Kenny Hotz is on more than a few missions in his new docu-series Triumph of the Will.
While TV audiences will recognize him as one half of the absurdly-competitive Kenny vs. Spenny, he's taken it upon himself to tackle bigger challenges in his new project, premiering tonight at 10 p.m. on Action, and subsequently available for iTunes download.
Each of the show's episodes sees Kenny pursue a goal of epic proportions, for a personal sense of accomplishment, and to stir up audiences on relevant social topics.
That includes finding love for his long-widowed mother, trying to quit eating pork, and following the American dream to strike it rich after being dropped off naked in a Nevada desert.
"I’m trying to put the world and my own psyche in perspective," he says. "I’m trying to fix myself, fix my mom and fix society."
The result is a show that's engaging and eye-opening, but not devoid of levity.
I spoke with Kenny earlier this week to find out how this original series came to be, where it fits among other CanCon, and whether I should feel bad about eating bacon.
Congratulations on the new show. How did the idea come about?
It always struck me that some of the most common and significant subjects, once you delve into them, if you really are honest and you’re a little fucking crazy and you’re just totally fucking devoted, then something marvellous can happen. And I always like the quest, the story of trying to accomplish this Herculean task. You know, I’m a Jew, for me it’s kind of biblical. And everything that I love from Lord of the Rings to Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven, I always love epic, and this show is based on the most epic subjects I could possibly think of.
I watched the episode where you try to help your mom find love. Did it take some convincing to get her to participate in such a personal episode?
She did not want to do it, but I don’t fucking care, [I said] you’re going to fall in love whether you like it or not, because who wouldn’t really want that? Who wants to die alone? I know she resigned herself to the fact that she’s happy and she’s fine. But it’s not like being able to watch some Gary Cooper movie next to an old guy who’s going to stick his wig-wam in her. That’s what she wants, that’s what all people want. And maybe the people that don’t want it have just convinced themselves that they don’t, but everybody wants to be in love and be happy. And my mom, whether she likes it or not, she’s going to fucking do it.
The other episode I watched saw you investigating a whole slew of reasons not to eat pork, which made me feel like a jerk because my new year’s resolution the past two years was to eat more bacon.
As long as you have the information. But it’s like, I don’t know, I’m trying to figure it out too. I’m just doing everything in my power to try to do good shit for my fans. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to drag my mom out, throw shitty eyebrows on her and try to get her fucked. It sucks. And doing all that pig shit really fucking sucked, but somebody’s got to do it. People aren’t doing this shit. It’s a very original and unique show. And it has some fundamental truth to it.
We’re seeing a lot of the networks air their CanCon over the summer, most of which consists of Canadian versions of American reality shows, and cop shows. Would you say Triumph of the Will is distinctly Canadian?
I can’t help it but be Canadian. I‘m born here, I’m Canadian. I think the show actually possesses a lot of the attributes that make us Canadian. Cynicism. Being overly educated. Being an objective observer about Americana. Our insight into America is unparallel, nobody’s got it.
What do you like to watch on TV, Canadian or otherwise?
I watch total car crash TV. I break out the jiffy pop for the shittiest fucking shows you could ever imagine. I sit there giddy like a schoolboy – the worse the better for me, I love that fucking shit. Then I love huge budget American stuff too, and stuff like Toddlers and Tiaras or The First 48 or American Idol. I basically watch everything.
When developing a show like Triumph of the Will, how much do you consider strategies to exploit it online?
I only do it for the web. I only think of the internet. My shows migrate online, which is very important because my show’s only going to be on TV for six days. You know, I worked on it for a fucking year, it’s only going to be on TV for six days. But it’s going to be on iTunes forever, so why am I catering our show to a medium where it’s going to be on for six days, you know? I made it for the place where it’s going to be housed for the rest of my life.
Everybody’s got their own channel now. I think TV’s going to disappear, it’s becoming obsolete. The medium’s actually transferring into people’s hands. The market’s so oversaturated and a lot of it’s just shit, but it will create a revolution much like the printing press, or even the pen, but who knows what’s going to happen. It’s hard to monetize content online, but the truth is it’s all in the work. It only has to do with the work. If you do it and it’s great, or even if it’s shit it can find an audience. Even Justin Bieber got found on the internet, now he’s king of the fucking world. His mommy put him on YouTube. This is fucking surreal the shit that’s going on.
Do you have ideas for more episodes if you were to get picked up for a second season?
Oh my god yeah, amazing ideas. I want to start a cult in a week. I want to addict myself to crystal meth and then quit so I can show junkies they don’t need to be junkies. And obsese people don’t need to eat fucking cheesecake. Like just stop it, it’s bad for you, why do you do it? It’s simple. So I’m really trying to help other people and help myself in a sense.
What’s your favourite kind of chips?
Probably Bugles. I was into Bugles, years ago. And Munchos too I like. But basically anything that’s covered in rat oil, which is probably what it is, I have a certain affinity to. I love potato chips, I’m just now getting so fucking fat and old it’s getting terrible, I can’t really eat that shit anymore.