A big part of developing any sketch comedy show is putting together a roster of regular characters that fans become familiar with. Fans need characters they can connect to on some level. In addition to people, there are also places. And on The Kids in the Hall one of the most prominent recurring locations on the series was A.T. & Love. But what the company was and what they did was never really clear, despite the fact that it was a key part of the show.
A.T. & Love made its debut in the very first episode of the series. This isn't particularly surprising, a lot of other prominent characters also made their series debuts in the first episode or two. But unlike those characters A.T. & Love itself wasn't a source of comedy. What it did do was provide a setting for comedy to happen, a setting that proved to be incredibly important to the show's overall development.
The Kids in the Halls has long been applauded for its comedic takes on family, gender, and sexuality, pushing the boundaries of all three topics. And the show certainly succeeded in both regards. What doesn't get talked about enough is the fact that the series also spent a lot of time mocking the absurdities of the contemporary corporate culture of the era.
At the center of that comedy was A.T. & Love. A big part of what made this fictional company work as a setting for comedy was the fact that no one knew exactly what they did. Somehow, the company seemed to manufacture everything and nothing at the same time. This ensured the cast had no boundaries when taking on big business and the inherent comedy in its unique language and rituals.
Throughout the series, A.T. & Love would appear in a variety of sketches related to corporations. But many of them also featured a character named Danny Husk, portrayed by Scott Thompson. He debuted in Season 1, Episode 11, which also featured A.T. & Love. He was eventually revealed to be a long-suffering employee of the company who was frequently dragged into the insane shenanigans of his boss, played by Dave Foley.
Husk was a stalwart company man, which meant he rarely complained about anything he was asked to do. This only made him funnier. The brilliance of both A.T. & Love and Danny Husk was that both were instantly relatable. Anyone who has worked in an office has experienced a company like this one, and has worked with someone like Danny Husk. And erratic bosses like the one Foley played are all too common, as well.
A.T. & Love was the kind of company that actually managed to monetize Danny Husk's sweat at one point. It seems hilarious and far-fetched at first but there are more than a few companies out there the would do that if given the chance. A.T. & Love produced poignant commentary on corporate morals and direction. Sketches featuring this company will be more relevant than ever when the new episodes debut on Prime Video.
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