Does the beloved host of “Black Jeopardy!” have a book in the works? According to Page Six, the correct answer is yes, as “publishing insiders” told the outlet Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson has inked a million-dollar deal for his first book, which is expected to be a “humorous memoir.”
From Page Six:
It would be the first tome for Thompson — but the book arrives in a long line of printed matter by “SNL” stars and alumni, including Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, David Spade, Colin Jost, Gilda Radner, Amy Poehler, Jay Mohr, and others.
While Thompson may be following in the illustrious footsteps of his SNL predecessors, he has already eclipsed them in his tenure on NBC’s 46-year-old sketch comedy show. Thompson is currently the longest-running member of the show’s cast, having joined SNL in 2003.
But for the purposes of a potential memoir, it’s also worth remembering Thompson’s extensive pre-SNL career. As Page Six notes, he got his start on CNN’s Real News for Kids before moving to Nickelodeon, where he appeared on the sketch-comedy series All That. But Thompson’s career really took off when he earned his own show, co-starring opposite Kel Mitchell on the eponymous Kenan & Kel, and subsequently appearing in dozens of films and series in the two decades since.
Of course, in addition to SNL, Thompson now once again stars in his own vehicle, NBC’s new series Kenan—and no doubt all the above could make for a compelling—and comedic—read. In fact, reports Page Six, “A source said that the constantly working comedian “had two book concepts in the works” before selling his memoir for seven figures...so perhaps this is also the beginning of a prolific publishing career.
DISCUSSION
If he had drawn a simple line drawing of the actual book and sold it as an NFT he’d have made $29 million.