Kenny vs. Spenny: Iconic Canadian frenemies prove some things never change – Global News

While their show has been off the air for more than a decade, Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice are, for the most part, up to their same old antics.

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The stars of the provocative and, at times, wildly offensive Canadian television hit Kenny vs. Spenny admit that while the show hasnt aged particularly well, theyre still playing the same old schtick Hotz continues to mercilessly mock and humiliate Rice for laughs, while Rice endures the dressing down for a paycheque.

For those who need a refresher, Kenny vs. Spenny centred around the pair, who were living as roommates in Toronto at the time. They would challenge each other to absurd and ridiculous competitions of the will. Whoever lost was subjected to mean-spirited humiliation as punishment.

Since the series wrapped in 2010, the comedic duo has been travelling off-and-on, bringing their live stage shows to audiences across North America. Now, theyre hitting the road on the East Coast of Canada with a live stand-up comedy special to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show.

Global News sat down with the pair to discuss what fans can expect at a live show, how their comedy has changed over the years, the legacy of Kenny vs. Spenny and why they consider themselves to be uncancellable.

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(You can watch a video of the interview, above, but here is a snippet of the conversation.)

Global News: What does a live show look like? How does it differ from what you guys did on the show?Rice: Everyone wants us to compete but that would not work without the bells and whistles of a television production team. But its a very personal show, as weve known each other forever our fathers were friends and (Hotz) knows everything about me, unfortunately, and I know everything about him. And its really, fundamentally, just me trying to survive in a very hostile environment.

I dont like the fans, they dont like me, they love Kenny so thats what I deal with.

Hotz: I kind of disagree with the competitive aspect. I think were both instinctually competing to be more loved. Maybe not Spencer, so much, because I totally overpower him and push his buttons, but the show is about you spending a night with us as though we were spending a night together in your basement.

We basically try to do everything in our power to make the audience laugh. I throw Spencer under the bus, I make him angry, the audience laughs and the more the audience laughs, the angrier he gets with them. My job is to make the audience hate Spencer as much as he hates them and once that happens, it escalates into something extremely unique for a live comedy show.

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We have a very unique demographic and cult-ish group of fans who grew up with us. When we started comedy in Canada, the comedy was mostly politics based and there wasnt a lot of comedy outside that.

Rice: We dont do (former Ontario premier) Dalton McGuinty jokes, is what Kennys trying to say.

A lot of people watched the show when I was in a phase of my life where I was trying to do good trying to save the world, trying to be a good person and use our platform properly.

But when the live show came around, Kenny, quite amazingly with his memory, remembers before the television show, when I wasnt such a good guy I was actually a terrible person. So, he uses those stories to rile me up, so the audience gets to see a side of me that never made the show.

Hotz: I try to expose and eviscerate him on stage as being a monster, try to get him cancelled, try to use the #MeToo movement to help destroy him. But for this show, the 20th-anniversary show, Ive systematically gone into drives and old footage and pulled out the stuff I, frankly, cant even believe theyre letting us show. Its very, very abrasive content that didnt even clear the broadcasters at the time of the television show. Its insanely graphic and controversial.

Rice: Without my consultation, hes picked clips that make me look particularly bad, but the funny thing is that hes chosen clips of himself that make him look bad. Its a mish-mash of self-deprecation and male ego on full display.

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GN: You can look back on the television footage and see why broadcasters and streaming services would now be hesitant to syndicate the old episodes. Its so wildly inappropriate for todays standards, but it wasnt really like that at the time it aired.Rice: The content thats not appreciated anymore but it was at the time its frustrating for me, because Kennys sense of humour is a shock sense of humour which means he has to say things and wants to say things that are politically incorrect. But Ive known Kenny my whole life and hes not homophobic, hes not racist, hes none of those things that people think he is from seeing his character on the show.

Hotz: Of course Im not! My best friend is!

Rice: Yeah, yeah. Shut up, Kenny. But, yeah, Ive always asked myself, What should we do? Do we clean up the act? But, no. We dont. We do what weve always done, knowing in our hearts that were good people.

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Hotz: We continue to do the live show, we continue coming back, because we have a rabid group of international fans that wont let the show die. Weve tried to let it die.

People have to realize the show started at a time that the internet was just being born, it was the inception of social media. I mean, I started Kenny vs. Spenny on MySpace. Our studio claims that our show was one of the forefounders of YouTube-style comedy where you prank your friends and screw with your folks.

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We were some of the first to expose the fragility of the male ego, to expose just how stupid men are.

Rice: And were hot.

Hotz: Yes, we were very hot. I looked like George Clooney, now I look like George Clooney waiting for a kidney. Spencer looks like Slash married Salad Fingers.

Rice: The dynamic you see between us in the show and, now, in the live show, is very much how we are in real life.

Hotz: In reality, the competitions didnt matter as much as who we were as individuals and our dynamic. The show really juxtaposed happy vs. unhappy, or I care vs. I dont care Spenny cared, I didnt and its a show that glorified a cheater in a country where were all so kind and moral. Everyones lived vicariously through us because were just so sick of being polite.

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GN: What are you looking forward to on the East Coast?Hotz: Getting away from our families.

Rice: *making a claw gesture with both hands* Lobster.

Seriously, though, Im not going to kiss a fish, no matter what anybody says.

Hotz: Your wifes not coming?

Rice: Shut up, Kenny.

Hotz: I drove out there once to score some hash and now Ive been going there for many, many years. I love it out there.

Fans can catch Rice and Hotzs show, now on tour, in the following locations:April 27: Summerside, P.E.I., at the Harbourfront TheatreApril 28: Fredericton, N.B. at the Fredericton PlayhouseApril 29: Moncton, N.B. at the Tide & BoarApril 30: Saint John, N.B. at the Imperial TheatreMay 10: Halifax, N.S., at the Spatz TheatreMay 11: Truro, N.S., at the MacDonald RoomMay 12: St. Johns, N.L., at the Holy Heart TheatreMay 13: Corner Brook, N.L., at Marble Mountain Resort

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Full episodes of Kenny vs. Spenny are available on YouTube.

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Kenny vs. Spenny: Iconic Canadian frenemies prove some things never change - Global News