The Kids in the Hall's first TV series went off the air 22 years ago. But somehow, those comedy sketches about head crushers, chicken ladies and drinking daddies seem just as relevant today as they did in 1995.

There’s a reason for that, says comedian Kevin McDonald, a founding member of the Canadian sketch-comedy troupe and co-star of the cult TV series of the same name.

Like their comedy idols Monty Python, The Kids in the Hall mostly steered clear of parody and current events.

Instead, they went for more timeless — if admittedly bizarre — subject matter.

“Except for Scott Thompson, we never read newspapers,” says McDonald, who performs Sunday at Laugh In Comedy Café in south Fort Myers. “And we sort of had an unspoken rule: If something was funny but it was about something that happened in politics or some crazy thing with a celebrity, we weren’t interested. It was too topical.”

They’d do parody sometimes, McDonald says. But it was so subtle you probably missed it.

Take McDonald’s popular Things To Do sketch, where a guy is so fixated on crossing things off his to-do list that he asks for help from the bank robbers who take him hostage.

“Filmically, it’s a very subtle, you-wouldn’t-know-it-unless-I-told-you parody of 'Reservoir Dogs,'” McDonald says. “Just filmically.

“So we used elements of parody… (But) we were just more interested in doing a good sketch, and I think that helped make us timeless.”

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McDonald plans to tell more Kids in the Hall stories Sunday when he appears at Laugh In. The comedy icon is teaching a workshop on sketch comedy and improv that morning, followed by a comedy performance that night (including his students performing their sketches).

The News-Press chatted with McDonald about The Kids in the Hall, obsession, that horrible thing he does to people, and — breaking news! — plans for a new Kids in the Hall TV series (maybe).

Here’s what we learned:

The Kids in the Hall never really broke up. In fact, they’re in talks right now to do a limited-run TV series.

“You’re the first guy to know this,” McDonald says. “Last night, before I got on the plane, we got a Kids in the Hall group message to all of us. (Producer) Lorne Michaels wants us to do what Mr. Show did, and do like six episodes of sketches for something like Netflix.

"It’s so at the beginning, we’re not able to even get conference calls together. There’s always one or two of us that are kind of busy. And because we are who we are, there’s always one of us against it.

“But I think, right now, there’s no one against it. … And I’ll try to get it going, because I’m the one who’s supposed to get it going. ... It's super exciting!"

Much of McDonald’s comedy is inspired by the theme of obsession.

“This is because I’m obsessed,” he says. “I’m an obsessed person.”

His Things to Do sketch is one of the most obvious examples.

“Being driven to reach an end that no one else cares about is funny,” McDonald says “There’s something interestingly funny about that. And I’m just lucky enough to know that because I’m obsessive. It doesn’t help my relationships so much, but…"

McDonald’s mustache in the Things to Do sketch came from an odd request to the costume department.

“It’s funny,” he says. “I asked for an obsessive mustache, and they knew what I meant for some reason.

“It’s sort of an upside down V, and it makes him look more obsessed. It sort of looks like an arrow, which is perfect for obsession.”

Another popular character, the Slipped My Mind guy, was based on one of McDonald’s worst character traits. He wrote the sketch one morning with co-writer Norm Hiscock.

“For once, we didn’t have an idea,” McDonald says. “And I said, ‘Norm, what are we gonna write today?’ And he said, ‘Why don’t we write about that horrible thing you do to people?’

“And I didn’t know what he meant. I said, ‘What horrible thing I do to people?’ And he said, ‘Well you always promise you’ll do something for them and than you never do.’ And then I laughed and said, ‘Well, I guess that is sort of true. I never thought that.’”

McDonald blames it on his deep need to please people.

“When I promise them things, I really mean it!” he says. “And then, like, seven hours later I’m home by the record I said I would tape for them, and that feeling is gone and I forget about it.

“And so we came up with character: ‘Oh, will you do that for me?’ ‘Will do….’ And then they’ll say, ‘Where is it?’ ‘Slipped my mind…’”

For Sunday’s performance, McDonald will portray a guy trying to do stand-up but not entirely succeeding. Still, he admits the show might be too meta for audiences who don’t know him or his comedy.

“I’m pretending to be a guy having trouble doing stand-up,” he says. “But they don’t know me, so they just think I’m an aging guy having trouble doing stand-up.”

The Kids in the Hall’s absurd comedy style is often compared to Monty Python. But McDonald says it goes farther back than that.

“Of course, we got it from Monty Python,” he says. “Monty Python got it from Goon Show. Goon Show got it from The Marx Brothers. So it’s passed along.”

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells (News-Press) (Facebook), @charlesrunnells (Twitter), @crunnells1 (Instagram)

If you go

Who: Comedian Kevin McDonald of The Kids in the Hall

Where: Laugh In Comedy Café, 8595 College Parkway, Unit 270, south Fort Myers

When: McDonald teaches a sketch comedy/improv workshop from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Then he and his students perform at 7:30 p.m., including a Q&A with the audience.

Tickets: $180 for the 8 ½ hour workshop, $20-$30 for the stand-up show.

Info: 479-5233 or laughincomedycafe.com