''The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town'' (or simply ''Death Comes to Town'') is an eight-episode

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

mini-series that aired on CBC Television on Tuesdays between January 12 and March 16, 2010. The show takes place in a fictional

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

town called Shuckton where their mayor has been murdered. As the Shuckton residents cope with the loss, a new lawyer moves in to prosecute a suspect – though another resident, unsatisfied with the evidence, tries to find the real killer. At the same time, a character who is a personification of death waits at a motel room for the latest Shuckton residents to die. The series was proposed by

Bruce McCulloch Bruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, musician and film director. McCulloch is perhaps best known for his work as a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, including starring in the TV series of the same name. He ...

during a 2008

The Kids in the Hall The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, ...

comedy tour and developed by the ensemble into a dark-comedy murder mystery, a departure from their typical sketch comedy format. Inspiration for the series came in part from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

comedy series ''

The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the live ...

''. While the members of The Kids in the Hall play all of the major adult characters, a number of other comedic actors appear in supporting roles, including

Dan Redican Dan Redican (born 1956 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian comedy writer and performer and puppeteer, best known for his work with the comedy troupe, '' The Frantics.'' As a founding member of the troupe he has worked since 1979 on numerous stage ...

, Colin Mochrie,

Wayne Robson Wayne Robson (April 29, 1946 – April 4, 2011) was a Canadian television, stage, voice and film actor known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-convict and sometime thief, on the Canadian sitcom '' The Red Green Show'' from 1993 to 2006, a ...

, Leah N.H. Philpott, Susan Kent and Mike Beaver. The series was filmed in North Bay, Mattawa, and Sturgeon Falls,

in the summer of 2009.

Premise

The mayor of Shuckton, Ontario (population 27,063) is murdered several hours after announcing that the town's bid for the

2028 Summer Olympics The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cali ...

was rejected. A small-time criminal, Crim, is found with blood on him and is put on trial for the murder. However, an obese man named Ricky suspects the real murderer is still at large and, with the help of his friend Marnie, he investigates the crime. Meanwhile, the mayor's widow takes over mayoral duties, women on a local news team compete for attention, the coroner steals the mayor's body, Crim's lawyer does everything he can to keep his cat alive, and Death waits in a motel room to collect the souls of dead Shuckton citizens.

Characters

All major characters in the miniseries were played by the five members of ''The Kids in the Hall'', except for the mayor's son, who was played by young actor Landon Reynolds-Trudel. Several of the original ''The Kids in the Hall'' characters appear in cameo roles, including Mark McKinney's

Chicken Lady The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

as a candidate juror and

Paul Bellini Paul Bellini (born September 12, 1959) is a Canadian comedy writer and television actor best known for his work on the comedy series '' The Kids in the Hall'' and '' This Hour Has 22 Minutes''. He has worked on several projects with Josh Levy and ...

Appears in one episode, "Serious Shocking News," but credited as a script consultant in all eight episodes. clad only in his towel at an ATM; in addition, McCulloch and McKinney's police officers are tweaked variations of their OPP officer characters of the original series. Other actors who appeared in supporting roles include

, Credited in 1 episode, "The Stages of Grief," as playing Attorney. Colin Mochrie,Credited in 1 episode, "Big City Smack Down," as playing Veterinarian.

,Credited in 2 episodes: "Big City Smack Down" and "The Stages of Grief" as playing Bartender. Leah N.H. Philpott,Credited in 4 episodes, "Big City Smack Down," "The Butterfly Is To Blame," "Cause of Death," and "Serious Shockey News" as playing Big City's Assistant District Attorney.

Jesse Camacho Jesse Camacho (born May 29, 1991) is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his role as Sheldon Blecher in the television series ''Less Than Kind''.Credited in 3 episodes: "Cause of Death," "The Butterfly Is to Blame," and "Big City Smack Down" as playing Deputy Mayor Travis Purdy. *Larry Bowman (

), a former US draft dodger, mayor and former hockey coach of Shuckton. Although shown abusing the powers of his office, he is beloved by the townspeople. *Marilyn Bowman (

Dave Foley David Scott Foley (born January 4, 1963) is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian, director, producer and writer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of television, stage and ...

) is Larry's unhappy alcoholic wife. As requested in the mayor's will, Marilyn becomes mayor and seeks economic development opportunities for the town. *Rampop (Landon Reynolds-Trudel) is Larry and Marilyn's adopted son. He responds to questions with screeches and chirps, he flails his arms when he runs, and he sees all humans as large animated butterflies. His mother calls him "special" but Rampop is the only member of his family who knows which remote control turns on the TV and is the only one who can see Death in his true form and communicate with him. *Marnie (

Kevin McDonald Kevin Hamilton McDonald (born May 16, 1961) is a Canadian actor, voice actor and comedian. He is a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of stage, television and film productions, most notably th ...

