From a media release:
Knightscove is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Morningstar Entertainment, has acquired exclusive Canadian DVD distribution rights to the first season of “Little Mosque on the Prairie” (“Little Mosque”), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (“CBC”) groundbreaking series.
Nearly four million prime time network viewers tuned into Little Mosque’s debut week in January 2007, one of the largest openings for a Canadian series.
The half hour comedy from the CBC was broadcast to stellar reviews and very strong ratings which continued through its inaugural television season with an average of 1.3 million viewers per episode. The series has become one of the CBC’s hit comedies and boasts an outstanding cast including renowned actors Sheila McCarthy (Road To Avonlea, Being Julia, I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing) and Carlo Rota (24, Queer As Folk, At the Hotel).
“Our Morningstar division has had a long standing and positive relationship with the CBC, working collaboratively to bring some of the finest in Canadian programming to the DVD market. We are delighted to bring Little Mosque to the retail market place on DVD”, says Leif Bristow, Knightscove President and CEO.
The story revolves around a small Muslim community in the prairie town of Mercy and takes a gently funny look at the congregation of this rural mosque and their attempt to live in harmony with often skeptical, even down right suspicious, residents of their prairie town. The sit-com reveals that, although different, we are all surprisingly similar when it comes to family, love, the generation gap and our attempts to balance our secular and religious lives.
The series has been sold internationally to great acclaim and interest, being broadcast in both Gaza and Israel among other territories. Little Mosque’s DVD release date is in mid November and Morningstar has already received strong indication of pre-orders from its buyers. “We’re thrilled with the response to Little Mosque, not only in Canada where millions of Canadians have made it part of their lives, but increasingly throughout the world”, says Kirstine Layfield, executive director, network programming, CBC television.
