Hello friends!
At this moment, life in my corner of Canada is delightful. It’s above zero, the sun is high in the sky, and I’ve temporarily turned off the thermostat and cracked open my office window. I suspect I’ll see dudes in board shorts, tees and Blundstones when I take Wesley for a walk later this afternoon.
This 2015 photo of my daughter turning her toboggan and flying saucer into a sun lounger sums up my mood right now.
I don’t want to jinx it, but I believe spring is in the air.
What better way to keep the good vibes flowing than hanging out with funny man Mark McKinney.
Welcome to Fashionably Late, my weekly dive into Canadian film and TV using Slings and Arrows, one of my favourite shows, as a jumping-off point to show off the work of Canadian talent.
We All Need A Comedy Pressure Release
I love Slings and Arrows and McKinney’s body of work because it pokes fun at Canadians’ provincial nature, which the Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines as “having or showing a narrow or limited view of life and current affairs.”
This is nothing new. Stephen Leacock – for whom our top prize in humour writing is named - captured this distinct part of the Canadian identity in his 1912 satire Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town.
We see it in the work of Terry Fallis, author of Best Laid Plans – which was turned into a 2014 TV mini-series of which McKinney was a part. I can’t find evidence its available to stream. Let me know if you find it.
It’s our provincial-ness that has got so many people all worked up arguing online about where Canada should go in our post-American world. We don’t think big enough. We’ve sat on our hands. It’s so angry out there right now.
Mark McKinney and other creators who gently poke fun at our Canadian insecurities and foibles are important because being able to laugh at ourselves is a pressure release – and we need that right now.
The Kids in the Hall (1988-1995, 1996, 2010, 2022+)
Once a Kid, always a Kid.
The Kids in the Hall is a legendary comedy troupe of five very funny guys. The current line-up of Mark McKinney, Bruce McCulloch, Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, and Scott Thompson came together in 1985.
Their weekly comedy show landed on CBC in 1988 courtesy of a development deal with Saturday Night Live creator and fellow Canadian Lorne Michaels.
Among McKinney’s popular characters were Chicken Lady, bored cop and the Headcrusher.
The Kids in the Hall comedy show ran on CBC from 1989 to 1995.
It was followed by the 1996 film Brain Candy, the eight-episode series Death Comes to Town in 2010, and in 2022, The Kids returned with a documentary The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks and a new eight-episode season.
The Kids in the Hall YouTube channel is where you’ll find the 1988 pilot, the original five seasons that ran on CBC, and 2010’s Death Comes to Town.
You can watch Brain Candy for free via the Internet Database website.
The 2022 eight-episode season and The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks documentary is on Amazon Prime. You can also stream the documentary free streaming on YouTube.
Saturday Night Live (Season 21, 1995-96)
McKinley had two stints at SNL; the first as a writer with Bruce McCulloch in 1986, during the infamous Season 11, and then he returned for Season 21 as a cast member, after Kids finished its run on CBC.
Spiceworld (1997)
McKinney played Graydon, the frustrated writer for the Spice Girls’ film within a film. He made it into the trailer.
Slings and Arrows (2003-2005)
McKinney was co-creator, writer and starred as Richard Smith-Jones, general manager of the New Burbage Theatre, a man always on the edge of madness as he tries to run an arts business in Canada.
Slings and Arrows is no longer available on CBC Gem but you can watch the complete series on YouTube, or stream it on Acorn.
Less Than Kind (2008-2013)
A Canadian dramedy that counts McKinney as its showrunner. Set in Winnipeg, it centres on Sheldon Blecher, played by Jesse Camacho, a teen growing up with his loving but highly embarrassing Jewish family. They are decidedly middle class, just trying to make ends meet while running a driving school in Winnipeg’s North End.
Less Than Kind marks the final TV performance of Maury Chaykin, who plays Sam, the dad who is always trying to make a deal or find a bargain, while Sheldon tries to hide the mania of his home life from his few friends.
All five seasons of Less Than Kind are available on Shadow Pine Studio’s YouTube channel.
Superstore (2015-2021)
This is probably McKinney’s best-known role: Glenn, the always-happy store manager on Superstore, NBC’s workplace comedy.
It’s about a group of employees in St. Louis, Missouri, who work at Cloud 9, a fictional big box chain store – not Canada’s largest grocer.
You can watch Superstore on Netflix.
Mark McKinney Needs a Hobby (2024)
A slightly bonkers but wholly delightful 10-part documentary series that is exactly what the title suggests. Mark, now in his mid-60s realizes that he built a career doing what he loves but now discovers he doesn’t do anything else.
You can watch all 10 seasons on Crave.
The Z-Suite (2025)
A new ad world comedy that reunites McKinney with his Superstore co-star Nico Santos, and which stars Lauren Graham.
It’s streaming on Tubi.
So there you go. Mark McKinney. Writer, director, producer and comedian. We first met him as a member of Kids in the Hall and he’s kept us laughing by showing us both the absurb and the familiar.
Hope you enjoy the shows and we’ll see you next time on Fashionably Late.
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