From a media release:
Good laughs and great adventures are in store, as the previously announced inaugural season of CTV Original comedy docuseries MARK MCKINNEY NEEDS A HOBBY airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, beginning Oct. 2 on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. Filmed across Canada and the United States, Season 1 consists of 10, half-hour, episodes.
The series follows actor, comedian, and writer Mark McKinney (SUPERSTORE, THE KIDS IN THE HALL) as he embarks on an epic quest to answer one of the most pressing questions of the 2020’s – who are we when we are not working? MARK MCKINNEY NEEDS A HOBBY is produced by Sphere Media in association with CTV, and created by Kim Bondi, Mark McKinney, Rob Sheridan (2 BROKE GIRLS, CORNER GAS), and directed by Nick McKinney (INSOMNIAC, THE DAILY SHOW).
This season, McKinney travels throughout North America meeting the most impassioned everyday hobbyists and the communities of like-minded obsessives who nurture them, all in a quest to find the one true hobby he can claim for himself. The inaugural season also features special guests, including comedians Margaret Cho and Deb DiGiovanni, Canadian singing legend Billy Newton-Davis, SUPERSTORE’s Ben Feldman, Maria Vacratsis of the My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Mama Mia! franchises, CANADA’S DRAG RACE regular and choreographer Hollywood Jade, noted columnist and food critic James Chatto, and professional Muppet puppeteer Trish Leeper (FRAGGLE ROCK, SESAME STREET).
On the series premiere of MARK MCKINNEY NEEDS A HOBBY, “Birding” (Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app), McKinney travels to the Canadian shores of Lake Erie to learn everything there is to know about birding and birdwatching. Over the course of his visit, he embarks on a journey to the Long Point Nature Preserve, tags and releases birds at a Birds Canada outpost, and accompanies his host to a tattoo parlor where birding memories aren’t just made, but painfully memorialized.
Each episode of MARK MCKINNEY NEEDS A HOBBY is also available to stream on Crave every Thursday, beginning Oct. 3. This season, viewers follow McKinney as he explores hobbies such as historical re-enactment, barbershop quartet singing, puppetry, watersports, robots, collecting memorabilia, fly fishing, dancing, and cooking.
About Mark McKinney
Mark McKinney has performed in, written, and produced some of the most beloved comedy television in North America. As co-creator, writer, and ensemble cast member of THE KIDS IN THE HALL, he was nominated for three Emmy® Awards and multiple Gemini Awards, including Best Writing and Best Performance. McKinney followed the success of his series with three seasons as both a principal cast member and staff writer on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, and, most recently, starred, and directed on the hit sitcom, SUPERSTORE.
MARK MCKINNEY NEEDS A HOBBY is produced by Sphere Media in association with CTV. Mark McKinney, Bruno Dubé, Marlo Miazga, Kim Bondi, Rob Sheridan, and Corinna Lehr are Executive Producers. Kim Creelman is Series Producer, and Nick McKinney is Creative Producer.