Kenan Thompson will further cement his legacy as one of the most prolific talents in sketch comedy with a new series for kids entertainment startup Pocket.watch. The longtime Saturday Night Live star will voice an Alexa-esque digital assistant for children in the half-hour sketch series Skoogle, Varietyreported Tuesday. Thompson will be joined by a cast of kids for the new series that promises to satirize modern conveniences such as apps and social media.
The majority of Skoogle is expected to be shot live in front of a studio audience in Los Angeles and seeks to give rise to young talent with its cast. "Having been a part of sketch-comedy shows throughout my career, I'm thrilled to be able to introduce the show format that I love to an entirely new generation of kids," Thompson, who now stands as the longest-running SNL star, said Tuesday. Production on the first batch of 10-13 episodes will begin later this year.
Thompson's creator/executive producer/star role on the new series reunites him with fellow All That alumni Josh Server and Albie Hecht. Server is a co-producer and writer on Skoogle, while Hecht serves as Pocket.watch's chief content officer and was the original development exec behind All That's success.
Pocket.watch bills itself as a "new kind of entertainment company" that combines the digital grassroots of the current media landscape with "classic, epic" storytelling techniques. "It's for small-screen video and big-screen blockbusters, games, toys, and everything else kids love," the company says.
Investors include Robert Downey Jr.'s Downey Ventures, CBS' Les Moonves, and Titanic producer Jon Landau.
