Every HBO Comedy Ranked From Worst To Best
10. The Kids In The Hall
An all time great in the sketch comedy genre, The Kids In The Hall provided some of the best work from the Great White North for five seasons and a whopping 102 episodes between the late ‘80s and mid ’90s.
The troupe comprised Dave Foley (A Bug’s Life), Scott Thompson (Hannibal), Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, and Mark McKinney. Each member had his own particular strengths - Foley the everyman, Thompson the sensitive soul, McCulloch’s righteous fury, McDonald’s wild card, McKinney’s wry turn.
Together, they were unstoppable. Indebted to Monty Python, this was often deeply surreal, like a sketch which saw 30 women named Helen in a field concurring on some or other matter, or McKinney’s head crusher. They took wild swipes at celebrity - McDonald’s bravura turn as Buddy Holly in his final moments - and helped elevate the inherently nerdy practise of sketch comedy into something genuinely cool.
They went their separate ways but have reunited several times over the years, with their dark masterpiece feature Brain Candy a must watch. It’s nearly - but not quite - as good as sketch comedy gets.