Kenan

**Kenan** is an American comedy television series created by Jackie Clarke and David Caspe. The series will star Kenan Thompson as Kenan Williams, the widowed father of Aubrey (Dani Lane) and Birdie (Dannah Lane) who hosts a morning show in Atlanta, Georgia. The show follows Williams' attempts to move on from his previous life, though he is met with much resistance from his father-in-law Rick (Don Johnson) and brother Gary (Chris Redd). He also becomes close friends with the executive producer of his show, Mika (Kimrie Lewis).

## Premise

The series follows Kenan Williams (Kenan Thompson), a widowed father of two daughters, Aubrey (Dani Lane) and Birdie (Dannah Lane), living in Atlanta, Georgia. Kenan works as a host for a morning program, executive produced by Mika (Kimrie Lewis). Williams lives with his father-in-law Rick (Don Johnson) and brother Gary (Chris Redd).

## Cast

### Main

* Kenan Thompson as Kenan Williams, a widowed dad of two daughters who hosts a morning program in Atlanta, Georgia.
* Don Johnson as Rick, Kenan's father-in-law who attempts to make up for lost time with Kenan's own two daughters.
* Chris Redd as Gary Williams, Kenan's brother and the manager of the morning show.
* Kimrie Lewis as Mika, Kenan's morning show's executive producer who is a vulnerable friend for Kenan.
* Dani Lane as Aubrey Williams, one of Kenan's daughters. Aubrey is very smart.
* Dannah Lane as Birdie Williams, one of Kenan's daughters. Birdie is more silly and unpredictable.

### Recurring

* Niccole Thurman as Cori Williams, Rick's daughter and Kenan's late wife.
* Jeff Lewis as Phil
* Willow Beuoy as Zoe
* Shirley Jordan as Aunt Ellen
* Elaine Kao as Ellen
* Taylor Louderman as Tami
* Steven Pritchard as Bubbles
* Sean Thomas Simmons as Travis
* Daphnique Springs as Lori

## Production

### Development

Template:Multiple imageCo-creator Jackie Clarke, previously the head writer for *Superstore,* had written three separate versions starring Kenan Thompson. First, the show was planned to air as *Saving Larry*. The title (and title character's name) was later changed to *Saving Kenan*. The third attempt, titled *The Kenan Show*, was planned to air in May 2019. Chris Rock joined as the pilot's director and executive producer in January 2019. However, the pilot never aired and the project was put on hold for re-tooling. Rock has dropped out of the project and the director for *Kenan*'s pilot episode is unannounced. In July 2020, David Caspe, creator of comedies such as *Happy Endings* and *Black Monday*, was brought in to develop and re-write the newest re-tooled pilot with Clarke and serve as showrunner-executive producer on the first season.

On January 26, 2021, the new (and current) title and its new cast was announced virtually at the TCA panel, as part of the 2021 Winter Press Tour for NBC. At the panel, Thompson stated “It was a long process, starting with finding someone to settle on the idea with. Jackie and I had a similar idea for what kind of show people hadn’t seen before — how to put a new twist on the ‘uplifting father figure’ kind of show.” The series is set to premiere on February 16, 2021.

### Casting

 File:Kenan Thompson 2012 (cropped).jpg
The show is led by Kenan Thompson, actor, musician, and comedian best known for his work on *Saturday Night Live*. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Thompson said that, "It's every comedian's dream to get their own show on a major network, especially one of the original three. It's historic, mind-blowing and very surreal." Thompson originally made a deal with Universal Television in late 2018, with plans for his show to air on NBC the following year. Though he is starring in *Kenan*, Thompson told Variety that he has no plans to leave *Saturday Night Live*, as some had rumored.

Twin sisters Dani and Dannah Lane were cast as Aubrey and Birdie Williams after being seen in the "Call Jesus" viral music video alongside DJ Suede the Remix God, that was published March 7, 2018. Andy García was originally cast in the role of Percy, Kenan's father-in-law. However, García dropped out of the project in 2019 and the role was given to Don Johnson. The character's name was also changed to Rick. The role of Mika, Kenan's executive producer, was originally named Erica and was originally given to actress Punam Patel. However, Patel dropped out of the project with García and the role was given to Kimrie Lewis. Fellow *SNL* star, Chris Redd, was also cast to play Gary Williams, Kenan's brother.

## References

1. ↑ NBC's Kenan: Release Date, Cast, Story & More | tvshowpilot.com (en-US).
2. ↑ https://deadline.com/2020/07/don-johnson-chris-redd-join-nbcs-kenan-thompson-comedy-series-cast-kimrie-lewis-recasting-david-caspe-showrunner-1202988022/
3. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (January 15, 2021). NBC Opens Tuesday Comedy Block With 'Young Rock' & 'Kenan' As 'Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist' Goes On Hiatus. *Deadline Hollywood*.
4. ↑ 'Kenan' Full Cast List: Meet Kenan Thompson, Gary Williams and the rest of the actors from NBC's comedy series (en).
5. ↑ Kenan Thompson Says He Has No Plans to Leave SNL Ahead of New Sitcom Premiere (en).
6. ↑ 'Kenan' Trailer: Kenan Thompson's NBC Sitcom Sets Long-Awaited Premiere — Watch (en) (January 26, 2021).
7. ↑ 'Kenan' Full Cast List: Meet Kenan Thompson, Gary Williams and the rest of the actors from NBC's comedy series (en).