For over a decade every Saturday Night Live studio audience has been primed for a good burger time by Kenan Thompson—but that could soon change.
Thompson, who has long been SNL’s choice for a pre-show warm-up act, says it might be time for a new ice-breaker.
Thompson suggested he might hand over the reins during an interview on Thursday’s Today with Jenna & Friends—and even fielded a recommendation as to who should replace him.
While it’s not seen on-air, Thompson has warmed up the studio audience before SNL’s dress rehearsals and live tapings for well over a decade. The longtime SNL player typically serenades the crowd with a rendition of The Spencer Davis Group’s “Gimme Some Lovin,’” with several castmates serving as backup dancers.
Asked by Jenna Bush Hager if he plans to pass the gig on to newer blood, Thompson admitted that could be in the future.
“I think it’s about time to move on,” Thompson nodded. “But it’s also, you know, [about] who’s comfortable enough to want to do it.”
At that, guest co-host Matt Rogers (who also co-hosts Las Culturistas with ex-SNL star Bowen Yang) offered a suggestion: hold auditions of the other cast members. After joking that she and Rogers would happily serve as judges, Bush Hager offered a more serious prediction about the warm-up act’s future.
“Marcello [Hernández] is my guess,” she suggested. “He could be a frontrunner.”
“Oh yeah?” Thompson replied, before deadpanning: “That’s an interesting choice.”
Turning over warm-up duty to fresher cast members has become a regular part of the tradition at the show. When Thompson first joined the cast, Jimmy Fallon was in charge of revving up the crowd. Around 2012, Thompson began performing the warm-ups alongside Fred Armisen and Taran Killam. He continued with Killam as a duo when Armisen left the show, and has been going solo since Killam’s departure in 2016.
Hernández, of course, has become one of SNL’s biggest breakout players. The cast member is no stranger to singing and dancing in sketches like “Dancing 101” and the recurring viral hit “Domingo.” Just days ago, Hernández assured E! News that he plans to stick around SNL for the foreseeable future.
“I’m there, I’m there, I’m there,” he told the outlet. “I’m having fun, bro. It’s a crazy job and you get to meet so many crazy people—and I love it.”
Another reason Hernández could be seen as a likely successor: Since the start of this season, he’s been performing in the warm-up just before Thompson’s act—a role he took over from Michael Che. Shifting into Thompson’s anchor spot could be a natural choice for the performer, who also grabbed the spotlight this week with his debut Netflix standup special, American Boy.
