Kenan Thompson is sharing what could have been the next chapter of one of Nickelodeon’s most iconic duos. During a recent appearance on Funny Knowing You with Deon Cole, Thompson revealed that after the original Kenan & Kel series ended, he and Kel Mitchell actually tried to keep the momentum going with a new concept: Kenan & Kel: The College Years.
“Yeah, we were trying to figure out like, we’re gonna do like Kenan and Kel: The College Years,” Thompson shared. “We were trying to pitch that to WB and sh*t.”
For fans who grew up watching the duo’s chaotic chemistry on Nickelodeon, the idea of seeing them navigate adulthood and college life feels like a natural evolution. But according to Thompson, the pitch never gained the traction they hoped for.
“It just never really got the bites that we really wanted,” he admitted.
At the time, both comedians were also confronting a bigger reality: they were growing up, and so was their audience. Thompson explained that playing youthful characters began to feel limiting as they entered their twenties.
“It started to get that way. That’s why we kind of put an expiration date on it,” he said, noting how strange it could feel being grown men still attached to a teen sitcom identity.
Beyond the network pitch, Thompson also reflected on something deeper, the challenge of being seen as individuals outside of the duo. As beloved as Kenan & Kel was, it created a kind of creative shadow that followed them into their next moves.
“We were getting to that point where I think we need to establish that… there’s a Kenan Thompson and there’s a Kel Mitchell for people,” he explained.
Thompson pointed out that even when Mitchell took solo roles, like his part in Mystery Men, audiences didn’t always show up the same way they did when the two were together.
“A lot of people were like, Kenan and Kel’ing us to death,” he said, describing how difficult it was for fans to separate them as artists.
Ultimately, life pulled them in different directions. Mitchell stepped into fatherhood at a young age, while Thompson found himself navigating personal and financial setbacks, trying to rebuild and stay close to opportunity.
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