The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that aired for five seasons from 1988 to 1995, and a sixth revival season in 2022, starring the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. The troupe, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, Bruce McCulloch, and Scott Thompson, appeared as almost all the characters throughout the series, both male and female, and wrote most of the sketches.

The series debuted as a one-hour pilot special which aired on HBO and CBC Television in 1988"Kids flaunt comic courage". Toronto Star, November 29, 1988. and began airing as a regular weekly series on both services in 1989."The Kids in the Hall". Calgary Herald, September 8, 1989. The regular series premiered July 21, 1989, on HBO, and September 14 on CBC. In the United States, the first three seasons were on HBO before it moved to CBS in 1993, where it stayed for two more seasons airing late Friday nights. CBC aired the show for the whole duration of its run. A sixth, revival season of the show, which includes eight episodes, was released on Amazon Prime Video on May 13, 2022. It features the entire troupe as well as numerous guest stars, and was Amazon's first Canadian original series.

The theme song for the show is the instrumental "Having an Average Weekend" by the Canadian band Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.

Synopsis Despite their SNL connection, the show's sketches were more reminiscent of Monty Python's Flying Circus: often quirky or surreal, frequently utilizing drag, with very few celebrity impressions or pop culture parodies; the only recurring celebrity impression was of Queen Elizabeth II, played by Scott Thompson. A recurring character was Mr. Tyzik, played by McKinney, who pretended to crush people's heads from a distance with his fingers. McKinney also played Chicken Lady, a shrill-voiced sexually excitable human-chicken hybrid. Another prominent recurring character was Cabbage Head, played by McCulloch, who was a gruff-voiced cigar-smoking misogynist who frequently used the fact that he had cabbage in place of hair as a means to generate pity in the hopes of getting women into bed. Many of the sketches featured gay characters and themes; most of these sketches were written by and starred Thompson, who is gay himself.

The Kids frequently appeared as themselves rather than as characters, and some sketches dealt directly with the fact that they were a comedy troupe producing a TV show. For example, Kevin McDonald announces that if the next sketch (which he has written) is not successful, the others are considering kicking him out of the group. In another episode, Thompson declares that he is not gay anymore, which throws the other Kids into a panic, as they fear that the news will alienate the troupe's considerable gay fanbase. In yet another sketch (in which an employee, Foley, asks his boss, McDonald, for a raise) McDonald complains the setup is cliché and his character one-dimensional.

Monologues were a staple of the show. Thompson's Buddy Cole monologues are the best known, but the other Kids performed solo pieces as well. McCulloch in particular performed monologues that consisted of him, acting as himself, telling hyperbolic stories of the struggles and day-to-day experiences in his life and/or the lives of others. Prominent examples from the other Kids include Foley describing his positive attitude toward menstruation, McKinney in character as a high-pitched recluse who is describing with intense fascination his hideously infected and bruised toe, and in a gag reminiscent of Bob Newhart, a distraught McDonald calling a best friend's young son to tell him his father died, only to have the child end up consoling him, even going so far as quoting famous philosophers on the ultimate emptiness of life.

The show originated in Canada, and the content was at times edited slightly for U.S. broadcast tastes. Sketches mocking religion were sometimes cut down or removed, necessitating the addition of material from other episodes to round out the half-hour. Some US channels censored the occasional nudity as well, such as when Foley revealed to Thompson he had inexplicably grown breasts. Among the more controversial sketches was the final sketch of Season 1, "Dr. Seuss Bible", in which the troupe tells the story of Jesus Christ's crucifixion in the style of children's author Dr. Seuss.

Though the show occasionally featured guest actors (notably Neve Campbell and Nicole de Boer well before they became famous), the Kids played nearly all parts, both male and female, themselves. The only known special guests to have appeared on the show were comedian Rip Taylor and musician Chris Robinson in cameo roles. In contrast to Monty Python, where the members often donned drag to portray older women but usually utilized women such as Carol Cleveland and Connie Booth to play young and attractive female characters, all the Kids regularly played both old and young women; the frequent cross-dressing became one of the show's trademarks. Female impersonation had begun during their stage show, because they found themselves writing female characters but had no female member to play them. As Thompson explained, "The way we played women ... we weren't winking at the audience ... We were never, like, going, 'Oh, look at me! I'm a guy in a dress!' Never. We would always try to be real, and that, I think, freaked people out..."

The CBC aired the show through its entire run. Seasons 1–3 aired on HBO. In the fall of 1992, CBS picked up the show and aired it on late-night Fridays showing repeats, while HBO aired new episodes of season three. In 1993, CBS aired new episodes starting with season four. The final season aired on Fridays after Late Show with David Letterman. The series finale aired in November 1994. In January 1995, it was replaced with The Late Late Show.

