Kenan & Kel, American Live-Action Television Sitcom

Kenan & Kel was an American live-action television sitcom produced by Tollin/Robbins Productions that originally aired on Nickelodeon from 1996 to 2000. The show starred friends and former All That cast members Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. Sixty-two episodes and a made-for-TV movie were produced over four seasons. The first two seasons were filmed at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida, and
the remaining two were filmed at the Nick On Sunset theater in Hollywood.

The show was set in Chicago, Illinois and centered on the antics of two mischievous teenagers, Kenan Rockmore (Thompson) and Kel Kimble (Mitchell). Kenan is a high school student with a job at a local grocery store, while Kel is his clumsy, orange soda loving best friend. Introduced to the show in 1998 were Sharla and Marc, both of whom had their own quirky characteristics.

Episodes of the series always opened and closed with Kenan and Kel breaking the fourth wall (while still in character) and interacting with the studio audience and each other while standing in front of a red curtain that is placed in front of the main set. A frequent running gag of the openings would be Kel never knowing what the night's episode would be about and Kenan refusing to tell him. The closings would frequently feature Kenan coming up with a new scheme – often asking Kel to get assorted, various items and meet him somewhere. Frazzled, Kel would exclaim his catchphrase, "Aww, here it goes!"

The series was created by Kim Bass (who also co-created the teen sitcom Sister, Sister). It was reminiscent of the classic comedic duo stylings of Laurel and Hardy, Martin and Lewis or Abbott and Costello (who were actually mentioned in the theme song's lyrics), with Kenan being the straight man and Kel his comedic foil; this was referenced in the show's theme. It was taped in front of a live-studio audience, and ran from July 15, 1996 to May 3, 2000, totaling 62 episodes. One full-length TV movie was created, titled Two Heads Are Better Than None, which aired July 22, 2000, thus ending the series.