ATLANTA — A piece of Atlanta will be center stage at the Emmy Awards Monday night.
Saturday Night Live comedian Kenan Thompson will make his Emmy host debut at 8 p.m. for what's dubbed television's biggest night.
The 74th Emmy Awards will be his first time hosting the event, he's comfortable in front of the crowd as he's SNL's longest-tenured cast member in the show's history, joining the team in 2003.
Thompson was born in Columbus, Ohio and he and his family moved to Atlanta when he was nine months old.
Hailing from Atlanta's College Park, Thompson's mother enrolled him in acting classes when he was five and he continued to pursue his craft with the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta theater group.
With a passion for acting and an ear for comedy, Thompson eventually got his big break on Nickelodeon's iconic 90s teen sketch variety show "All That," even wowing executives to pivot to a new sitcom "Kenan & Kel," with his co-star Kel Mitchell. As he was working with Nickelodeon, he attended his junior and senior year at Tri-Cities High School, according to an interview with Atlanta Magazine.
Proudly from the A, Thompson has had a storied career being nominated for four Primetime Emmys for his work on SNL and winning his own hardware and most recently starring in his own sitcom series Kenan. He recently received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Aug. 11.
Watch him in his Emmy-host glory on 11Alive or NBC's Peacock starting at 8 p.m.