Synopsis

Set in Chicago, the show follows the kid-friendly misadventures of two high-school friends who are always scheming and dreaming. Kenan, who works at a grocery store, constantly devises crazy plans to strike it rich, while orange-soda-loving buddy Kel is always dragged along for the ride despite his track record for messing things up.

In a December 3, 2022, Saturday Night Live comedy sketch, Kenan Thompson, a longtime SNL cast member, appears in a spoof of Kenan & Kel called Kenan & Kelly with guest host Keke Palmer.

During a hiatus of All That, the producers kept Thompson and Mitchell so they could tape the pilot for Kenan & Kel.

Kenan & Kel was Mitchell's second professional acting performance, having only worked on All That and in amateur theater productions in Chicago beforehand.

Thompson's previous experience included a role in D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994).

The first season contains 14 episodes, taped between April and August 9, 1996.

The season was taped in front of a studio audience at Nickelodeon Studios in Universal Studios Florida.