Canadian comedy history runs deeper than most people realise. Ed Conroy has a working theory about two parallel traditions running since 1970, and Trailer Park Boys sits at the end of one of them.

The first tradition is hoser comedy, which started not with the McKenzie Brothers but with a 1970 film called Goin Down the Road. Two East Coasters hitchhike to Toronto. SCTV made it iconic. Trailer Park Boys took it to its logical extreme. Letterkenny softened it. Ed Conroy argues the era is essentially over.

The second tradition is nature comedy, running from Red Fisher in the seventies through the Red Green Show. The bridge between both worlds turns out to be Schitt’s Creek, which neither Ed nor Shane saw coming when they started the conversation.

Topics: Canadian comedy history, Trailer Park Boys, hoser comedy, Schitt’s Creek, SCTV

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Originally aired on2026-05-28