Emmy Award-winning actor and comedian Kenan Thompson is the longest-tenured Saturday Night Live cast member in the show’s history. He has also starred in family-centric projects such as Kenan and Kel, All That, and Good Burgers 1 and 2. Unfunny Bunny is Thompson’s debut picture book, co-written with stand-up comedian and SNL senior writer Bryan Tucker. We asked the duo to discuss their SNL collaborations and bringing their comedic sensibilities to the picture book format.
Kenan Thompson: Bryan, hey, good to see you! I’ve been thinking, do you remember when we met?
Bryan Tucker: Kenan, great to see you! Yeah, it was year one for me, year two for you, back in 2005.
Thompson: At the great Saturday Night Live! I would say we started writing together on a weekly basis maybe one to two years later.
Tucker: We worked together occasionally, but to start, you shared an office with Colin Jost. I shared an office with JB Smoove and Finesse Mitchell that year, which was the producers’ way of saying, you’ll write together. But then eventually, we started writing together. Do you remember what that first sketch was?
Thompson: I feel like it was something deep in the Black zeitgeist… maybe a Soul Train revisit? Or something like that.
Tucker: It’s funny, I remember one we wrote early on where it was the celebration after a football game and you were an old man who didn’t play, but jumped on the field because he wanted to be involved in things.
Thompson: Yeah, we loved writing about old men who want to participate where they were not wanted.
Tucker: That was one of the ones I remember sitting in the office laughing at together. It never got on [the show], but we enjoyed it. I feel like the one people probably remember us most for is “What’s Up with That?”
Thompson: Oh yeah, for sure. We had a lot of “Thompson/Tucker” scripts over the year at the Wednesday table reads. The scripts would include the names of the writers at the top.
Tucker: I’d love to know in my 20 years there how many submitted scripts had “Thompson/Tucker” at the top. My guess is 60. Maybe 70?
Speaking of writing, I want to hear a little about Unfunny Bunny. You had the idea and had talked it through with your agent before approaching me. How did it come about?
Thompson: I was finishing up my memoir and thinking, what’s next? Children’s books are something our colleagues have done, and it made sense for me being so familiar in the kids’ space from my Nickelodeon years. We tinkered around with titles first, and it actually started as Funny Bunny, but we thought the journey would be better if he was Unfunny Bunny. And then it actually became more relatable to me too. The search for the perfect reaction to your joke—I can definitely relate to putting yourself out there, thinking it’ll go one way, but then it goes another.
Tucker: One thing I like about it is it’s two books in one. It’s both a story about friends but also a joke book.
Thompson: That’s my favorite part, honestly! I’ve seen a lot of kids’ books but none with a dedicated joke section.
Tucker: And every page has a joke or two, as well! When I was growing up, one thing that would inform my humor were joke books. I would sit in the back of the car, and I would read the joke to my parents. If I could tell the joke well, maybe people were laughing [with] me.
Thompson: In a way they are! Just as much you as whoever wrote it. It’s the same idea with SNL. We’re just acting and performing the words of others, accepting credit for it. It’s important to always credit the real creators, and it’s always been my honor to bring your words to life.
Tucker: Thank you, and I agree. I’m lucky in so many ways that we met at SNL and that you take the kind of thing that I like and elevate it.
Thompson: All of that I could say right back!
Tucker: I saw you read the book on Instagram to some kids! What was that like? And what do you want kids to take away from the book?
Thompson: Yeah, they were the best! Shout out to Harlem Village Academy. I hope they take away the importance of perseverance, listening to your friends, working with others. But also, be willing to explore and be open-minded enough to tell a joke. Maybe it doesn’t go the way you want it to, but be willing to work on it and get it to where you want it to be, which is my favorite part of the journey.
Tucker: I also like the book because it’s fun. One of my favorite memories as a kid was reading Shel Silverstein books with my dad and laughing together. And you know my hope is that this book can also be full of little laughs for kids along the way.
Thompson: Yes, just the joy of reading to my parents when I was excited about a specific book as a kid. Like Goldilocks, I’d be like, ”You’re not going to believe this! This lady breaks into these bears’ house!”
Tucker: [Laughs.]
Thompson: Just the joy of being a kid who wants to share something! Page one in the book, Bunny is so excited to share this joke that he thinks is going to go so well. He’s going to be the funniest person in the history of school! I love that excitement!
Tucker: I have two college-age kids now, and yours are…—?
Thompson: Seven and 11!
Tucker: So they’re maybe a little bit old, but have you shown it to them yet?
Thompson: Not yet! I’m waiting for them to be able to have their own copies. I think they’re going to love it. The little one is going to love the jokes, for sure. She’s a ham anyway; she just needs the tools. She’s going to be the one to run up to people and be like, “Hey! You ever heard this one?”
Tucker: That’s the fun thing about a joke book—it imbues you with the power to share with others. It turns you into a comedian.
Thompson: How else are you going to get it at age seven?
Tucker: I told my kids that I co-wrote the book, and they said what did you do with it? And I said, well, Kenan came up with the concept and mostly my job was to write the jokes. And they were like, “Of course.”
Thompson: [Laughs.]
Tucker: Well, Kenan, this has been fun! Great to chat with you.
Thompson: Yeah, good to catch up! Until the next sketch or book!
Unfunny Bunny by Kenan Thompson with Bryan Tucker, illus. by Tony Neal. Feiwel and Friends, $19.99 Jan. 13 ISBN 978-1-2503-6481-4
