From a VisionTV media release:
VisionTV, Canada’s multi-faith and multicultural television network, will broadcast the complete first season of the hit comedy
series Little Mosque on the Prairie.
The eight half-hours will air on VisionTV Monday nights, starting Aug. 6, at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
An international sensation even before its launch, Little Mosque on the Prairie drew stellar ratings when it premiered on CBC Television in January 2007, attracting an average of more than a million viewers per episode. A second season will premiere Oct. 3 on CBC.
Created by writer, broadcaster and filmmaker Zarqa Nawaz, Little Mosque on the Prairie tells the story of a small Muslim community in a prairie town where the locals are wary of their “exotic” new neighbours.
Mark Prasuhn, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President, Programming for VisionTV, said the acquisition of Little Mosque on the Prairie demonstrates the network’s renewed commitment to becoming a viewer destination for top-notch comedy and drama in prime time.
Said Mr. Prasuhn: “VisionTV is delighted to give Canadians another opportunity to enjoy this groundbreaking and original series. Its essential themes – learning to accept our differences and understand what we have in common – make it a perfect fit for our multi-faith and multicultural service.”
VisionTV has actively supported the career of series creator Zarqa Nawaz. In November 2005, the network broadcast the national television premiere of Nawaz’s acclaimed documentary Me and the Mosque, which was produced through the National Film Board of Canada’s Reel Diversity program. This hour-long film examined the role of women in Islam, and the strict separation of the
sexes that is enforced to this day in many mosques.
Little Mosque on the Prairie stars Sheila McCarthy, Carlo Rota, Zaib Shaikh, Sitara Hewitt, Debra McGrath and Manoj Sood. The executive producers are Mary Darling and Clark Donnelly of WestWind Pictures. Michael Snook and Susan Flanders-Alexander are the series producers. The writing team members are Rebecca Schechter, Alan Rae, Jackie May, Susan Flanders-Alexander, Dan Redican and Zarqa Nawaz. The director is Michael Kennedy.
I was really surprised by this show’s humor. I hadn’t expected it to be that funny. I mean seriously who would think a show about a Muslim community in a small town could be funny. But it is and it portrays the Muslim people in a positive manner which is a nice change of pace.