Will Kenan be renewed for Season 2?
Currently, the show is “on the bubble,” an industry term for shows whose chances of being renewed or being canceled are fairly even.
The bad news first. Of the three major comedies that premiered on NBC in the 2020 / 2021 season (Kenan, Mr. Mayor and Young Rock), Kenan was the least-watched by far. Per TV Series Finale, Kenan had an average viewership of 2.4 million viewers per episode—considerably less than the 3.1 million for Young Rock and 3.4 million for Mr. Mayor.
The comedy also got the lowest rating in the key 18 to 49 age range demographic of the three. Among that demo, which is important to network as it is a key demographic for advertisers, Kenan got a 0.49 rating, meaning it was watched by about one in 200 people in that age demo. This is compared to the 0.52 rating for Mr. Mayor and 0.65 for Young Rock.
This seems to suggest that if NBC is due to cancel a new comedy this year, it will be Kenan.
However, there are some signs that it will be saved and get a Season 2. The show beat both New Amsterdam and Transplant in the 18-49 demo, both of which got renewed— though both were each watched by over a million more average viewers a week than Kenan.
Another good sign for the show’s future comes from the website TV Line. On their guide to 2020 to 2021 TV season which records which shows have been renewed and canceled, they have Kenan as “a safe bet” to be renewed, as is Young Rock. Mr. Mayor has already been renewed for Season 2.
NBC has already canceled one show this season. That was Connecting, with the pandemic-based comedy moving to Peacock after just four episodes in November 2020.
Kenan may be more likely to be renewed this year than in previous ones. With production capacity significantly lessened by the pandemic, the network may have nothing ready to replace it with for the next season. NBC has ordered a few new comedies next year, with comedies American Auto and Grand Crew set to replace already canceled shows like Superstore and Connecting. Also coming in 2021 is True Story, which sees Ed Helms and Randall Park interview ordinary Americans about their bizarre true stories, which are then dramatized.
Though NBC has announced other shows are getting pilots, like the Demi Lovato-starring Hungry and a project for comedian Jim Jefferies, none of these have been announced as replacing Kenan yet.
Kenan Season 1 is streaming on Hulu and Peacock.
