Kenny and Spenny split up; injuries include bruised egos

Advertisement

Advertise with us

On the set of Single White Spenny, a new scripted comedy starring Spencer Rice, the comedian is bemoaning the breakup from his friend and television partner, Kenny Hotz.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/11/2010 (5745 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On the set of Single White Spenny, a new scripted comedy starring Spencer Rice, the comedian is bemoaning the breakup from his friend and television partner, Kenny Hotz.

“Emotionally, it’s been difficult, but my relationship with Kenny has been strained very much because of the show,” says Rice of Kenny vs. Spenny, the seven-year-old comedy reality-TV series that concludes in a Christmas special airing on Showcase Dec. 23. “We haven’t been buddies in terms of spending time together for many, many years, and that reflects our age and the fact that we’re different people than when we were young.”

The differences between Hotz and Rice added fuel to the fire of their competitive show. Now broadcast in more than 150 countries, the series gave the comedians legions of fans and opened doors for them to work in the U.S. However, the program also found the two friends performing ever more ludicrous stunts and, in the end, years of humiliating each other on national television tore their friendship apart.

CNS
Kenny Hotz, left, and Spencer Rice.
CNS Kenny Hotz, left, and Spencer Rice.

“Is he going to pull a Paul McCartney on me? What a douche,” says Hotz, at his home on the west side of Toronto. Like Rice, Hotz is also hard at work on a new comedy series, Kenny Hotz’s Triumph of the Will, which will première next year on Showcase. He speaks well of his old partner, but claims that Rice became too sensitive.

“I think he might’ve taken the show too personally, but I love Spenny,” says Hotz. “The show never would’ve existed if it wasn’t for Spenny. It turned out my best friend is the greatest second banana in the history of television.”

The show, one of the first in Canada to cash in on the reality-TV craze, was nominated for four Gemini awards and will conclude with its 88th episode. Rice says he feels relieved to be leaving the reality format behind.

“The worst thing that could happen for me is to be pigeonholed into a reality thing, and I’m not going to let that happen,” says Rice, whose new program is directed by Peter Wellington, director of Slings and Arrows, and co-stars Debra McGrath. “Even on the Christmas special, you can see where I’m going in… the scripted comedy stuff. On Kenny vs. Spenny, the bruises were real, and here it’s nice to use makeup.”

Both Hotz and Rice claim they might work together again, and Hotz even offered to look over Rice’s new scripts (Rice politely declined). There’s an offer on the table to make a Kenny vs. Spenny movie, and both men are enthusiastic about their Christmas show. Still, the competition between Kenny and Spenny will now become even more personal: The winner will be the one with the most successful new show.

“In Kenny vs. Spenny, my top objective was to steal the show from Spenny and make people want to smoke a cigarette when he’s on-camera,” Hotz says. “Now it’s the ultimate battle. It’s our shows that will be going out in the world to compete.”

— Postmedia News

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Pharmacist who failed to disclose addiction, couldn’t account for ‘staggering’ amount of drugs fined $100K by disciplinary panel

Scott Billeck 4 minute read Preview

Pharmacist who failed to disclose addiction, couldn’t account for ‘staggering’ amount of drugs fined $100K by disciplinary panel

Scott Billeck 4 minute read Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026

A June 9 disciplinary decision found more than 39,000 doses went unaccounted for while Glen Pauch, who worked at a Portage la Prairie pharmacy, was consuming drugs and improperly dispensing controlled substances — including opioids oxycodone and hydromorphone, and Concerta, a stimulant prescribed for ADHD — to 11 patients.

Read
Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026

Premier presses Bell Canada about ‘unacceptable’ 911 outages

Carol Sanders 5 minute read Preview

Premier presses Bell Canada about ‘unacceptable’ 911 outages

Carol Sanders 5 minute read Yesterday at 7:19 PM CDT

Premier Wab Kinew said the province is doing all it can to ensure that Manitobans aren’t hit with another 911 service outage — including asking the head of Bell Canada to help.

“At the end of the day, when you dial 911, we need to get emergency services to you as quickly as possible,” Kinew said.

On July 22, an hours-long outage prevented nearly 90 calls to 911 from being routed to the public safety answering point in Brandon. Backup systems that reroute 911 calls when an outage occurs also experienced “issues” after a third party cut the cable during construction near Winnipeg, Bell Canada said earlier.

At the time, Kinew called the 911 outage “unacceptable,” and told reporters that Prime Minister Mark Carney assured him he would raise the matter with telecom executives.

Read
Yesterday at 7:19 PM CDT

Sisters among 137 to begin doctor journey at U of M

Nicole Buffie 4 minute read Preview

Sisters among 137 to begin doctor journey at U of M

Nicole Buffie 4 minute read Yesterday at 6:32 PM CDT

Not everyone enters medical school with a built-in study buddy.

Sisters Maya and Dana Jalal joined 135 of their classmates to don white coats and mark the beginning of their journey through the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine Wednesday morning.

Maya, 22, and Dana, 21, were accepted into medical school at the same time.

“Thankfully, we both got accepted in the same area, same time. So we decided we’d rather go together than apart,” Maya said. “It’ll be nice seeing different perspectives during our studies. We are siblings, but we each have our own perspectives, our own lived experiences.”

Read
Yesterday at 6:32 PM CDT

Man pleads guilty to shotgun slaying

Erik Pindera 5 minute read Preview

Man pleads guilty to shotgun slaying

Erik Pindera 5 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

A WINNIPEG drug dealer has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a March 2025 killing that saw the body of a 30-year-old man dumped in a garbage bin and dragged to a West End alleyway.

Frederick Francis Mathias Baker, who was 28 upon his arrest early last year, shot Bronson Emery Dale Kequahtooway once in the thigh with a sawed-off shotgun and left him with a fatal wound, Crown prosecutor Matt Armstrong told Court of King’s Bench Justice Brian Bowman on Wednesday.

A split second after Baker shot Kequahtooway in the thigh, the victim was shot in the head with a sawed-off .22 rifle. The man accused of being armed with the rifle, Eric Matthew Morrissette, remains before the court on a second-degree murder charge.

“Either wound would have been fatal on its own,” said Armstrong.

Read
2:01 AM CDT

Carney asks provinces to return U.S. alcohol to stores

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Carney asks provinces to return U.S. alcohol to stores

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:41 PM CDT

OTTAWA - Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked provinces to restock American alcohol on their shelves as Canada finalizes a trade deal with the U.S. 

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he would put a three-day pause on 50 per cent tariffs that would have hit an array of Canadian goods just after midnight Wednesday.

The two governments are now finalizing the language of the deal.

Carney, who briefed cabinet ministers and premiers about the draft plan Wednesday, said the deal it builds on Canada's existing trade advantages with the U.S.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 8:41 PM CDT

‘Useful starting point’: Manitoba teacher commissioner received 94 complaints in 15 months, report reveals

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Preview

‘Useful starting point’: Manitoba teacher commissioner received 94 complaints in 15 months, report reveals

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 4:28 PM CDT

Ninety-four complaints about teacher misconduct were flagged in the 15 months after Manitoba set up an independent office to regulate the profession.

Commissioner Noni Classen has released a summary of the allegations brought to her attention and findings of investigations undertaken between January 2025 and March 2026.

A new disciplinary system, as well as an online registry where members of the public can look up the education level and standing of teachers and school clinicians, came into effect Jan. 6, 2025.

“These processes can be difficult and deeply personal for everyone involved, including students, families, teachers and school administrators,” Classen wrote in a 24-page report published this week.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 4:28 PM CDT