Groundbreaking Comedy Troupe "The Kids in the Hall" Reunite on IFC

THE KIDS IN THE HALL: DEATH COMES TO TOWN "Death Comes to Town," an 8-Part Original Series Premieres August 20, 2010 at 10PM ET/PT with two back-to-back episodes

All Five "Kids" Together Again on U.S. Television; Comic Murder Mystery Introduces All-New Narrative Format

Shortly after the arrival of the Grim Reaper to Shuckton, Ontario on a Greyhound bus, everyone in the small town is implicated when one of its most distinguished citizens is found murdered. Death Comes to Town, an original scripted series of eight 30-minute episodes, premieres on IFC on August 20 at 10:00PM ET/PT, marking the return of the audacious comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall to U.S. television for the first time since their cult series ended in the mid-1990s.

Famous for their distinctive and surreal sketch comedy, all five original members of The Kids in the Hall - Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson - star in IFC's new scripted comedy series and play almost all of the characters in their trademark gender-bending style. Co-written by all five Kids, the story of Death Comes to Town unfolds in a serialized format, different from their previous work on television, that uses "act-enders" to carry viewers forward to the next episode.

"It's a gothic comic mini-series," explains Bruce McCulloch. "Like 'Corner Gas' meets 'Twin Peaks'. It's silly and it's dark, and it's about outsiders and people in over their heads."

"It is still very much a Kids in the Hall troupe effort," adds Dave Foley, "As long as what we're pursuing is what we think is really funny, that's what keeps us honest."

Death Comes to Town was conceived by Bruce McCulloch, who is also executive producer. The series is directed by Kelly Makin and produced by Susan Cavan of Accent Entertainment.

I'm crushing your head. I'm crushing your head. Crush. Crush.

The Kids in the Hall burst onto North American TV screens in 1989, launching the careers of five young comics and permanently establishing their wacky humor in the annals of pop culture. Often inappropriate and sometimes shocking, their comedy has been characterized by a skewed perspective on human nature. Produced by Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video (Saturday Night Live) with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), The Kids in the Hall aired in the U.S. for six years, first on HBO and then on CBS. Their only feature film, Brain Candy with The Kids in the Hall, was released in 1996 and instantly became a cult classic. The troupe recently completed a live tour of over 40 North American cities, featuring all new material for the first time since the end of their run on TV.

About IFC

IFC creates and champions authentic, original content that is "Always On. Slightly Off." Since 1994, IFC has cultivated television programming that challenges the conventions of storytelling. Today, IFC continues to embrace content with an indie perspective. Original series - headlined by brand-defining scripted and sketch comedy - air alongside an extraordinary collection of films and cult TV shows. Long and short-form original content inspired by music, web, gaming, animation, news, and culture is available on multiple platforms. IFC provides viewers access to must-see festivals and events around the country, like the Film Independent's Spirit Awards and SXSW. IFC.com features exclusive video, podcasts, blogs, news and reviews cultivated and written by industry experts. The network's On Demand offering, IFC Free, gives fans the opportunity to watch select content from IFC whenever they want. IFC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.

Death Comes to Town Episode Guide:

Episode One and Two - Premiere Friday, August 20th at 10:00PM ET/PT.

Death Checks In

Death arrives on a Greyhound in the small town of Shuckton, Ontario at the same time that the townsfolk and their Mayor are waiting for news on their bid for the next Olympics. We meet the townsfolk of Shuckton: Crim, the Purell-sniffing town ne'er-do-well; Doc Porterhouse, the friendly town abortionist; Marnie, the loveable pizza delivery lady with Alzheimer's; Mayor Larry Bowman and his wife Marilyn, a "secret drinker;" Shuckton's Action News team; and Ricky, a 600-pound ex-hockey star. Mayor Bowman has an ominous visit from his past.

Who Mailed our Mayor?

The town bustles with activity when one of its citizens is found murdered and the police are called in to investigate. Action News anchor Corrinda is awoken by her producer, Levon, from a drunken one-night-stand and called into action. Dusty, the town coroner, attends to the crime scene and bags his evidence. Crim is discovered at the crime scene passed out in his chip truck.with blood on his hands.

Episode Three and Four - Premiere Friday, August 27 at 10:00PM ET/PT.

The Stages of Grief

As the town of Shuckton mourns, Dusty begins his autopsy and ends up taking his work home with him. Meanwhile, the cops review Crim's rap sheet, and Ricky and Marnie begin their own investigation. Corrinda realizes her one-night-stand has had consequences, Marilyn is named the new Mayor of Shuckton, and Death goes a-lookin' for some redheads.

Big City Smackdown

A Big-City prosecutor arrives in town for the start of the trial and the public defender, Sam Murray, struggles to deal with his cat Buttonhole's double coma while simultaneously preparing for the defense. Heather Weather conspires to take advantage of Corrinda's predicament and steal her job and Shaye's affections, and Mayor Marilyn discovers some ugly truths about her husband.

Episode Five and Six - Premiere Friday, September 3 at 10:00PM ET/PT.

The Butterfly is to Blame

As the trial gets underway, housebound Ricky sends Marnie into the field to continue his investigation. Corrinda wrestles with a tough decision. Death gets the call and kicks his ladies out of the No-Tell. Dusty hides a love that dare not speak its name, and young Rampop witnesses another murder in the town, between the two butterflies.?

