Screens

Kids in the Hall
What: Series, 6 episodes, 30 mins.
Where: Prime Video
When: Fri., May 13
Genre: Sketch comedy
Why you should watch: Fans of the legendary Canadian sketch comedy troupe have fresh skits to savour as the laugh legends pick up where they left off.

Credit the Kids in the Hall for not making their rebooted new comedy series on Prime Video a parade of characters from their legendary sketch show but, instead, a riff on their new, creakier reality.

Comedy legends the Kids in the Hall saw their act grow from a weekly gig at Toronto’s Rivoli club to a Canadian (and eventually U.S.) syndicated TV show in the ’80s and ’90s. While there is a threatened “head crushing” by Mark McKinney, much of the humour is based around the Kids these days rather than a parade of trademark taglines and recycled characters. And, newsflash, they’re older.

As the Kids emerge from what turns out to be an early grave at the beginning of the rebooted series, Dave Foley mutters, “Am I still the cute one?” as he spits out some of the dirt the team had been “buried” under. One of the best skits sees the Kids shaking many things, including their booties, as part of a seniors’ strip show. The Kids are definitely not afraid to make themselves the butt of any jokes here — even if it requires showing their butts.

Fans of KITH will be thrilled that a reunion that often seemed impossible — the troupe is legend for its creative spats — was able to happen and prove to be more than just an exercise in nostalgia. For Gen Zers, it’s a chance to see what all the fuss was about, not through reruns but fresh interpretations of the troupe’s trademark bizarreness.