# The Kids in the Hall (1989)

> A Canadian sketch comedy troupe's surreal, character-packed sketches turn everyday absurdity into cult-favorite comedy.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1462

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 110
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Mark McKinney, Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Scott Thompson
- Network: HBO
- Cast: Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson, Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Tracy Wright, Krista Bridges, Nicole De Boer
- TMDB rating: 8.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096626/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: irreverent, surreal, deadpan, absurdist, sardonic

## What critics say

Critics and audiences broadly regard the sketch series as a distinctive, absurdist and irreverent comedy that holds up well across its run.

## Synopsis

The Kids in the Hall (1989-1995) is a Canadian sketch comedy series created by Mark McKinney, Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald and Scott Thompson for HBO. Its five members, who also star as performers, play a rotating gallery of eccentric characters, from grotesque suburban oddballs to deadpan authority figures and drag-inflected personas, in short, self-contained sketches that rarely share a plot. Each episode is built from quick bits that build to absurd punchlines, so the appeal lies in the recurring characters viewers come to know and the troupe's chemistry. The five-season run, spanning 110 episodes of roughly 25 minutes, follows no single storyline and works as a loose gathering of disconnected comedic ideas rather than a continuing narrative. Its tone is irreverent, surreal and sometimes unsettling, with a dry Canadian edge and a willingness to push against convention. Fans of Monty Python's Flying Circus, The State and SCTV will find the same anarchic character humor and cult sensibility here.

## Shows like The Kids in the Hall

- [Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969)](https://ember.film/tv/805)
- [Letterkenny (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/58089)
- [The Whitest Kids U' Know (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/9681)
- [Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/1151)
- [Get a Life (1990)](https://ember.film/tv/4776)
- [The Ben Stiller Show (1992)](https://ember.film/tv/699)
- [Portlandia (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/31222)
- [Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1998)](https://ember.film/tv/54425)
- [Grotesco (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/35267)
- [I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/75310)

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