) is a middle-aged delivery driver for the local pizzeria who is prone to frequent spells of forgetfulness she refers to as "the Fuzzies." *Ricky Jarvis (McCulloch) is an obese man who has not left his house since he lost a hockey tournament; as the captain of the town's hockey team, he lost all his stamina in sex with a rival team's cheerleader the night before the final game. *Crimson "Crim" Hollingsworth ( Scott Thompson) is a small-time criminal who self-identifies as one-sixteenth

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

. He is the prime suspect of Larry's murder. *Corrinda Gablechuck (

Mark McKinney Mark Douglas Brown McKinney (born June 26, 1959) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known as a member of the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, which includes starring in the 1989 to 1995 TV series ''The Kids in the Hall'' and 1 ...

) is the field reporter for the local TV news. After becoming pregnant with Shaye's child, she becomes conflicted on whether to stay pregnant or have an abortion. *Heather Weather (Thompson) is the weather reporter for the local TV news. She battles Corrinda for the spotlight. She is suspected of the murder when Marilyn learns Heather may have had an affair with Larry. *Levon Blanchard (Foley) is the news producer, visibly frustrated by Corrinda and Heather's rivalry. *Shaye (McDonald) is the news team's boom microphone operator. He sleeps with Corrinda only after being rejected by other women at the local bar. *Dusty Diamond (Thompson) is the town coroner who secretly harboured feelings for Mayor Bowman. *"Big City" (McCulloch) is a lawyer who is prosecuting Crim for the murder of Larry Bowman. He uses showmanship to dazzle the judge and jury. *Sam Murray (McDonald) is the inexperienced local public defense lawyer. Not understanding quality of life, he incurs expensive veterinarian bills keeping his sick 32-year-old cat, Buttonhole, alive. *Death (McKinney) is a grim reaper assigned to collect souls from Shuckton. He has personal vendetta against Ricky – who was supposed to be aborted before he was born, but who survived the procedure because Death was late to collect his soul. When off duty, he hangs out at the tavern, drinking owl's blood and flirting with voluptuous red-headed women. *Dr. "Doc" Porterhouse (Foley) is the kindly town

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

care provider. He is a talented doctor but uses odd tools and methods. *The Judge (McKinney) presides over Crim's murder trial. He is shown to be frustrated by the disappearance of his gavel and the gavel's replacements. *The Police Officers (McCulloch and McKinney) are investigating Mayor Bowman's murder.

Episodes

Production and style

During a reunion tour in summer 2008,

comedy troupe decided they would like to work together again. Since their 1996 movie ''

Brain Candy Brain Candy may refer to: * ''Brain Candy'' (TV series), 2003 standup comedy variety TV series on BBC Three * ''Brain Candy'' (album), 2020 album by Australian duo Hockey Dad * '' Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy'', 1996 Canadian comedy film by ...

'', during which they had a falling out over creative differences, they had only worked together on live comedy tours and had not appeared on television together since the end of their show in 1995. Bruce McCulloch pitched a television story idea which the rest of the group liked. They spent a couple days together brainstorming and developing characters. The storyline resolved into a murder mystery miniseries – partly inspired by the British comedy series ''

''. McCulloch described it as ''

Corner Gas ''Corner Gas'' is a Canadian television sitcom created by Brent Butt. The series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009. Re-runs still air on CTV, CTV2, CTV Comedy Channel, Much, MTV, E! and are streaming on Crave and Amazon Prime. The seri ...

'' meets ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for ...

''. The format diverged from their typical sketch comedy style by following a continuous narrative – though side-stories explore characters further. Along with producer Susan Cavin in fall 2008, they pitched the concept to CBC executive

Fred Fuchs Frederic S. Fuchs is a television and film producer active in the United States and Canada, where he holds dual citizenship. He became an executive in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on April 3, 2006. Fuchs became known for the televisio ...

who greenlit the project. The troupe hired several of the people they had worked with on ''Brain Candy'', including

Craig Northey Craig Northey (born February 9, 1962) is a Canadian musician and film and TV composer. He is one of the founding members of the band Odds, which released four albums between 1991 and 1996. They were best known for the radio singles " It Falls Apa ...

and director

Kelly Makin Kelly Makin is a Canadian television and film director. He directed episodes of ''The Kids in the Hall'' comedy television series and also directed several episodes of ''Queer as Folk'' including the series finale. More recently, Makin has dire ...

