Kel is returning to Nickelodeon... without Kenan

The comedian – who made his name on the kids channel in sketch comedy All That and double act spin-off Kenan and Kel – is returning to his first home, but this time he'll be going it alone.

36-year-old Kel Mitchell is to star in a brand new series for the network. Titled Game Shakers and created by Dan Schneider (the mastermind behind All That and Kenan and Kel), the show will follow two 12-year-old girls (Cree Cicchino and Madisyn Shipman) who invent a "wildly successful mobile app" and start their own multi-million dollar company. But after they use a song by rapper Double G (played by Kel) without his permission, they're forced to make him a partner in their company.

Calling his character a "comedic version of artists like Kanye, Diddy, Eminem and 50 Cent," Kel told Entertainment Weekly, "I fit in well with Nickelodeon – my name is even in the middle of the word Nic-Kel-odeon. It's great to be back on the network that gave me my first big television job... I'm ready to shake up the game again."

Kel first appeared on the kids channel in the 1990s with co-star Kenan Thompson. After Kenan & Kel finished in 2001, the pair went on to star in film Good Burger before auditioning for Saturday Night Live in 2003. But only Kenan was hired and the pair went their separate ways – the 37-year-old is the longest-serving member of the current SNL cast while Kel has largely stayed out of the spotlight, despite making headlines in 2006 when he was the subject of a death hoax started on MySpace.

But any Kenan and Kel diehards shouldn't give up hope of a reunion just yet. When asked whether they might appear together on his new series, Schneider had some teasing words for Variety:

"Almost nothing would excite me more than reuniting Kenan and Kel in a big way. People would go crazy to see them back together making great comedy again. It would be amazing because they’re as strong and talented as any male comedy duo that’s ever been. There’s been talk of various ways to bring Kenan and Kel back together. All I can say is, I can’t imagine anything more fun and exciting. I’m in!"

You might also like...

Can you name the 90s Nickelodeon show?