In Mark McKinney Needs a Hobby, the Canadian actor finds out what fits

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Mark McKinney’s television career has ranged from sketch shows (Kids in the Hall, of course) to workplace sitcoms (Superstore) to cult dramedies about fictional repertory theatre companies (Slings and Arrows). Now, at age 65, the Canadian actor and comedian is adding reality TV to his repertoire of genres.

Mark McKinney Needs a Hobby, airing on CTV on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT and streaming on the CTV app and Crave, is a new show about … well, the title says it all.

Each week, McKinney tries on a new hobby – such as birding or collecting or dancing – to see if it fits. The Globe and Mail’s J. Kelly Nestruck spoke to him on the day of the relaxing show’s premiere.

I want you to be straight with me first: Were you actually looking for a hobby?

Yes, I legitimately was looking for a hobby. A lot of my favourite projects have just happened – there’s always been an element of kismet – and this opportunity presented itself. A little bit before the Writers Guild of America strike, I had this realization that my career came out of what was originally a hobby – and then the strike underlined that I might want something else around.

Is there an overall journey to this show – or are you keeping it open-ended so you can have multiple seasons? Do you pick a hobby at the end?

That’s what I thought we would do. What has actually happened is that some hobbies have stuck – like birding and bodyboarding – and some hobbies haven’t. I would have been fine if we’d chosen one but, you know, I like meeting people and I’ve got a list of hobbies I want to attack.

I’m not sure whether there is a larger philosophical framework to the show, but I was wondering to what extent it connects to some of the cultural conversations about men aging, having trouble making friends or keeping friends, and the loneliness that older men can feel.

We’re about our careers, aren’t we, for a long, long time? And some of those work friendships persist and turn into soulful, long-lasting lifelong friendships. But not always. I think men are not as good at recognizing, at least immediately, the value of community and of leisure. One of the things I responded to was the communities I discovered.

So, were you looking for more than a hobby? Were you looking for new friends?

Probably on some level, yeah. Yes, absolutely.

Are you still hanging out with the birder Paul Riss?

Yeah, we’re texting today.

Tell me about the birding that you’ve been doing since the show.

I downloaded the Merlin Bird ID app, which is great because if you’re up at 5 in the morning and wondering what bird just woke you up, you can stick it out the window and it will tell you. Make sure you get the one from Cornell University. I’ve also been trying to seduce a pair of mated crows to become my friends by leaving peanuts on my balcony in Venice in L.A. – and just two days ago, right before I left Venice, I went to the beach and they followed me, which I heard is something they do. They can recognize faces. So I’m hoping they’re gonna bring me some diamonds because that’s the third part I haven’t gotten yet.

So you’ve joined the ranks of famous Canadian birders like Graeme Gibson and Margaret Atwood.

I did order a T-shirt that said “Crows Before Bros.”

Can you tell me about some of the other hobbies that didn’t interest you?

I did an episode about collectors with Ben Feldman as my co-pilot – he was in a show with me called Superstore, very funny guy – and we talked quite deeply in that episode about: Where is the boundary between hobby and obsession? When does a hobby become a profession? I asked two collectors: If their collection burnt down, would they start it again? And they both said no – like they had become prisoners of collecting. So, beware collecting.

I feel like the word hobby, for some people, has a negative connotation.

Amateurs. Dilettantes.

Yeah. So, are you trying to redeem the idea of a hobby?

I have not been contacted by Big Hobby to represent them. No, I’m just genuinely exploring, seeing what’s out there for me, to see what might stick.

Do you have anything else coming up that you wanna plug?

I’m doing an acting class in L.A. which, to coin a phrase, has re-amateurized my acting experience. I want to finally acquire a method because I realized, after 30 years, I’ve never really had one. And I’m working on a graphic novel with a friend of mine, using the character of Darrill from Kids in the Hall for a Tintin-esque adventure.

I should probably mention, because people will be interested to know it , that you do revive the Chicken Lady for a brief moment in the show. That seemed very strange – to be doing the Chicken Lady while someone was getting a tattoo of the Chicken Lady next to you.

I sensed there was an opportunity to have a few really strange seconds of videotape.

This interview has been condensed and edited.