Kilah Fox appears in the Netflix comedy series Tires season 2 was confirmed before the first season even premiered in May 2024. Perhaps it's because Netflix has thrown its lot in with stand-up specials, so a series by and starring one of the biggest ones working in Shane Gillis would be a natural fit. Based around a struggling auto-repair chain in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Tires is more fun than its Rotten Tomatoes score suggests.
Tires features a cast of characters that only true comedy nerds will be totally familiar with. One of these comedians/actors is Kilah Fox, who, like many actors on Tires, plays a character named after herself. Often appearing with a cigarette between her fingers, Kilah is another employee of "Valley Forge Automotive Center" who does not care one bit about improving the shop, and does the bare minimum between smoke breaks and glaring at customers. It's an extremely funny role, and one that Fox nails, which you would have guessed if you had seen her in previous performances.
Kilah Fox Is A Comedian And Actor From Eastern Pennsylvania
Shane Gillis And Kilah Fox Did The Stand-Up Circuit Together
Kilah Fox, like Shane Gillis, grew up around Philadelphia and became a part of the same Eastern Pennsylvania comedy scene as Gillis. Her Instagram is filled with photos of her, Shane Gillis, and other contemporary comedians hanging out after shows and on the road together, and it's clear Fox has been tight with the Gillis and McKeever crew for some time now. Tires embraces these Pennsylvania roots, taking place in Valley Forge, just outside the city.
Tires Season 1 Ending Explained
The ending of Netflix's Tires reveals Will’s relationship with his boss and father, whose approval he constantly seeks throughout the show.
Fox, Gillis, and the rest of the creative team for Tires all have the Philadelphia attitude down to a T. Only people born in the area would be able to affect the lingo, dialect, and attitude that make the city unique among other East Coast metropolitan areas. Her time on the Pennsylvania circuit didn't just put her in touch with Gillis and McKeever, it prepared her perfectly for her role in Tires. On the Two Jacked Bros podcast in 2022, Fox opened up a bit more about her childhood, discussing how she used to have panic attacks (via TheDirect),
"I was just talking to my mom about this, and they are about the most bizarre things like thunderstorms, time, and if I was sick I was really afraid of throwing up. So if it got too late, I would freak out about the time. I don’t even know how to explain it. So, when I was in high school I became agoraphobic where you do not go out or you are afraid to go out because I was afraid I was going to have a panic attack if I went anywhere. So I just did not go anywhere."
Fox was apparently an introvert growing up, but she did find success in sports, also saying,
"So I was an excellent athlete. I went to the Junior Olympics for swimming and I played volleyball. So I swam all through all my life. My mom was a swimming coach when I was younger, so we grew up in the water. Then when I was in eighth grade I started playing volleyball, and I quit swimming. And I it was my senior year, and it was championships where if we lost we were out. It was like those times when it was do or die and I was the only senior on the team. It was hard trying to be a leader and tell the girls,'‘I need you to play like this is the end.'"
So, despite her fears, she's always been a competitive person. It's that special cocktail of characteristics that has helped her succeed as a comedian and as an actor. To do both, you need to be competitive, but you also need to have a sense of self and understanding of who you've been your whole life, which it sounds like Fox definitely has.
Shane Gillis And Kilah Fox Have Worked Together Before Tires
Fox Is A Regular Player On Gilly And Keeves
This is not the first time Shane Gillis and Kilah Fox have worked together. Beyond doing stand-up on the comedy circuit, Fox has also appeared on the web series Gilly and Keeves as various characters. It's actually her only other role besides Tires. Gilly and Keeves is a show somewhat similar to Tires in tone and humor, but Gilly and Keeves is a sketch show. Created by the eponymous Shane Gillis and John McKeever, Gilly and Keeves ran for two seasons, and Fox appeared in nearly half of the episodes in the series.
Kilah Fox has the most appearances in Gilly and Keeves out of the whole cast, save for Shane Gillis.
Some of her most memorable sketches include "OnlyFans Dad", which sees Shane's character performing strange stunts on OnlyFans after he loses his job, much to his children's embarrassment. Fox plays his extremely ive wife who reprimands her adult children when they try to shame Shane after catching him in a compromising position. Another favorite sketch is "Uncle Daycare," where uncles with somewhat misogynistic, ignorant, and racist viewpoints can spend their day drinking beer and learn to monitor their more offensive behaviors.
Kilah Fox shows up as the lone "Lady Uncle" who's given a pack of cigarettes, a robe, and a window to yell out.
Kilah Fox shows up as the lone "Lady Uncle" who's given a pack of cigarettes, a robe, and a window to yell out. Lady Uncle Kilah doesn't like the look of those kids riding their bikes around outside. We get to see an early version of her character in Tires in the sketch, "ISIS Toyota," where she works at the unfortunately named "ISIS Toyota", a car lot named for the owner, Bob Isis. Bob tries a series of commercials to explain to customers that he and his car lot have nothing to do with the terrorist organization.
Kilah Fox's suggestion is that Bob lean into the name. It would be great for marketing, she believes. She doesn't usually play the main characters in her sketches. That's usually Gillis' job. However, every time she does appear, she elevates the sketch, and she has some wide range, though her greatest characters are the ones she knows best, the born-and-bred Philadelphia native with some odd thoughts about the way the world works.
Kilah Fox Volunteers At Sleep-Away Camps
Camp Erin Is The Largest Bereavement Camp Organization In The U.S.
It's not just comedy and acting for Kilah Fox, she's also involved in charity work. She does volunteer work at Camp Erin, an overnight camp for kids aged 7 to 17 who have suffered a tragedy or a loss. It's the largest network of grief camps for kids, teens, and families (via ElunaNetwork). It boasts 37,263 campers, 32 locations, and 32,810 volunteers since it was formed in 2002. Fox says about the camp,
"I volunteer at this camp. It is called Camp Erin. It is a bereavement camp for kids who have lost siblings or their parents. So it is ages seven to 17. After they experience a tragedy or a loss like that, the main catalyst for drug use or alcohol or going down the wrong path is isolation. You know, your friend, or brother, or parent dies, and you are back in math class on Monday, and you are like, 'What the fuck just happened.'"
It's a very honorable charity to be a part of, and Fox has also talked about the different ways the camp can help those kids in need,
"So, it is a traditional camp from Friday to Sunday, and we do a lot of fun camp stuff, but we also do coping strategies and activities to help memorialize and talk about the person they lost, and have fun with kids their own age to let them know that they are not alone."
It's not exactly the type of work you would expect from someone who's best known for playing rude and crude characters on Gilly and Keeves and Tires, but that only goes to show just how impressive a comedic actress Kilah Fox is. She may be barking at customers and cussing people out on set, but in real life, she's giving her extra time to help children and young teens in need.
- Creator(s)
- Shane Gillis, McKeever, Steve Gerben
Your comment has not been saved