. They shot the series in North Bay, along with locations in Mattawa and Sturgeon Falls,

, which allowed them to access federal and provincial funding incentives for economic development in

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...

. For example, the courtroom scenes were filmed in North Bay's Trinity United Church and the graveyard site was filmed on Mattawa's Explorer's Point. McKinney has claimed in interviews that the red vest worn by Death was found in a storehouse of old CBC props and costumes, and was previously worn by

Bob Homme Robert Mandt Homme, C.M. ( ; March 8, 1919 – May 2, 2000) was an American-Canadian television actor. Homme was best known as the host of '' The Friendly Giant'', a popular children's television program that aired from the 1950s through the 198 ...

in ''

The Friendly Giant ''The Friendly Giant'' was a children's television program that aired on CBC Television from September 30, 1958 through to March 1985. It featured three main characters: a giant (mythology), giant named Friendly (played by Bob Homme), who lived in ...

''. While drafting the script, cast member Scott Thompson was diagnosed with stage one

non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tirednes ...

. He began chemotherapy sessions shortly before the August – September 2009 shooting dates and started four weeks of radiation treatment once shooting wrapped.

Broadcast and reception

The series was aired on CBC Television as eight 30-minute shows. It was broadcast between January 12 and March 16, 2010, on Tuesdays at 9 pm following news-comedy shows '' Rick Mercer Report'' and ''

This Hour Has 22 Minutes ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' (commonly shortened to ''22 Minutes'' since 2009) is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics w ...

''. ''Death Comes to Town'' was one of three new prime-time shows that CBC launched in the second week of January; the others were a detective comedy-drama ''

Republic of Doyle ''Republic of Doyle'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series set in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which aired on CBC Television from January 6, 2010, to December 10, 2014. The show stars Allan Hawco as private investigator and f ...

'' and a family-oriented situation comedy ''

18 to Life ''18 to Life'' is a Canadian sitcom television series that debuted on January 4, 2010, on CBC. The series is shown in Quebec on Vrak.TV with the title ''Majeurs et mariés''. Synopsis The show stars Stacey Farber and Michael Seater as Jessie H ...

''. The debut of ''Death Comes to Town'' was watched by approximately 1.054 million viewers (60% in the 25-54 age demographic), higher than both ''Republic of Doyle'' and ''18 to Life''. The American cable network

Independent Film Channel IFC (formerly known as the Independent Film Channel) is an American basic cable channel owned by AMC Networks, originally launching in 1994 as a TV channel devoted to independent films. The Independent Film Channel originally operated as a com ...

purchased the US broadcast rights and began broadcasting it on August 20, 2010. In the ''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

'', Brad Oswald reviewed the show cautiously, writing it that is "decidedly different, distinctly weird and definitely-an-acquired-taste kind of great" and that some characters and scenes "are edgy and uncompromising and sure to shock and offend nearly as many viewers as they amuse." In the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' Raju Mudhar wrote that the "humour is classic Kids, with plenty of visual gags mixed with off-colour, politically incorrect jokes" and that "the troupe's eye for satire remains sharp as ever". John Doyle in ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' wrote a negative review concluding it was "a dismal coda to the comedy troupe's outstanding career". Doyle identified himself as a fan of the original The Kids in the Hall series but found that this show had "excruciatingly awful attempts at humour" and "no comic rhythm". Doyle called it "appallingly slow-witted TV", "mediocre and maddeningly pointless". In the ''

Times-Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the Sept. 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ''Daily C ...

'', Alex Strachan provided a qualified positive review writing that it was "juvenile, sophomoric and deliberately unsophisticated" but "a joy to watch". Strachan concludes that "''Death Comes to Town'' is easy to dismiss as being lightweight, which it is, and scattershot, which it is. There's a genuine ''joie de vivre'' at work, though. ''Death Comes to Town'' is silly comedy for smart people."

Home media

The complete mini-series was released on

Region 1 DVD DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...

by Alliance Home Entertainment on August 3, 2010.

Notes

References

External links

Official site
at cbc.ca
Press release
from CBC * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kids In The Hall: Death Comes To Town, The CBC Television original programming 2010 Canadian television series debuts 2010 Canadian television series endings The Kids in the Hall Television series about personifications of death Television shows set in Ontario 2010s Canadian television miniseries Canadian political comedy television series 2010s Canadian sitcoms Television shows filmed in North Bay, Ontario