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Iconic Good Burger comedy duo Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell have been captivating audiences since 1994 when they debuted as cast members on Nickelodeon sketch series All That. Now, after more than three decades of partnership, they are expanding the Kenan and Kel universe; introducing a mobile game, Orange Pop!, and working on their own remake of the classic “Abbott and Costello Meet Universal Monsters” movies. The venerable pop culture pair stopped by the Den of Geek studio in Manhattan to discuss all upcoming projects.
“Cool kids sitting on a couch again, that’s what this is,” Thompson remarks as he and Mitchell sink into a sofa.
Orange Pop! includes original voice performances from Thompson and Mitchell, who also serve as executive producers. The mobile game includes personalized reactions, jokes, and commentary as players travel through a colorful, orange-soda-inspired puzzle adventure. This also incorporates specialized matching icons that trigger an orange soda rocket that blasts away pieces from the board. Mitchell’s character’s love for orange soda in the pair’s Nickelodeon series Kenan & Kel is the inspiration for Orange Pop!’s visuals and namesake.
“It’s a classic three-match game, and when you get a bunch of good matches, there is an orange soda in there that explodes and knocks out everything,” Mitchell says. “That is really fun; I love the orange soda.”
Combining a ’90s-inspired art style with modern gaming sensibilities, Orange Pop! — which is produced by Thompson’s Artists for Artists, an independent studio built by artists for artists that Thompson co-founded with John Ryan Jr. — takes on the creativity of Thompson and Mitchell to create a new experience for fans. In tandem with the expansion of the “Kenan and Kel” universe, they are committing to supporting charitable causes.
“For the first 100,000 downloads of our game, we are donating $1 toward our favorite charities. Donating $50,000 each, basically,” Thompson says. “So, we want everyone to get to it, so we can get to giving.”
Developer and distributor of Orange Pop!, Staple Games has also agreed to donate $1 for every download within the first 24 hours of the game’s launch as well. The charities they are donating to include the National College Resources Foundation and the Kenan Thompson Family Foundation Corporation.
“I love the National College Resource Foundation. We give scholarships to kids from HBCUs, providing many different resources for them. It’s just a great organization,” Mitchell says.
“I went with my own foundation, but we support other foundations. I work a lot with the Cristian Rivera Foundation … Ralphie’s Rescues is another we work closely with.” Thompson said. “Yeah, a whole bunch of other ones. Giving some scholarships to some kids this year. The goal is to shine a light on other foundations that may need a platform like mine.”
The release of the game marks the first step in the two-man comedy troupe’s franchising of their beloved brand that started in the early ‘90s.
In January of this year, Thompson and Mitchel announced their upcoming film, Kenan & Kel Meet Frankenstein, a horror comedy that will begin production this summer. The film is being produced by Artist for Artist and Range Media Partners. The witty dyad will star as two delivery drivers on a routine drop-off that takes a terrifying turn, literally, as they find their destination to be a hair-raising castle in which they awaken the frightening creature of Frankenstein’s monster — turning their casual delivery into a fight for their lives.
“There have been a few different ideas, and we feel that the [concept] is definitely a version we can execute without a lot of interference, as the monsters are public domain,” Thompson says. “Frankenstein is a hot boy these days. He’s in a bunch of different things, you know what I mean. So that’s fun.”
“And comedy duos — Abbott and Costello, those types of movies. We are getting in that lane,” Mitchell adds. “You get to see us in a different genre. It’s going to be great because when a lot of people hear it, they thought it was like ‘Kenan & Kel the TV show,’ but this is going to be very different. Kind of like a Get Out meets Shaun of the Dead.”
Thompson and Mitchell are also expanding into the comic industry with their first comic, Kenan & Kel Meet Zombies, a tentative title published by Range Comics, as the duo finds themselves fighting undead miners, cowboys, and settlers after a chemical accident reanimates a long-buried Old West town. Blending horror, comedy, and adventure, readers follow Thompson and Mitchell as creatures crawl in search of blood to terrorize whoever they find.
Also expected from the team this year is the release of a lifestyle collection, which is currently in development with acclaimed designer Sean Wotherspoon.
Beginning in 2003, Kenan and Kel’s creative partnership took a hiatus until 2023’s Good Burger 2, as Thompson embarked on a Saturday Night Live career that saw him become the longest-tenured cast member in NBC’s comedy institution. Now, however, the duo is here to stay – their consistent and strong partnership is continuing to grow in innovative and creatively unexpected, yet on-brand ways that are keeping long-time fans and new audiences on their toes.
“You know we’re just very familiar. Similar upbringing, a lot of characteristics in our family are very similar. Chicago and Atlanta are two very loyal hometown-y kinds of towns,” Thompson says.
“We got the sauce, man,” Mitchell agrees.
“We just like to have a good time. We make each other laugh. That’s a big part of it.”
Orange Pop! is now available on iOS and Android, in both the Apple and Google Play stores.
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