In the early 1980s, the members of what would becomeTheKids In The Hallwere performing in different provinces of Canada. Bruce McCulloch and Mark McKinney were busy doing Theatresports together in Calgary, Alberta under the moniker “The Audience,” while in Toronto,Dave Foleyand Kevin McDonald were operating as a comedy group called “The Kids In The Hall.”
The performers encountered each other in Toronto in 1984 and began working together under the latter name, adding Scott Thompson in 1985 and finding a passionate chemistry together. Dave Foley says in an interview with Garrett Martin ofPastethat “even if [they perform] a silly, silly sketch, there’s a passion that goes into it and a real obsession with doing something nobody else would do.” When Lorne Michaels ofSNLsaw the ensemble perform, he pushed for the sketch group to have their own TV show.
By 1990,The Kids In The Hallwas a regular series on CBC television and the US’ HBO. The show quickly developed a cult following for its unique stories and unpredictable sketches. Like Dave Foley, writer Paul Bellini says in aJen Talks Too Muchinterview that his favorite part ofKids In The Hallwas developing “something different from other sketch shows,” because they never did a parody or hot-button commentaries on the day’s headlines, or impersonated anyone other than the Queen and Einstein. They were operating on an entirely different level.
The series operated for five seasons until it was canceled in the mid-1990s. Since then, the group starred in their own movieBrain Candyin 1996 and a miniseries in 2010 calledDeath Comes to Town. After a long break,The Kids In The Hallhave returnedfor another series in May 2022 on Amazon Prime Video (along with a documentary chronicling the group’s years, calledComedy Punks). In the spirit of their return, here is whyThe Kids In The Hallis one of the funniest TV shows of all time.
The Kids In The HallHas Its Own Formula
As previously mentioned,The Kids In The Hallalways strived to produce comedy no one had attempted before. Their sketches are always a combination of weird situations with an element of unpredictability, darkness, or gross-out comedy. Even their well-known sketches like “Head Crusher,” “Girl Drink Drunk,” and “Things To Do" are very weird and unusual. Not only do the Kids create odd circumstances, but they also like to be shocking.
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For example, the frequent Buddy Cole monologues from Scott Thompson are extremely provocative, with confrontational queer comedy and subversive streams of thought. Another shocking and controversial sketch is called “Cancer Boy”. The piece intended to make fun of celebrities who gained attention through spending time with sick kids. According toMental Floss, “a lot of people thought it was a bad taste jab aimed at the kids” but the comedians stood by their critique of attention-seeking celebrities, just as they did with “Dr. Seuss Bible,” which got the group in a lot of trouble forsparking religious controversy.
The Kids In The HallHave Excellent Chemistry Together
Despite some creative differences and detours during their careers, the five comedians still work excellently together. In aVulturereview of the new series, Kathryn VanArendonk says that the group is “still obsessed with absurdity and the inevitability of endings.” In an interview with Jason Tabrys ofUproxx,Dave Foley says that one of the things that make them work well together is mutual arrogance.
Related Link:The Kids In The Hall Revival Brings Original Cast to Amazon Prime
As a collective, Foley admits that they have a “supremely unfounded confidence” that the sketches they create will successful ones. TheKids In The Hallalso share the perspective that they are not performing for any particular audience, but for each other, and trying to make each other laugh (arguably the toughest crowd). Back in their pre-television days, their flyers read “don’t come, you’ll only get in the way,”
The Kids In The HallDon’t Rely On Old Ideas
Although the original show seemed tailored to the members of Generation X, Dennis Harvey ofVarietystates that the reboot involves enough “insight and interpersonal drama to entertain newbies”. The reboot is a balanced mixture of some old characters but with largely new situations and a much more polished and different style; they’re not afraid whatsoever to progress without the boon of nostalgia, and are never scared to comment on their own age, refusing to live in the past. In one new sketch, the kids appear as 60-year-old pole dancers, who the audience members find attractive for their reading glasses and “probably still [having] a landline.”
This new installment creates a bridge between the past and younger generations. Another sketch, which Movieweb considers to be one of the funniest moments of television this year, sees a Zoom meeting go awry in increasingly graphic ways. While the fresh ideas are there, the audience is still presented with recurring characters like openly gay Buddy Cole, the infamous “head crusher,” and Kevin McDonald playing himself.
AlthoughThe Kids In The Hallhad their challenges, they are back for more adventures with fresh material and beloved characters. Subversively queer, consistently funny, and absolutely bizarre, their presence in the television landscape has created some of the funniest moments on TV.
