| Presenter: | Joe Flaherty |
| Theme Music Composer: | Fred Mollin |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 3 |
| Company: | Atlantis Films Viacom |
| Network: | HBO |
Really Weird Tales was a Canadian-American science fiction horror comedy anthology series, written and presented by Joe Flaherty. The series featured an assortment of actors previously known for their work on SCTV, including Flaherty, John Candy, Catherine O'Hara, John Hemphill, and Martin Short.
Three episodes of the show were produced. Partially filmed in Toronto,[1] all three episodes premiered back to back in the United States on HBO on October 4, 1986.[2]
Writing for The New York Times, John J. O'Connor praised "All's Well that Ends Strange", calling it "positively inspired" and calling Martin Short's performance "terrific". Blockbuster gave the series 2 and a half stars in their Guide to Movies and Videos, stating that it "has its moments, the best of which are [Catherine] O'Hara's."[3]
In a mostly negative review of the DVD release for DVD Talk, Jesse Skeen said the show "plays like something that would have come from a pile of rejected ideas", and remarked "I've had many dreams that were more weird and entertaining than the stories presented here". Skeen also criticized the audio and video quality of the DVD, as well as the relative lack of special features. Ultimately, however, Skeen laments that there were only three episodes of the show produced, saying the producers of the show "would have gotten it right eventually" with the comedic talent involved.[4]
All three episodes received a release on VHS in 1987.
In 2016, Kino Lorber released the series on DVD for the first time.