Comedy writer on board for The Kids in the Hall comeback
The Kids in the Hall are back with a new season of their ground-breaking sketch series starring Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson.
Duntroon resident Garry Campbell is executive producer and head writer on the show which picks right up from the CBC series that ran from 1989-1995. The intro shows the troupe getting resurrected after a used VHS copy of their 1996 feature film Brain Candy is sold at a yard sale, finally breaking even and simultaneously breaking a curse.
This time around, the show was picked up by Amazon. It has the same feel as the original but with a few more swearwords and some full frontal nudity.
“The reviews have been amazing. It’s almost bizarre how much people have received it exactly the way you hoped they would which never happens, so it’s awesome.”
Campbell said there was never an intention to reinvent the show. The goal was to make it feel like a sixth season.
Fans of the show will remember the iconic theme song by Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, The Chicken Lady, the headcrusher, Gavin and Buddy Cole.
“Honestly, The Kids In the Hall is the same thing it was then, just older and – theoretically – more mature,” he said.
Campbell had been with The Kids in the Hall since early days, working with McCullough, McKinney and a bunch of others in Calgary straight out of high school, then with Foley and McDonald in Toronto, before Thompson joined a little later. Campbell appeared in some of the show’s early sketches and then returned as a writer for the third season.
Campbell initially got the call from Bruce McCulloch that the Kids in the Hall were back, and said he was happy to help out.
He said with a laugh, it took him way too long to realize that he was showrunner.
At one point he asked himself, “Am I in charge?”
Yes, he was.
The showrunner is in charge of the creative side, overseeing every sketch and making sure it all works. Campbell said he thinks of The Kids in the Hall as five flavours and it was his job to make sure that all the flavours were represented in every episode.
The shoot wrapped last summer and Campbell continued working on post production into the fall.
“This was a labour of love for me. I started my television career with these guys so it’s bizarre to be doing it again – 35 years later. And on top of all that, it feels like gravy, it turned out well and people like it,” he said.
The show is getting great ratings. It has 100 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, an 8.5 on IMDB and is streaming at Number 3 in Canada on Amazon Prime.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been on a show that was so well reviewed and I know that is meaningful and meaningless, but I’m going to take it as meaningful right now.”
The eight-episode 2022 season of The Kids in the Hall launched on May 13. It’s possible that Amazon will commit to a second season of The Kids in the Hall reboot. Campbell said they should know in the next few weeks.
