Former Saturday Night Live cast member Jim Belushi has a new featured gig: hosts of a real-life show on A&E.
K9 PD with Jim Belushi debuted March 25 and focuses on the integral role dogs (specifically German Shepherds) play in canine police units. Belushi starred in three movies on three subject: K-9 (1989) and two of its three sequels over the following decade.
Belushi is the narrator and host of K9 PD, which is released weekly on A&E and available to stream online from that network.
For Belushi, the series made sense given his experience with the K9 movie franchise.
“I thought it was natural for me. I love the German shepherd,” Belushi told TV Insider. “I did three K9 movies, I did ride-alongs with these great officers and their dogs to train for those movies. I also went to the police academy and worked on training the dogs. I did some training with my dog.”
Belushi spent two seasons on the cast of SNL, for Seasons 9 and 10 from 1983 to 1985. He followed in the footsteps of his older brother, John Belushi, who was a member of the original cast.
Unlike his brother, Jim was never a star on SNL, though he provided a solid presence on the program in an era when it was unclear the show would survive. Later, he starred for eight seasons in his own sitcom, According to Jim, which aired for 182 episodes.
Other notable post-SNL work for Belushi was About Last Night, a 1980s comedy film in which he co-starred with Rob Lowe and Demi Moore.
The 71-year old Belushi is a link to an interesting era of SNL, as well as one of the biggest stars to ever step onto the Studio 8H stage. Still, he’s established an excellent career in Hollywood. With K9 PD with Jim Belushi he secures a hosting role much like Dan Aykroyd, who hosts The Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd on The History Channel.
