Nevertheless, while cell proliferation defects have not previously been reported in HCT‐116 cancer cells lacking both kinases (Koehler et al, 2016), our data suggest that in the intestinal epithelium, cells devoid of both CDK8 and CDK19 have an increased tendency to become quiescent, implying that CDK8 and CDK19 provide a growth advantage. The gene discussed is CDK8; the disease is cancer.