Bell Fibe TV1 subscribers have access to a ton of locally-shot series. Viewers can catch chef Michael Smith on PEI’s Chef on Fire, Halifax’s very funny comedy Vollies, Manitoba’s docuseries A Chance to Dream and Quebec’s music series A Guitar for Pascale, to name just a handful.
There are dozens of excellent series available, showcasing Fibe TV1’s mandate of hyper-local programs, one of the latest being Hamilton’s CharlesTM Charles.
Co-created, co-written, co-directed and produced by Jess Joy and Stephen James, CharlesTM Charles is an eight-episode mockumentary full of awkward laughs, deadpan stares into the camera and heart.
Available now on Bell Fibe TV1, the series stars Kevin Jollimore as Southern Ontario’s most confident—but least successful—business mogul. When trademarking his own name fails to jumpstart his career, he reluctantly agrees to mentor two young entrepreneurs—Shanay (Shaeane Jimenez) and Josh (Adam Lupis)—in the hopes of finally earning the recognition he deserves.
“The idea for the show started with my love for Parks & Recreation,” Joy says. “I decided to take a stab at my own show. At the time, I was working with some guys who were very full of themselves but actually not very good at what they do, which I think a lot of people encounter, so I wanted to poke fun at a character who has a lot of that bravado but we can still laugh at and feel for as well.”
Charles certainly is full of himself, but Shanay successfully puts him in his place more than once in Season 1. While Josh is starry-eyed at being mentored by Charles, Shanay—who reluctantly took on the mentorship after losing out on her first choice—challenges Charles on numerous occasions over his outrageous claims and business acumen.
The relationship between the trio, as well as Charles’ chats with friend/lawyer/accountant/doctor Manu (Wes Malik), softens the edges around the series’ lead character.
“Jess and I had conversations with Kevin while we were filming,” James recalls. “And we talked about how, if the line he was saying was negative and potentially unsympathetic, then the delivery couldn’t be that way. If [the delivery] is kind and calm, then he can be a bit harsh. But if what he is saying is hurtful, he can’t go too serious.”
Filmed in January in Hamilton, Season 1 focuses on Charles’ aim to win the city’s Business Person of the Year Award. It won’t be easy; his biggest competition is also his biggest rival in Melissa Van Hershey (Cheryl Poirier).
CharlesTM Charles is available now on Bell Fibe TV1.
Image courtesy of Dustin Rabin.
