Last year, TMZ reported that Kenan Thompson would be leaving SNL at the end of season 40 – a rumor NBC was quick to deny. Still, with all the SNL cast shakeups in recent years, many fans have wondered whether the show’s current longest-running cast member had plans to stick around after next season, and now we have an answer. Speaking with Marc Maron on the latest episode of WTF, Thompson confirmed that his plan is to stick around for at least another year. Here’s what he told Maron (starts around the 64:20 mark of the episode):
And you’re the longest-running cast member at this point?At the moment, yeah, it’s me.It’s ten years?It’s 12 at the moment.Is this it?No.Why do people keep saying that it’s it?Well they said that at the beginning [of the season] for some reason. People I guess thought they had some info and just threw that story out. And we denied it immediately, but the only thing people remember is, like…When you heard it, were you like “Is there something I don’t know?â€Yeah. I got nervous. I was like…for real?
We reached out to NBC for comment, and they confirmed that Thompson is indeed returning next year. SNL’s season 40 finale airs this weekend with host Louis C.K., and then the rest of the returning cast speculation begins. Listen to Maron’s full interview with Thompson here.