Extremely exciting news, sketch-comedy nerds: The funny Canadian boys known as the Kids in the Hall are returning to our TV screens soon! Amazon announced today that The Kids in the Hall, the Canadian sketch-comedy show that originally aired from 1989–1995, is returning to the streaming network with eight all-new episodes. All of the original troupe members — Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson — are slated to return for the new batch of episodes, and Lorne Michaels is attached as executive producer. (It’s confirmed that they will be “reprising fan-favorite characters,†so don’t worry, Buddy Cole fans.)
“Even after 30 years, The Kids in the Hall has retained its brilliance and originality. We are happy to be bringing back all of the original ‘Kids’ for the new series,†Michaels said on the news. Added Amazon Studios’ James Farrell: “We’ve been investing in Canada for several years and are excited to add to that momentum by making The Kids in the Hall the first Canadian Amazon Original series.â€
While the original sketch show ended in 1995, the Kids have reunited many times over the years, from their 1996 movie Brain Candy to the miniseries Death Comes to Town to several reunion tours. (They were also the subject of Paul Myers’s 2018 book One Dumb Guy.) There has been talk of a possible Kids in the Hall reunion series for a few years now, with McDonald saying in a 2017 interview that Michaels wanted the reunion to happen similar to what Mr. Show did with Netflix’s W/ Bob & David in 2015. “It’s so at the beginning, we’re not able to even get conference calls together. There’s always one or two of us that are kind of busy,†McDonald said. “And because we are who we are, there’s always one of us against it. But I think, right now, there’s no one against it … And I’ll try to get it going, because I’m the one who’s supposed to get it going … It’s super exciting!†We, and all 30 Helens, very much agree.