On October 17th, 2018, cannabis was legalised in Canada. With that legalisation, a new door opened for cannabis addled internet content: Meet Comedians Getting High and Watching Hallmark Movies, the webseries where comedians Rachel Manson and MK Morris get high with comedian guests and view a film from a pinnacle of pop culture - Hallmark made-for-tv movies.

I sat down to speak with Co-Producer Rachel Manson about the project. “Being able to smoke weed and do comedy, especially record it, is a specifically Canadian luxury,” remarks Manson. “By using that, we really showcase Canadian comedians. And we have so many Canadian comedians.”

In the series, Morris and Manson invite comedian friends over for a toke and a viewing of Hallmark hits such as Every Christmas Has a Story and A Shoe Addicts Christmas. I asked Manson where the idea first formed. “I wish that it had a smarter inception than just ‘I did it with my roommate when no cameras were on—so what if we filmed it?’ It goes into something inherently funnier which is ‘why do my roommate and I always go back to watching a terrible hallmark movie?’ they make about 50 films a year, on average.”

The series does feel like just that, hanging out with your funny stoner friends and watching something so wonderfully fun to poke at. “High movies nights are always fun, it’s like watching drunk history. It’s fun to watch comedians let loose and improvise, especially when their inhibitions are lowered.” To Manson, the appeal of the show is in the reactions of the comedians. “Watching these movies high, you get a couple of funny things that happen. First of all, comedians will have trouble following the plot of the film, which is so funny because the plot is usually so basic. And it’s because nothing happens in these movies, and when we’re high it’s like, that cannot possibly be it. There must be other conflicts I am missing. Because these characters are showing me emotions that are worthy of like, life or death. So it’s very funny to watch comedians be like ‘what is this plot? It cannot have been 20 minutes and nothing has happened other than they’ve gotten in a snowball fight.’”

Manson also presses the appeal of the movies themselves “Every movie we’ve done on the show is free on Youtube” says Manson, and she’s not wrong. Hallmark movies are not only in abundance, but they’re accessible and digestible. “They’re so formulaic, it’s hilarious. It’s always the busy business woman, busy with business, or busy business man. And they go to a small town to find their spirit- could be a Christmas spirit. Big cities are bad and small towns are good. It’s illegal to be alone, there’s no ‘she broke up with him and was happy’. It’s so formulaic, and especially today in 2020, it’s so outdated, and it’s so funny. But at the same time there is still a market for it because- look at the news these days. We want something stupid, formulaic, and easy to watch. Maybe that’s okay. There’s still a place for Hallmark, and what it provides. We’re just gonna still make fun of it because it’s fun.”

Along with featuring Canadian talent, having a female-led team is of great importance to the project. “It’s also an entirely female-led project,” says Manson. “It's me and MK, our producer and director is Alana Power, who is unbelievable and we are so lucky to have her. Our editors are women. At its core, it’s a female-led project. We don’t see quite enough of that, especially in cannabis culture. There is more to female cannabis life than hot girls in bikinis smoking joints on Instagram.” Along with this, Manson stresses the importance and the purpose of the series itself. “While all these comedians we have on love cannabis, everyone, including ourselves, are hardworking professionals in the industry. We’re entering a period where eyeballs are on Canadian comedy. So what are we going to do with these eyes, and how are we going to keep Canadian artists here?”

You can check out Comedians Getting High and Watching Hallmark Movies on Facebook, or on Instagram at @highhallmark

A Conversation with 'Comedians Getting High and Watching Hallmark Movies'