Kenan & Kel

Kenan & Kel
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Kim Bass
Starring	Kenan Thompson Kel Mitchell Ken Foree Teal Marchande Vanessa Baden Dan Frischman
Theme music composer	Victor Concepcion
Opening theme	"Aw, Here It Goes" byCoolio
Composer	Richard Tuttobene
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No.of seasons	4
No.of episodes	65(list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Mike Tollin Lauren Sticker
Producers	Dan Schneider Kevin Kopelow Heath Seifert Virgil L. Fabian Keiren Fisher
Camera setup	Videotape;Multi-camera
Running time	24 minutes
Production companies	Tollin/Robbins Productions Nickelodeon Productions
Original release
Network	Nickelodeon
Release	August 17, 1996(1996-08-17)– May 3, 2000(2000-05-03)
Related
All That

Kenan & Kelis an Americansitcomcreated byKim Bassthat originally aired onNickelodeonfrom August 17, 1996, to May 3, 2000. Set inChicago,the series follows mischievous Kenan Rockmore (Kenan Thompson) and his happy-go-lucky best friend Kel Kimble (Kel Mitchell), who get involved with zany hijinks on a number of misadventures.The show was one of three spin-offs fromAll That,in which Thompson and Mitchell had co-starred for several years.

The show features Kenan's family, which consists of his father Roger (Ken Foree), mother Sheryl (Teal Marchande), and younger sister Kyra (Vanessa Baden). The show also features Kenan's boss Chris Potter (Dan Frischman).Kenan & Kelfeatures appearances from a number of guest stars, including game show host/radio disc jockeyBob Eubanks,basketball playerRon Harper,and singerBritney Spears.

The series won the "Favorite TV Show" award at the1998 Kids' Choice Awards.

The first two seasons were taped atNickelodeon StudiosatUniversal Studios Florida.The last two seasons were taped at the now closed theaterNickelodeon on Sunsetin Los Angeles, California.

Premise

Set inChicago,Illinois,Kenan & Kelfollows Kenan Rockmore and Kel Kimble, a pair of high school students who go on various misadventures, which usually occur as a result of Kenan devising a scheme to get rich quick, or avoid trouble with his elders. These schemes are often foiled as a result of Kel's aloof nature and clumsiness.

The show employs a number of running gags. Episodes open and close with Kenan and Kel breaking thefourth wallby interacting with a studio audience, standing in front of a red curtain that is placed in front of the main set while they are still in character. Usually they do stuff that relates to the episode itself, for example, in the opening of "The Tainting of the Screw", Kel is seen wearing fishing gear and showing off a tuna he caught, and the episode is about Kenan choking on a screw that was in his tuna sandwich. A running gag of the openings is Kel never knowing what the night's episode would be about and Kenan refusing to tell him, while the closings frequently feature Kenan coming up with a new scheme, often asking Kel to get various assorted items and meet him somewhere. Frazzled both times, Kel exclaims his catchphrase, "Aww, here it goes!" (which both opens and closes the show).

Production

Kenan & Kelwas created byKim Bass,and starsKenan ThompsonandKel Mitchellas the title characters. The actors previously starred in theNickelodeonseriesAll That.Mitchell and Thompson would frequently joke around on the set ofAll That,which caught the attention of producers, including Bass, who wished to package Thompson and Mitchell in a series.During a hiatus ofAll That,the producers kept Thompson and Mitchell so they could tape the pilot forKenan & Kel.Mitchell later expressed fondness working with Thompson on the series.Kenan & Kelwas Mitchell's second professional acting performance, having only worked onAll Thatand in amateur theater productions in Chicago beforehand. Thompson's previous experience included a role inD2: The Mighty Ducks(1994).Kenan is the series'straight man,and Kel is his comedic foil.The series theme song, "Aw, Here It Goes", is performed by rapperCoolio.

The first season contains 14 episodes, taped between April and August 9, 1996. The season was taped in front of a studio audience atUniversal Studios Florida.The characters of Kenan and Kel also make a crossover appearance on the Nickelodeon seriesCousin Skeeter.

Broadcast

In the midst of the series' initial run, reruns of the series briefly aired on Nickelodeon's sister channel,Nick GASin 1999.After the series finished its run in 2001, reruns continued to air on Nickelodeon from January 21, 2001, to February 15, 2004.

The series then reran daily onThe Nas part of the "TEENick on The N" block from October 13, 2007, to August 2, 2009. Reruns started airing on the successor channelTeenNickfrom July 25, 2011, to February 3, 2013, and again from March 4, 2013, to May 31, 2014, as part of itsThe '90s Are All Thatprogramming block (later called "The Splat", "NickSplat", and "NickRewind" ). The series airs reruns frequently on Nickelodeon'sPluto TVchannel and streams onParamount+andNetflix.

