Kenan Thompson Loves Pete Davidson And Ariana Grande Together

Kenan Thompson Saturday Night Live

The newest season of Saturday Night Live is a little more than a week away. Officially set to premiere on September 29th with host Adam Driver returning to the popular NBC program alongside musical guest Kanye West, the 44th (!) season premiere of the long-standing late-night sketch series is going to be noteworthy for one reason in particular: it's the first episode of the series since Pete Davidson announced his relationship, and subsequent engagement to, pop singer Ariana Grande. A lot has happened since Season 43 ended in May, and we expect SNL to highlight on the rising media popularity of his youngest cast member. But in the meantime, the show's longest-standing cast member, Kenan Thompson, spoke out about the swiftly-formed engagement, revealing that he is a big fan of the companionship struck between the comedian and the pop singer. Here's what he said.

It's awesome, man. I mean, we all need love and to see Pete be happy -- he goes through so much, you know what I mean? It's hard being a millennial on social media and all of that so he's just like exposed to a lot of criticism or, like, indirect negativity, or whatever, but, like, he handles it really well. He believes in his voice and his standup and his like, 'I don't give a F' attitude, or whatever, being from Staten Island and all of that and he's proud of that. So I feel like he's got a solid head on his shoulders. But to see him with a better half of himself, like, making him happy, that is really nice.

This quote from Kenan Thompson came from the comedic actor's recent appearance with Entertainment Tonight at Entertainment Weekly's Pre-Emmys Party. The seasoned actor on the variety program recently nabbed an Emmy nom for his performance, and fielded a few questions about the blooming romance of his co-star. By his own admission, Thompson believes the romance is sincere and palpable. Despite all the gossip and odd tangents that have formed since the couple announced their relationship, the love that's felt between them is real, Thompson believes.

As for whether or not Ariana Grande will be reacquainted with the rest of the Saturday Night Live cast, Kenan Thompson believes it's quite possible.

The chances are high, right? I feel like she'll be there almost every week just because, you know?

So, that means we should probably expect to see Ariana Grande on the television program in one way or another during this forthcoming season of SNL. If not as a musical guest or a host or both, then, at very least, roaming the halls following her future hubby around. Considering the show's habit of having celebrity cameos, it's not out of the question that Grande will make her way into a variety of different skits on the variety program anyway. Meanwhile, Pete Davidson isn't the only Saturday Night Live personality in a high-profile relationship these days. Head writer, Weekend Update chair and recent Emmy co-host Colin Jost is also famously in a relationship with Scarlett Johannson. So, we should expect noteworthy appearances soon.

Will Ashton

Will is an entertainment writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. His writing can also be found in The Playlist, Cut Print Film, We Got This Covered, The Young Folks, Slate and other outlets. He also co-hosts the weekly film/TV podcast Cinemaholics with Jon Negroni and he likes to think he's a professional Garfield enthusiast.