,

What Is…a Million-Dollar Book Deal? Kenan Thompson Reportedly Has a ‘Humorous Memoir’ in the Works

The longest-running cast member of Saturday Night Live would be moving into new territory with his first book.

Does the beloved host of โ€œBlack Jeopardy!โ€ have a book in the works? According to Page Six, the correct answer is yes, as โ€œpublishing insidersโ€ 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 โ€œhumorous memoir.โ€

Video will return here when scrolled back into view
AI Is the New Civil Rights Frontier: Loren Douglass on Wealth, Politics & Power
AI Is the New Civil Rights Frontier: Loren Douglass on Wealth, Politics & Power

From Page Six:

It would be the first tome for Thompson โ€” but the book arrives in a long line of printed matter by โ€œSNLโ€ 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 NBCโ€™s 46-year-old sketch comedy show. Thompson is currently the longest-running member of the showโ€™s cast, having joined SNL in 2003.

But for the purposes of a potential memoir, itโ€™s also worth remembering Thompsonโ€™s extensive pre-SNL career. As Page Six notes, he got his start on CNNโ€™s Real News for Kids before moving to Nickelodeon, where he appeared on the sketch-comedy series All That. But Thompsonโ€™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, NBCโ€™s new series Kenanโ€”and no doubt all the above could make for a compellingโ€”and comedicโ€”read. In fact, reports Page Six, โ€œA source said that the constantly working comedian โ€œhad two book concepts in the worksโ€ before selling his memoir for seven figures...so perhaps this is also the beginning of a prolific publishing career.

Straight From The Root

Sign up for our free daily newsletter.