In theUnited Kingdom,the series aired onNickelodeonfrom 1997 to 2012. The series now reruns onTrace Vault.

Characters

Main article:List of Kenan & Kel characters

Episodes

Main article:List of Kenan & Kel episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	14		August 17, 1996(1996-08-17)	January 11, 1997(1997-01-11)
2	13		September 6, 1997(1997-09-06)	December 27, 1997(1997-12-27)
3	22		October 10, 1998(1998-10-10)	May 8, 1999(1999-05-08)
4	16		August 7, 1999(1999-08-07)	May 3, 2000(2000-05-03)

Home media

Kenan & Kelhas been released on DVD in the compilationsBest of Seasons 1 & 2andBest of Season 3 & 4.Both aremanufacture-on-demandreleases throughAmazon.com.Individual seasons are not available. TheBest of Seasons 1 & 2DVD is missing 3 episodes ( "In the Line of Kenan", "Baggin' Saggin Kel", and "" Safe and Sorry "; all from season 1) to complete the set, but season 2 is complete. TheBest of Seasons 3 & 4DVD is also missing 3 episodes ( "The Chicago Witch Trials", "Freezer Burned", and "Who Love Who-ooh?"; all from Season 3), but season 4 is complete. These DVD releases are absent of any bonus features.

DVD	Episodes	Release Date	Disc 1	Disc 2	Disc 3	Disc 4
The Best of Seasons 1 & 2	23	May 21, 2014	"Pilot", "The Tainting of the Screw", "Doing Things the Heming-Way", "Mental Kel-Epathy", "Duh Bomb", "Mo' Sweater Blues", "Diamonds Are For Roger", "The Cold War"	"Dial 0 for Oops", "Merry Christmas, Kenan", "Twizzles Fizzles", "Pair-Rental Guidance", "Turkey Day", "The Crush", "Ditch Day Afternoon", "Clownin' Around"	"The Lottery", "Who Loves Orange Soda?", "Foul Bull", "A Star is Peeved", "Get the Kel Out of Here", "Bye-Bye, Kenan: Part 1", "Bye-Bye, Kenan: Part 2", "I Haven't Got Time for the Paint"	—
The Best of Seasons 3 & 4	35	November 6, 2014	"Fenced In", "To Catch a Thief", "The Raffle", "Skunkator vs. Mothman", "The Contest", "Surprise, Surprise", "I.Q. Can Do Better", "You Dirty Rat", "Attack of the Bug Men"	"We Are the Chimpions", "Happy B-Day Marc", "Poem Sweet Poem", "Present Tense", "Picture Imperfect", "Clothes Encounters", "Housesitter", "I'm Gonna Get You Kenan", "The Limo"	"He Got Job", "Corporate Kenan", "The Honeymoon's Over", "Girl-Watchers", "Car Trouble", "Futurama", "Three Girls, a Guy, and a Cineplex", "Natural Born Kenan"	"The Graduates", "Aw, Here It Goes To Hollywood: Part 1 & 2", "Oh, Brother", "The April Fools", "Tales from the Clip", "Two Heads Are Better Than None"

On July 28, 2011, the first season ofKenan & Kelwas released on theiTunes Store. On November 29, 2011, the second season was released. On February 13, 2012, the third season was released. On August 13, 2012, the fourth season was released.Seasons 1 and 2 were released on the UK iTunes store in September 2013. As of 2021, most of the series is available to watch onParamount+.Seasons 1 and 2 can be found on Netflix, except for "Baggin' Saggin' Kel", "Safe and Sorry", "Bye Bye, Kenan: Part 1" and "Bye Bye, Kenan: Part 2".

Legacy

In a December 3, 2022,Saturday Night Livecomedy sketch, Kenan Thompson, a longtime SNL cast member, appears in a spoof ofKenan & KelcalledKenan & Kellywith guest hostKeke Palmer.In the skit, Palmer explains her desire to rebootKenan & Kelafter meeting Thompson and expressing her fondness of him during his Nickelodeon years. The skit is intercut between pseudo-interviews and recreations of the Rigby's grocery store set from the original series featuring Thompson, Palmer, and Mitchell. The addition of elements such as Palmer's disapproval of the word "idiot" to describe her, her pregnancy reveal, the robbery of Rigby's, and the subsequent shooting death of Kel are played for dramatic effect, which Thompson concludes as a reason why the "reboot" failed.

External links

• Kenan & KelatIMDb