From a media release:
COLIN MOCHRIE, WENDY CREWSON AND JENNIFER IRWIN TO GUEST STAR ON WORKING THE ENGELS
Halfire-CORE Entertainment and Shaw Media announced today that Gemini Award-winners Colin Mochrie (This Hour Has 22 Minutes, She’s the Mayor) and Wendy Crewson (Saving Hope, Revenge), and Gemini Award-nominee Jennifer Irwin (Eastbound & Down, Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays) are set to guest star in the first three episodes of Global Television’s new half-hour original comedy series Working the Engels. Mochrie, Crewson, and Irwin join series regulars Andrea Martin, Kacey Rohl, Azura Skye and Benjamin Arthur. Additional guest stars for upcoming episodes to be announced in the coming weeks.
Commissioned by Shaw Media’s original content team, produced by Halfire-CORE Entertainment and written by Katie Ford (Miss Congeniality, Desperate Housewives) and Jane Ford (Listen Missy, Material World), the 12-episode series is currently shooting in Toronto.
In this laugh-out-loud comedy, a family of ne’er-do-wells must band together to keep their heads above water when their father and breadwinner passes away, leaving them a mountain of debt. The Engels must all go to work running Dad’s storefront law firm, with one minor problem – daughter Jenna Engel (Rohl) is the only one who is qualified to practice law. Unfortunately for Jenna, this also means taking on her eccentric relatives as co-workers, including her self-involved mother Ceil (Martin), her pill-popping sister Sandy (Skye) and her bad boy brother Jimmy (Arthur). Jenna, the youngest sibling, becomes the unlikely family patriarch, running the law firm and keeping her crazy family together.
Mochrie guest stars as Miles, Ceil’s mild-mannered, long-suffering accountant. He did the books for Ceil’s late husband and has the unpleasant task of telling Ceil the truth about the financial disaster her husband left behind.
Crewson plays Margueritte Guernsey, a rich, entitled, beautiful woman who is the subject of a lawsuit. Margueritte is used to getting what she wants. Much even to Margueritte’s surprise, it looks like what she wants is… handsome, hunky, not-so-bright bad boy, Jimmy Engel.
Charisse Dunne, played by Irwin, is a gorgeous shark of a lawyer and partner at a high-powered law firm. She manages to turn heads, but makes Glenn Close in Damages look like a sweetheart. After Jenna spectacularly quits, Charisse becomes bent on Jenna’s total destruction.
Working the Engels is produced by Halfire-CORE Entertainment with Katie Ford, Jane Ford, Howard Busgang, Tom Nursall and Noreen Halpern serving as Executive Producers.
The premise seems to be solid and there are a few noteable names attached to this so who knows–it might be good. However, for the most part, I`m not really a fan of most half-hour comedies, so unless there are likeable characters in this (as opposed to annoying, over-quirkied characters, as has been the case with most recent Canadian sitcoms) I might not give this a chance.