberlake. Here are the promos which put Bieber alongside cast member Kenan Thompson.

The episode airs Saturday, February 9 on NBC.

‘SNL’ Takes on the Presidential Inauguration with MLK and ‘Biden Bash’

Jeff Rosz — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 16:06:13 +0000

Last night’s Saturday Night Live kicked things off with a nod to the Presidential Inauguration as expected. Barack Obama was played by Jay Pharoah once more who has been improving his impersonation as the season’s progressed, but there was a pretty major twist on the occasion that kept things interesting: Martin Luther King showed up to dialogue with the Commander and Chief. Kenan Thompson had the honor of playing the Civil Rights icon as he gushed over Beyonce among other things.

Interestingly enough, there was another jab at the event at the very end of last night’s program via a pre-taped bit with Jason Sudeikis as the Vice President promoting his ”Biden Bash” in Dover, Delaware. Hit the jump for the footage.

‘Saturday Night Live’ Parodies ‘The Hunger Games’ & ‘The Hobbit’ with Host Jennifer Lawrence

Jeff Rosz — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 15:35:16 +0000

Last night’s Saturday Night Live came off as an average outing despite Golden Globe-winner Jennifer Lawrence taking the reins of the long-running sketch program. The monologue came off as a bit awkward, and half the bits felt like they were written in 15 minutes. Having said that, this was still the first episode back in a while and those tend to bring the goods in one way or another. Some of the more memorable moments came in the form of a pre-taped Hobbit bit mocking the film’s three-part nature as well as a Hunger Games press conference in which Peeta gets no love. Hit the jump to check those out.

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Taran Killam, Bill Hader, Bobby Moynihan, Jay Pharoah, Kenan Thompson, Cecily Strong, and Tim Robinson

Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Taran Killam, Bobby Moynihan, Jennifer Lawrence, Fred Armisen, Tim Robinson

Lorne Michaels Teams with Kenan Thompson to Develop NBC Comedy

Jeff Rosz — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 18:48:58 +0000

NBC’s go-to producer for new scripted comedy content is at it again with yet another program for an SNL cast member. Lorne Michaels is said to be developing a new single-camera series with Kenan Thompson who has eyes on the starring role. The show would following a man who moves from New York to his in-laws’ suburban house. Hilarity ensues.

Thompson will both write and executive produce the untitled series as well. He has been a cast member of Saturday Night Live since 2003, and a pickup would almost assuredly guarantee that would finally come to an end. So far, the broadcaster only has issued a script commitment which means things could fall through the cracks, making us cautiously optimistic about the show’s future.

This is the second project through Lorne Michaels for this development season. The other is a brothers comedy from Seth and Josh Meyers who are both writing the series. Also untitled, the show has received a script commitment thus increasing the odds that if Up All Night does not successfully shift to the multi-camera format, the man behind Saturday Night Live will not be left without a primetime NBC series following the departure of 30 Rock.

Jeremy Renner Previews ‘Saturday Night Live’ Looks in This Week’s Promos

Jeff Rosz — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 23:50:05 +0000

Jeremy Renner has the monstrous task of following up Louis C.K. and Anne Hathaway as host of Saturday Night Live this weekend. While we are not sure what exactly to expect from Hawkeye, the promos should be a pretty good representation of what audiences are in store for, particular the last spot on the reel. It should be a win though because all Renner has to do is bust out his serious acting chops and put the workload on the ensemble like we typically see.

The Renner-hosted Saturday Night Live airs on November 17th.

‘Saturday Night Live’ Takes on ‘Homeland’ with Anne Hathaway as Carrie

Jeff Rosz — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 15:10:46 +0000

We knew that Saturday Night Live had a fondness for Homeland after their subtle jab at how white people missing the show might have been the worst thing about Hurricane Sandy, but this was completely unexpected. The sketch comedy series did a full-blown bit on last night’s program complete with Anne Hathaway as a crazy/unstable Carrie Mathison, a part played normally by the brilliant Claire Danes. Additional roles went to Bill Hader (Saul Berenson,) Kenan Thompson (David Estes,) Nasim Pedrad (Dana,) and Taran Killam (Nicholas Brody.)

Homeland airs Sunday nights on Showtime.

Anne Hathaway Parodies ‘Les Miserables’ Musical Number on ‘SNL’

Jeff Rosz — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 15:01:39 +0000

Anne Hathaway hosted her third episode of Saturday Night Live this weekend, and she kicked things off in predictable fashion. The Academy Award-nominated actress sang along with the cast in a rendition of one of Les Miserables’ more recognizable songs with revamped lyrics pertaining to working on the long-running sketch comedy series. While the words could have been a bit funnier, this is probably up there as one of the best monologue segments of the year thanks to the sheer entertainment value. Kenan Thompson, Jason Sudeikis, and Taran Killam had noteworthy parts in the bit, but so did pretty much everyone on the show.

Les Miserables hits theaters nationwide on December 25.

Louis C.K. Parodies ‘Louie’ as Abraham Lincoln

Jeff Rosz — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 07:21:41 +0000

Not many people are really aware of Louis C.K.’s critically-acclaimed FX series Louie, but that did not stop Saturday Night Live from using the show as the focal point of one of their bits. They had the stand-up comic reprise his role as the central character, but this time around it was in the form of Abraham Lincoln with everything else pretty much unchanged. This was definitely a win that is kind of riding the coattails of a surge in the deceased president’s popularity thanks to Steven Spielberg’s biopic on the man releasing in less than two weeks.

Additional cast members in the following sketch include Jay Pharoah, Kenan Thompson, and newcomer Aidy Bryant.

‘Saturday Night Live’ Pits Tech Journalists Versus Foxconn Factory Workers

Jeff Rosz — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 14:15:14 +0000

Saturday Night Live had a pretty decent sketch last night where they poked fun at web-based tech shows that talk about relatively unimportant misses on the devices we love. To perhaps shed light on the absurdity of this practice, they chose to include Foxconn factory workers responsible for building the Apple products people lineup for year after year. Their role in all this was to mock the many gripes people have with the latest iPhone. Enjoy.

Cast members participating included Kenan Thompson, Bill Hader, and Kate McKinnon as tech journalists while Fred Armisen, Nasim Pedrad, and Cecily Strong played the Chinese factory workers. This weekend’s host Christina Applegate also took part.