The group formed in the late 1970s. In 1981, they were given a weekly radio series on CBC Radio, as a summer replacement for the Royal Canadian Air Farce. The show, Frantic Times, aired until 1985.
In 1986, they moved to television, producing a CBC series called Four on the Floor, which lasted only one season.
The Frantics were noted for off-the-wall humour, with some skits reminiscent of The Goon Show. They satirized everything from suicide hotlines, ads of the day, to Tom Swift science fiction. They were particularly known for the recurring character Mr. Canoehead, a crime fighter with a canoe on his head, and for the catch phrase "Boot to the head!"
Some of The Frantics' radio sketches were also aired in the United States on the Dr. Demento show, a feat they would share with later Canadian comedy acts such as The Arrogant Worms.