After 26 years, The Kids in the Hall is officially back. Back in 2020, Prime Video announced plans for the iconic comedy troupe to come together once more for a new series. Obviously, we’ve been keeping our eyes out for updates—and steering clear of the Head Crusher, should he be lurking nearby. At last, we have a glimpse at the new series and a release date. The trailer not only teases classic Kids in the Hall hijinks, it reveals the series’ May release.
The reunion includes all of the original cast members from the 1989-95 series. Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson have all signed on to return for an eight-episode run as creators, writers and executive producers. Fellow Canadian Lorne Michaels, who executive produced the original series, is producing the revival.
But the series won’t just feature the quintet. According to the press release, the upcoming series boasts a whole lot of exciting guest stars. They include: Paul Bellini, Pete Davidson, Catherine O’Hara, Kenan Thompson, Brandon Ash-Mohammed, Will Forte, Catherine Reitman, Samantha Bee, Fred Armisen, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Jay Baruchel, Eddie Izzard, Tracee Ellis Ross, Mark Hamill, and Colin Mochrie.
Michaels saw the troupe perform in 1986 and started plans for a TV series. He sent the Kids to a “comedy boot camp” in New York in 1987. By 1988, they made the pilot. Running for five seasons and over 100 episodes, Kids in the Hall was a weirder, quirkier version of SNL, produced in Canada for the CBC. But it found many fans here in the States.
It ran on HBO, Comedy Central, and even on CBS for a brief period. The show ended in 1995, but the following year the comedy troupe came together again for a feature film called Brain Candy. There have been other reunions since then, such as the 2010 mini-series Death Comes to Town, and a pair of live tours in the 2000s.
The actors from the series all went on to successful solo careers. Foley ended up in the popular sitcom NewsRadio, and voiced Flik in A Bug’s Life. McCulloch wrote for Michael’s other sketch comedy series, Saturday Night Live. McKinney, too, worked on SNL as a cast member for two seasons and most recently, stared in the beloved NBC series Superstore. Thompson continued to act in several movies and television series, most recently American Gods. And Kevin McDonald became a prolific voice actor, and you can hear him in shows like Invader Zim, Phineas and Ferb, and more. (McDonald and Foley also worked together in the movie Sky High.) But as good as these guys are separately, together they were magic. And we certainly can’t wait to see them back together again.
Thirty Helens agree, a Kids in the Hall reboot is just what the comedy doctor ordered. The Kids in the Hall debuts on May 13 on Prime Video.
Originally published on March 5, 2020.