This may be hard to believe, but it’s been more than 20 years since the classic Nickelodeon series Kenan & Kel premiered. That’s right, the hilarious show starring funnyman Kenan Thompson and his on-and-off screen BFF, Kel Mitchell, first hit the network on August 17, 1996, and we seriously feel old!
After the show came to an end four years later, in 2000, the fan-favorite comedic duo went on to star in a number of TV shows and movies together from the 1990s until the early 2000s. It’s safe to say, back in the day, there was no one who made us laugh more than Kenan and Kel.
“When we started doing sketches together that was when we kind of saw the Kenan & Kel magic,” Kel recalled during an interview with Entertainment Weekly in July 2016. Kenan added, “It all happened pretty much the first day because that was when we were like, ‘Oh, we’re the same dude.’”
How did the boys go from All That costars to having their own show?
“During the seasons of All That they used to see Kenan and I off-set, just kind of telling jokes and hanging out — that is basically what led to the Kenan & Kel show,” Kel explained. Kenan said, “It was unbelievable. We didn’t feel that we could do any better. We hit the goal, I guess we can retire now.”
After their time together filming both All That and Kenan & Kel, it was time for the comedic duo to depart from Nickelodeon.
“I mean leaving Nickelodeon was definitely an adjustment,” Kenan also told EW. “Because then it was back to the real world of, ‘Now I’m an adult looking for a job,’ as opposed to a kid that’s getting introduced to all these people like, ‘Look how cute this little kid is, don’t you want to put him on your show?’”
But, what are they now, you might ask? Are the pair still friends? Will they ever collaborate together in the future? What about a Kenan & Kel reboot?
“I mean, we might as well; it couldn’t hurt,” Kenan teased about a possible reboot in the future. “If people want it then they should have it.”
Well, no worries, because J-14 has you covered! We launched a major investigation and got all the answers. Scroll through our gallery to find out what Kenan & Kel stars Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell are up to now.
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