Cause of Death

When another murder occurs in Shuckton, Sam requests a mistrial, while Big-City uses the shape-shifting defense. Dusty is called to testify, revealing that his autopsy was never completed and the judge orders the body exhumed. Death gets a visit from the Shuckton 5-0. Ricky and Marnie's investigation surpasses the police, as they discover both the murder weapon.and something even more shocking.

Episode Seven and Eight - Premiere Friday, September 10 at 10:00PM ET/PT.

Seriously Shocking News

Shuckton is stunned by the news of Dusty's one-sided love affair. Buttonhole the cat has some unfortunate accidents. The lawyers perform their final summations in Crim's trial and Sam's goes really well - until the end. Ricky makes yet another even more shocking discovery! Death gets paged again.

Dead Man Walking

Mayor Marilyn is in top form hosting her first public execution. Ricky and Marnie show up at the execution, in the nick of time, and Marnie makes the most shocking revelation of all. Death finally gets to face off against Ricky.

The Kids in the Hall:

Bruce McCulloch - an award-winning writer, actor, director, producer and recording artist who has spent the last several years developing, producing and writing for American network television. In 2007, Bruce created, wrote and executive produced the TV series, Carpoolers for ABC/Dreamworks. Other series writing credits include two seasons of Saturday Night Live.

His feature film writing and directing credits include Comeback Season, starring Ray Liotta and Glenne Headley, Stealing Harvard for Imagine Entertainment and Revolution Studios, starring Jason Lee and Tom Green, Superstar for Lorne Michaels and Paramount Pictures, starring Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell, and Dog Park, starring Luke Wilson and Natasha Henstridge. In addition to his role with The Kids in the Hall, as an actor McCulloch has also starred in Brain Candy with The Kids in the Hall and Dick.

He has written and performed in several one-man shows, including "Two-Headed Roommate" and "Slightly Bigger Cities." He also co-wrote and starred in a stage adaptation of the book, "Letters to Wendy's". Bruce has two spoken-word/comedy/music CDs, "Shame-based Man" and "The Drunk Baby Project".

Dave Foley - an award-winning actor and writer who has been extremely prolific in both Canada and the U.S. on television and in film. The same year that The Kids in the Hall wrapped their first season on television, Foley began starring as the series lead in the successful sitcom, News Radio, which ran for five seasons on CBS. Other television series successes include recurring roles on Will and Grace, Scrubs, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and Robson Arms.

Feature film roles include Brain Candy with The Kids in the Hall, Blast from the Past, with Alicia Silverstone, Dick, Don McKellar's Childstar, The Wrong Guy, which he also wrote and executive produced, and the more recent Toronto International Film Festival hits, Cooper's Camera and Suck. Foley has been a successful voice actor as well, lending his voice to hit animated films including Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut.

An avid poker aficionado, Foley both hosted and played for more than two years on Celebrity Poker Showdown.

Kevin McDonald - on his first day as an enrolled student in Second City improv workshops, Kevin met Dave Foley and they became friends. They worked together as ushers in an art house theater and together they joined up with Luciano Casimiri and formed the first incarnation of The Kids in the Hall.

Following his time with The Kids, Kevin has gone on to star in feature film and television in both Canada and the U.S. Television includes a recurring role on That 70s Show and appearances on Friends, Seinfeld, News Radio, Corner Gas, Arrested Development, Carpoolers, and Less Than Kind. Film roles include Brain Candy with The Kids in The Hall, The Ladies Man and Sook Yin Lee's feature film directorial debut, Year of the Carnivore.

Kevin has also written for television, notably 63 episodes of The Martin Short Show.

Mark McKinney - a comedian, actor, writer and producer. Following the success of The Kids in the Hall television show, Mark went on to star on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997 and, in 1998, wrote for Aaron Sorkin's Sports Night. He later co-created the mini-series, Slings and Arrows, in which he wrote and starred for all three seasons. Mark then went on to both write and act on NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Mark has also appeared in several feature films, including Brain Candy with The Kids in the Hall, and the SNL spin-offs Superstar, The Ladies Man, and A Night at the Roxbury. Mark had a leading role in the Spice Girls' movie Spice World, and also starred opposite Isabella Rosellini in Guy Maddin's acclaimed film, The Saddest Music in the World.

Mark is producer, senior story editor and show-runner for Canada's Citytv series, Less Than Kind, which launches its second season in January 2010. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sir Peter Ustinov award for outstanding comedic contribution, following in the footsteps of John Cleese, Bob Newhart, Martin Short, Tracy Ullman, and others.

Scott Thompson - a former member of the Toronto-based improv comedy group The Love Cats, Scott later joined The Kids in the Hall, where he created the infamous character, Buddy Cole, for whom Scott went on to pen the autobiography, "Buddy Babylon".

Following The Kids in the Hall, Scott was a series regular on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show. He co-starred in Showtime's More Tales from the City and played a recurring character on NBC's Providence. He voiced for The Simpsons, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and the Canadian animated series, Robo Roach.

In addition to Brain Candy with The Kids in the Hall, Scott can be seen in the feature films Mickey Blue Eyes, Super 8 ? and The Pacifier.