By Susan Hornik

KING OF SATURDAY NIGHT
Now more than ever, audiences need laughter, which is why we are all so appreciative of Kenan Thompson, who launched his own NBC series, Kenan, last year. In the family comedy, Thompson plays a busy single dad, which is a fitting role for the Saturday Night Live luminary and father of two, who is the longest running SNL cast member with 18 seasons (and counting) under his belt.

Fellow SNL castmate Chris Redd also co-stars in the NBC comedy as Gary Williams, Kenan’s single brother. Don Johnson plays Kenan’s father-in-law.
So just how does he do it? “A lot of sleeping sitting up in chairs, you know?!” Thompson quipped. “Ya catch naps when you can find it. I take it day by day!” On why he’s happily stuck with SNL, Thompson said, “It’s a wild place! That’s why I am never in a rush to leave because I have never seen anything like it and number two, there aren’t many live shows left. It never gets old because it’s sketch comedy and it changes every week.”

LIM BLINGS IT ON
As one of the breakout stars on Netflix’s hit reality series Bling Empire, Kane Lim lights up the screen, stealing every scene he’s in with his compassionate, jovial nature. Fans have been hungry for more of his down to-earth persona in season two, which premieres this spring. “There are new friends, and some of the cast members from season one are not there anymore, sadly. We will see a lot of my relationship issues with this group of crazy people that I love. I go through a lot of emotional rollercoasters this time, where people will see a bit more of who I am and what I do.”

Lim said he has developed “amazing friendships” with some of the new cast, and was genuinely surprised by how much he opened up on camera. “Whereas on season one we see the happy me, this time, I talk more about my insecurities and my weight loss growing up. I go really in depth and share very personal moments that I think even my friends don’t know.”

INTO THE FIRE
Gordon Ramsay has another hit on his hands with FOX’s Next Level Chef, his first new culinary mentorship competition series working with up-and-coming chefs in over a decade. The cooking maestro loves the unique set for the show. “We have these three incredible kitchens, three-stories high, 85,000 tons of steel, erecting some of the most sought-after, competitive kitchens on the planet,” he told journalists at a recent press event.

“I am as competitive as you know, and it’s the first time in nearly 16 years that I put myself out there and am getting incredibly competitive alongside chefs Richard Blais and Nyesha Arrington, who are incredibly fierce!” Ramsay reminisced about his early days. “When I first started training in Paris, getting my ass kicked…I couldn’t speak fluent French. So, I got stuck downstairs in the basement, with 15 machines turning, six or seven hours a day, creating the most amazing sorbet. That’s where I learned to speak French, where I was desperate to get up to that next level.”

SHEEDY ALL GROWN UP
Ally Sheedy is one of those rare Hollywood breeds that, regardless of the role she portrays, simply captivates audiences. The “Brat Pack” veteran and ‘80s sweetheart has appeared in more than 50 television and film projects throughout her career, but her iconic role as Allison Reynolds in the 1985 teen classic The Breakfast Club still remains a fan favorite 37 years later

In an exciting announcement, Sheedy is returning to the small screen, starring as Carol in Single Drunk Female, which premiered on Freeform January 20. The show follows Samantha Fink (played by Sofia BlackD’ Elia, Gossip Girl) a booze loving twenty something living in NYC who, following an embarrassing public breakdown, moves back in with her smothering, albeit well intentioned, mother (Sheedy).