Kenan Thompson's return to America's Got Talent as a guest judge in September 2026, filling in for Simon Cowell, his first appearance on the panel since 2020. The longest-serving SNL cast member in the seat of the show's sternest critic, and the internet's brief delight at the swap. The record's entry for a substitution that trended.
The record notes the six-year gap since Thompson's last turn on the panel and the seat he filled: Cowell's. The appeal online was the contrast, a comedian known for warmth in the chair known for the opposite.
I saw clips of his reactions posted within an hour of broadcast in September 2026, mostly the faces rather than the verdicts. The record notes that a guest judge is judged on expressions, and that Thompson has a career's worth.
Someone in my feed said they had not watched the show since 2020 and were only watching for him. The record has no way to check the claim and notes that it was made by several people in the same words.
What does it mean? Write it the way you would say it out loud.
