Kenan Thompson Names His Pick for Greatest Sketch Comedy Character Ever

Sketch comedy icon Kenan Thompson believes his old pal Kel Mitchell portrayed what could be the best character ever featured in the history of sketch comedy. Given how Thompson grew up in sketch comedy alongside Mitchell as an All That star before moving on to become the longest-tenured cast member that’s ever been on Saturday Night Live, that is obviously a ringing endorsement. It would seem that for all of the varied material he’s seen from revolving cast members at SNL over the years, Thompson never forgot about Mitchell’s “Coach Kreeton” character brought to life in a series of sketches on All That.

’90s kids will likely remember the character pretty well. Portrayed by Mitchell, the character is a bitter, old gym teacher who clearly doesn’t like children. The sketches typically feature Coach Kreeton comically berating at the children and often injuring himself in painful ways. The character was so popular that Mitchell even brought him back in more recent years for the All That revival series.

Per CinemaBlend, Mitchell and Thompson joined Danny Tamberelli and Lori Beth Denberg for an All That cast reunion at ’90s Con. After Mitchell channeled Coach Kreeton by doing the voice for the fans in attendance, Thompson went on to praise the character as perhaps the greatest to have ever been created in sketch comedy history. As Thompson puts it:

“I was just saying backstage that Coach Kreeton might be the greatest sketch comedy character in the history of sketch comedy. All based on this man’s talent. Like, physical silliness, volume, you know what I’m saying? [to Kel Mitchell] Bro, you’re a beast, man, and you still have us in tears. I always felt so lucky that he was kind of just giving this away for free, you know? You’re like television right now.”

Related: SNL: Kenan Thompson’s Most Iconic Characters, Ranked

Kenan Thompson Will Reunite With Kel Mitchell Once Again for Good Burger 2

Mitchell and Thompson are also known for starring in the Nickelodeon movie Good Burger, and it was recently confirmed that the film is getting a sequel. The two made the announcement when reuniting on an episode of The Tonight Show, and the film is in development for a streaming release on Paramount+. Of course, the two will be reprising their respective roles as Ed and Dexter from the original film.

There’s no release date yet set for Good Burger 2, but you can stream classic episodes of All That and Kenan & Kel at Paramount+.