Kevin McDonald has been signed on to direct the first two episodes of the 9-episode Hulu series, 11/22/63, based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. McDonald’s creds include The Last King of Scotland and State of Play. He will join writer Bridget Carpenter and executive producers King and J.J. Abrams.

New actors joining the cast of the show have also been announced in Chris Cooper and Cherry Jones, joining James Franco, who is already signed on to play lead Jake Epping.

The Kids in the Hall
Death Comes to Town
DVD
Directed by Kelly Makin
Starring Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson
A&E Entertainment
Release Date: May 24, 2011

I grew up watching The Kids in the Hall, a half-hour-long sketch comedy series from Canada starring a popular comedy troupe whose core cast of five founding members – Scott Thompson, Dave Foley, Mark McKinney, Bruce McCulloch, and Kevin McDonald – has never changed in their existence. It remains one of the funniest television shows in the histories of both television and things that are funny. The Kids came into my life at a time when I had a very conventional view of what comedy was. Then again I must have been all of ten years old when I first saw The Kids in the Hall arriving on American shores and being resigned to the netherworld of late Friday nights on HBO in the early 1990s. It didn’t have a fraction of the cultural impact of the Beatles coming to the U.S. to play on The Ed Sullivan Show, but it meant a hell of a lot more important to me. The Kids’ unorthodox (to me at least) amalgamation of off-kilter and experimental humor with more broader comedy to appeal to those with a kindergarten student’s comedic sensibility, but it was all done the Kids’ way so that even it when it seemed like they were playing it safe their loyal fans never assumed they were selling out. 

The most wonderful time of the year is once again upon us. The Christmas season is here and with that comes Christmas TV episodes!

For the 25 days leading up til Christmas Day this month, we’ll be spotlighting some of the best Christmas-themed episodes from some of Geek culture’s greatest shows. Each day we’ll cover different shows and episodes and encourage you to watch along with us. So come one, come all, to the 25 Days of Geek TV Christmas!

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010 – Day 22: Seinfeld

Season 9, Episode 10: “The Strike”
Directed by: Andy Ackerman
Written by: Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld, Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer, and Dan O’Keefe
Starring: Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander, Jerry Stiller, Estelle Harris, Bryan Cranston, Daniel von Bargen, Karen Fineman, Dave Florek, Kevin McDonald, Tracy Letts, Amit Itelman, Stacey Herring, and Colin Malone.
Original Air Date: December 18, 1997