The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian
sketch comedyA sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
group formed in 1984, consisting of
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
s
Dave FoleyDavid Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
,
Kevin McDonaldKevin Hamilton McDonald is a Canadian comedian and actor, known as a member of the Canadian sketch comedy group The Kids in the Hall.-Early life:...
,
Bruce McCullochBruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, writer, comedian, and film director. McCulloch is best known for his work as a member of The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe, and as a writer for Saturday Night Live. McCulloch has also appeared on series such as Twitch City and Gilmore...
,
Mark McKinneyMark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
, and
Scott ThompsonScott Thompson is a Canadian television actor and comedian, best known for his time as a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall.-Personal life:...
. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on
CBCCBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and
HBOHBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
in the United States. The theme song for the show was the instrumental "Having an Average Weekend" by the Canadian band
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy PlanetShadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet were a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best-known for the track "Having an Average Weekend," which was used as the theme to the Canadian sketch comedy TV show The Kids in the Hall...
. The troupe made one movie,
Brain CandyBrain Candy is a feature film by The Kids in the Hall, a Canadian comedy troupe. Directed by Kelly Makin, filmed in Toronto, and released in 1996, it followed the five season run of their television series, which had been successful in both Canada and the United States.The five man team plays all...
, which was released in 1996.
The name of the group came from
Sid CaesarIsaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar is an Emmy award winning American comic actor and writer known as the leading man on the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in Grease and Grease 2.- Early life :Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York,...
, who, if a joke didn't go over, or played worse than expected, would attribute it to "the kids in the hall," referring to a group of young writers hanging around the studio.
Before the troupe formed,
Bruce McCullochBruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, writer, comedian, and film director. McCulloch is best known for his work as a member of The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe, and as a writer for Saturday Night Live. McCulloch has also appeared on series such as Twitch City and Gilmore...
and
Mark McKinneyMark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
were working together doing
TheatresportsTheatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges...
in
CalgaryCalgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, performing in a group named "The Audience."
Norm HiscockNorm Hiscock is an Emmy Award winning screenwriter and producer. He is known for his work on Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill, The Kids in the Hall, Corner Gas and most recently Parks and Recreation...
, Gary Campbell, and Frank Van Keeken were co-members and later became writers on the show.