In addition to the troupe's core members, other writers for the series included Diane Flacks, Norm Hiscock, Andy Jones, Garry Campbell, Paul Bellini and Brian Hartt.

Episodes

Between 1988 and 1995 there were 102 episodes of The Kids in the Hall produced, plus 9 compilation episodes. Some episodes had two versions, an American version and a Canadian version, often with alternate sketches. In 1996, the group followed the series with a feature film, Brain Candy, and in 2010 they reunited to produce an eight episode narrative miniseries, Death Comes to Town.

Show contents

Recurring sketches and characters 30 Helens Agree Thirty women (all named Helen) stand in a field and declare their agreement on a platitude or statement; for example, "Thirty Helens agree: If you have a good idea, you should write it down." One time they disagreed, but later agreed to disagree. At one point, only 29 Helens agreed that promptness was important (the thirtieth Helen was running late). The Helens appeared frequently throughout the first season, but did not appear in any subsequent seasons. According to Bruce McCulloch (in the Oral History segment of the Season 1 DVD set), 30 Helens Agree was his idea.

The Axe Murderer An axe murderer (Foley) approaches people for favours after he has obviously committed a brutal and grisly homicide with the axe he is carrying. Covered in blood, he makes polite small talk with people he runs into, casually admitting he is, in fact, an axe murderer. Before leaving, he amiably asks whoever he talks not to tell anyone or "Chop chop!", accompanied by a chopping motion with his axe.

Bauer Bauer (Thompson) is a young stoner (presumably in his late teens or early twenties) who, as a result of his frequent pot use, is very well-spoken and insightful. In one popular sketch, he reveals to his friend Kyle (McDonald) that he has been having an affair with Kyle's married mother (Foley), which of course is very unsettling to Kyle. Bauer waxes poetic about the mother's beauty, then stands up, announcing he has "got a chub-on". Bauer first appeared on the show as the best friend of Bobby Terrance (see below), but later became a recurring character in his own right.

Bellini Portrayed by series writer Paul Bellini, the character Bellini appeared on the show wearing nothing but a towel and never spoke. The character was created when the CBC asked The Kids in the Hall to hold a fan sweepstakes, and the troupe decided the winning prize would be the chance to "touch Bellini". The character was again offered as the top prize in a fourth season contest where the winner would get to have breakfast with Bellini at their local airport.

At the end of the final episode, after the five Kids have been buried alive, Bellini appears and speaks for the first time, saying "Thank God that's finally over!" as he dances on the grave.

Bellini returns for the Amazon revival to dig the Kids out of the grave.

Bobby Terrance Bobby (McCulloch) is a rebellious teenager whose love of rock 'n' roll serves as the basis for most of his sketches. Bobby views rock as an expression of personal freedom, and always fights back when he feels like he is being denied that freedom. He is frequently in conflict with his parents, played by McKinney (father) and Foley (mother). He has also taken on a sarcastic jazz-loving teacher (Foley), and once even faced off against the Devil himself (McKinney) in a guitar-playing contest. Despite his rebellious attitude toward authority, he emphatically enjoys the taste of his mother's ham steak. A pre-Star Trek Nicole de Boer appeared in three sketches as Bobby's girlfriend Laura. He, like Bauer above, are a tongue-in-cheek satire of the rebellious late-1980s/1990s Grunge/Generation X subculture.

Buddy Cole

Buddy Cole is an effeminate, gay socialite, with a penchant for going on long, comedic rants about his personal life and the gay community. He also frequently drops celebrity names, insinuating that he has many close friendships with the rich and famous. He is penpals with Elizabeth II. His monologues are often delivered from the gay bar he owns, which is called Buddy's. In the original series finale, he set fire to the bar and burned it down; in the Amazon revival season, he reveals that not only did his bar burn down, but every subsequent business built on the spot did as well.

Cabbage Head Cabbage Head (McCulloch) was born with cabbage leaves in place of hair. He also always smokes cigars and wears a red smoking jacket à la Hugh Hefner. He is extremely crude and sexist, and spends most of his time trying to pick up women for sex, using his cabbage head in an attempt to garner sympathy and, hopefully, sex ("Hey, I'm the king of the mercy fuck!" he declares in his first appearance). In one episode, he is shot in the head at a bar by a feminist crusader (also played by McCulloch) and, in a near-death experience, sees God, who said he created Cabbage Head in his image, at which point God is revealed to have a cabbage for a head himself. Later we see Cabbage Head on a Christian talk show talking about his miraculous survival, although he continues to hold sexist viewpoints, as evidenced by his promotion of a "sacred wet T-shirt contest—er, I mean, baptism" he was conducting. Whenever anyone objects to his odd behavior, he always insists he is being persecuted for his cabbage head. "Why won't you let me forget that I have a cabbage for a head!?"

Cathy and Kathie