Jun 07, 2019

Mitchell will appear with fellow Nick stars, including JoJo Siwa, Owen Joyner, and Ella Anderson for SlimeFest 2019 in Chicago.

When All That’s Kel Mitchell returns to his hometown of Chicago four places are on his must-visit list: Taurus Flavors on the South Side for hoagies, Garrett Popcorn for “the Chicago mix” caramel and cheddar popcorn, Damenzo’s Pizza, and Navy Pier.

He’ll be lucky to make it to one of his those when he’s in town for Nickelodeon’s SlimeFest this weekend.

Mitchell’s four days in the Windy City will be a whirlwind of back-to-back press interviews and appearances to promote Nickelodeon’s reboot of the ‘90s kids’ sketch comedy series, All That. Mitchell and former co-star, Kenan Thompson, are executive producing the reboot, which premieres Saturday, June 15 at 8:30 p.m. on Nickelodeon.

Saturday he’ll be at SlimeFest to meet fans along with Nickelodeon stars, Owen Joyner and Daniella Perkins of Knight Squad; Ella Anderson and Riele Downs of Henry Danger, and Scarlet Spencer and Dallas Dupree Young of Cousins For Life. JoJo Siwa, T-Pain, Bebe Rhexha, and Pitbull are performing.

By 10:30 Thursday morning, Mitchell has already slimed a WGN reporter, appeared on the local FOX affiliate and completed a phone interview. When we talk, he’s at the Dearborn, a tavern in Chicago’s Loop neighborhood, doing more interviews with press.

During our chat, Mitchell spoke about what it’s like to be the adult in the room now and how YouTube has created a new generation of All That fans.

 

Tara Weiss: This is your second year at SlimeFest. Did you enjoy it last year?

Kel Mitchell: My daughter and wife will be there. They were with me last year and it rained. They were wrapped up with ponchos. Flo Rida brought us on stage to dance.

TW: You’re here for the meet and greet with fans on Saturday. Are the people you meet at events grown-ups who watched as kids or are they a new generation of fans?

KM: Both. We have a fan base from the ‘90s and a lot of them are parents now and are introducing their kids to All That reruns on YouTube. The kids will recognize me and say, ‘That's Double G from Game Shakers.’ The parent says, ‘No, he’s from All That.’ I have met kids who are eight who say, ‘Welcome to Good Burger.’ They weren’t even born when it was first on!

When we do an audience show for All That now, there are young kids that get super excited because they’ve been introduced to it from their parents. Shout out to Nick because the stories still hold up. It says something about what we did. I think kids today need it. There’s a lot of stuff going on.

TW: What is it like working on the new iteration of the show and being back at Nickelodeon?

KM: It’s awesome. Especially working with the Viacom family. All That was my first big gig. It’s surreal to go back and do it for another generation and be producing it as well. I’m able to give the kids advice because I’ve been through it. I tell them about what they have to look forward to and I seeing their eyes light up.

TW: How did the reboot come about?

KM: When Brian Robbins became president of Nickelodeon he said he wanted to bring All That back. We went crazy and said, ‘This needs to happen.’

TW: Robbins created the original All That in the ‘90s. What was it like working with him then and now?

KM: I watched Head of the Class all the time. So when I got to meet him and work with him in the ‘90s, this was the kid in the leather jacket from Head of the Class. I thought it was so cool. I was a huge fan. I met him in ‘94 in Chicago. He was in my audition. Now he’s a big brother. It’s cool to work with your big brother.

 

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