Vroom. If you get it, you get it.
Tonight's guest is no stranger
to that late night time slot on NBC
because he's been killing it with his impressions on "SNL"
since 2017, and now he's part
of NBC's newest comedy "Kenan."
Please welcome Chris Redd!
What up?
- What's good? Lilly, how you feeling?
- I'm good. How are you?
- Man, I'm chilling. You know what I mean?
I got the tiniest chain on, and I'm just chilling out.
You know? - Mine might be tinier, so...
- Oh, huh. You right.
You right. You right.
- Where are you right now? - I'm in LA on a lot.
We're shooting the "Kenan" show,
so it's my lunch break, so this is how much
I wanted to be on the show.
- You're giving me your lunch break?
I know how serious that is. - Yo, it's real serious, yo.
- How has your quarantine been though?
You quarantined in New York, right?
Or LA? - I did.
I quarantined in New York for the first 3 1/2 months
when no one could get tests, but, like, Idris Elba
and, like, Tom Hanks, so once they started getting
more tests out to the population,
I got my test at CityMD.
If there's another pandemic, don't go to there first.
You know what I'm saying. - Why do you say that?
- Because I waited, like, eight weeks
for my results.
I would've been dead if I had it by that time.
And then I got a wrapper test that same day.
I got both results, and I was double negative,
so I was like, "Dang, I'm a winner."
And then the doctor was like,
"But you do got high blood pressure though."
So you can't really ever win in America.
That's kind of the point.
- I'm laughing, but I really care about your health.
I want you to know that, okay?
- Oh, I'm all good. I'm good.
- Okay, good, so you started quarantine in New York
and then what? - Yeah.
Once I got the tests, I did a road trip
down to Mississippi.
It's where my family is, and where we're from,
and I stayed with my mom and my dad
for about six weeks.
The plan was one week
because I'm a normal human being,
but then it was like, you know, pandemic times.
Like, they have a lot of space.
I was coming from New York, which is like a box now.
And I was walking around the house like,
"Yo, maybe I just stay a little bit longer."
And it was, like, the longest time
I've ever kicked it with my parents,
and I realized, like, all the stuff I got from them,
you know what I mean?
Like, work ethic and, like, my love for movies,
and as I paid more attention to them,
I realized if they hadn't met each other now today,
there's no way they would have met
or liked each other 'cause they're
two different people completely,
and they work together very well,
but, like, my mom likes to go outside and do stuff,
and my dad, he's been quarantining
way before COVID.
Like, nothing has changed in his life for real.
- So when you're there in Mississippi
with your parents, you meant to stay for one week,
you stayed for six. How did you pass the time?
- I was on this dating app for a little bit.
- Ooh! - I was.
I was.
I never really take 'em seriously.
I seen this lady. She was from Mississippi.
And Mississippi, like, we have
so much family down there, I usually go down there,
and I'm like, "I'm not gonna meet nobody
'cause they're all cousins." There's no--
Like, I used to be so mad when I was younger
'cause I was like, "I don't want to go down there.
"Everybody related to me, bro.
I want to meet girls that ain't my cousin."
You know?
And so I found one girl that was, like, not my cousin,
and so we started talking for a little bit back and forth,
but then I was like-- stuff started getting busy,
and I was going back to New York.
She didn't know who I was, though, which was cool.
So then she just kept texting me back and forth
and at one point she was texting so much
I just wasn't in the conversation anymore.
It was just her, and then, like, last week,
the girl, after having said nothing for months,
hit me up and said, "You're a catfish.
"I looked up who you think you are,
and that person is extremely famous."
Not extremely. Would not use those terms.
"And he's not you.
I don't know why you want to be somebody else."
I was like, "That's how bad I text back
that this woman thinks I'm a catfish of myself."
So I sent her a tweet of me saying that.
And she was like, "I can't believe this.
I am blown away."
It was the funniest thing
I had ever experienced.
And that was the first text back
I had texted in months.
I think we're cool now.
We're getting married next month.
- Oh, true, true, true.
You joined "SNL" in 2017, and you have experienced
your fair share of hosts.
Now, who would you say is one of the more memorable hosts
you've ever had the pleasure of working with?
- Eddie Murphy hands down.
It's like truly-- 'cause it's like
I never thought he would come back,
and then I never thought I'd be there to see the GOAT
come back, and it was just, like,
every single moment of that week was fire, man.
There's nothing like trying to write
and make Eddie Murphy laugh. - That's awesome.
Here's what I'm trying to figure out, right?
Because right now you're in LA.
You're in L.A. shooting the newest NBC comedy,
"Kenan" correct? - Yeah.
- Okay, that shoots in LA.
But "SNL" shoots in New York. - Yeah.
- But these are shooting at the same time.
- Yes. - Do you have a clone?
What is the conspiracy theory here, Chris?
If that is your real name.
- There's no conspiracies about it, man.
I just work hard.
No, we fly out on Friday nights,
and we get to New York, and then we do the show.
And we fly out Sunday morning, and then we get here,
and we sleep.
And then we wake up on Monday to do the whole week,
and then that's just on repeat.
- And on top of that,
you're giving me your lunch break.
That is inhuman.
- Yeah, I'm actually doing too much.
As I say it out loud, I feel like
I should pull back on something.
- How many weeks is this gonna happen, this pattern?
- I think we're going to the end of March.
I think "SNL" goes until June, so you know.
- Talk to me about "Kenan."
As I said, NBC's newest comedy.
Obviously, it is with
your "SNL" costar Kenan Thompson.
What is the premise of the show?
- Well, Kenan plays a morning host
in Atlanta who's also recently widowed,
and he's trying to take care of two of his daughters
with his father-in-law who moved in
when his wife passed and never left
and his brother who I play who also--
I am also the manager.
So, like, if I had a business card--
if my character had a business card,
it would have, like, 16 slashes in it.
- We have a clip from the show. Let's check it out.
- See you.
- Oh, maybe just one more hug.
You know I'm all about the hug life.
- Oh, just in time for the hug! - Uncle Gary!
- I'ma get some of that too!
- Okay, all right, thank you, thank you!
What, you just get home? - Yeah, boy.
The club was thick, boy. I got nine numbers.
She must have left the last one off by accident,
but I'll find her. - I hope you do.
- Anyway, what I miss? - Oh, my God, so much.
I was in there sleeping, and I heard a noise--
- Hey, man, I'm late for work. We don't have time for that.
Gary, you good to drive?
- No, but I'm up for the challenge.
- Nope. - Bye!
- Bye!
- That looks so fun! Your character seems hilarious.
I cannot wait to see more.