Everything about Schitt’s Creek, eh?

Cracked, Featured, Schitt's Creek

Comments and queries for the week of Jan. 23

Is it my imagination or is Schitt’s Creek actually the same set as Little Mosque‘s town of Mercy!?  The town hall looks like the mosque. The diner looks like the same diner Fatima ran.—A

It may look familiar, but while Little Mosque was filmed in and around Regina, Schitt’s Creek‘s external shots were filmed in Goodwood, Ont., about an hour northeast of Toronto. Creek‘s sets are in Pinewood Studios in Toronto.

I’m getting about 100 new emails from TV, Eh? a day. Is there any way to just get one daily digest of them all?—Steve

Hey Steve, yes you can! Sign up here and you’ll get a daily email of the top stories and links from the website.

Meanwhile, a couple of readers—Kate and Heather—were wondering how they could get their hands on DVD copies of Cracked. What I thought would be an easy answer isn’t. In the U.S., Season 1 of Cracked lists the first seven episodes of the 13-episode season in a package being sold as Cracked: What Lies Beneath through the BBC store. There is another version of Cracked Season 1 available, but it doesn’t contain an episode list so I’m not sure if they’re all in that set.

If you don’t mind not owning Cracked on DVD, you can stream both Season 1 and 2 via CBC.ca. I checked the links and they work … if you live in Canada. It’s also available on Netflix Canada.

Pretty sure the only mention of Joel’s father [on Saving Hope] was earlier this season when Joel headed to New Zealand for his fifth wedding … and that marriage is already failing. Looks like Joel is so afraid of turning into his father that he actually is, in a way. 

At the moment it’s show vs. tell with Joel and Charlie. Joel says he wants to be there for the baby if it’s his, while Charlie is setting the bar fairly high. Loved Charlie and Henry. Couldn’t figure out who Henry was, that was a good twist.

Looks like next week will be huge. The possible ‘revealing’ moment I’ve been expecting for a long time now. Can’t wait!—Hallie

 

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or head to @tv_eh.

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Awards, Book of Negroes, Featured, Remedy, Rookie Blue, Schitt's Creek, Sunnyside, Young Drunk Punk

Top 5 reasons to be optimistic about Canadian TV

3 Comments

The days are getting longer, but they’re still pretty damn short. Spring with its warmer weather feels like a distant mirage. And there’s always something to complain about in Canadian television. But there are some hopeful signs this winter season:

  1. CBC is out of the gate this winter with fine ratings. Phew. Their newcomers Schitt’s Creek and The Book of Negroes found an audience, while returning favourites like Murdoch Mysteries continue to earn lots of eyeballs.
  2. Funny ha ha. City has launched two delightfully off-centre comedies in Sunnyside and Young Drunk Punk, and with them and CBC we now have a nice complement of the Canadian comedy old guard on our screens (Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and Bruce McCulloch) without simply trying to recreate the good old days.
  3. Please sir, can we have some more? Global’s got Remedy, the possibly-in-its-last-season Rookie Blue and … ummm … not a lot else coming up for original series. So they must have an announcement coming sometime soon about what else is up their sleeve. Right?
  4. 101 nights of awards. OK, the Canadian Screen Awards have only four nights of awards, but now that sounds like nothing right? What better than the recently announced nominations to keep us chatting through the winter about who was snubbed, why there’s a separate category for Best International Drama that doesn’t include any international dramas that aren’t Canadian, and why Tatiana Maslany wasn’t just nominated for all five slots under best actress in a drama. The broadcast on March 1 will be hosted by Andrea Martin — another Canadian comedy legend — or at least they will be if she shows up this time.
  5. Jay Baruchel knows how to fix Canadian comedy. He says give CBC more money (yes!) and get rid of the old boys club who “regardless of the quality” keep getting jobs. It’s an uncomfortable position for me, defending old guys, but I’m not entirely sure who he means, or who we can blame when relative newcomers’ shows tank. Canadian TV executives or marketers? Maybe, but I’m not sure how many of them have successful original programming in their job performance plans, and many of them are not boys. Still, it can only help when a homegrown celebrity is passionate about improving our homegrown industry. I mean, it might be better if he wasn’t getting lauded for starring in an American show while advocating for Canadian content, but baby steps.
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Mr. D, Rick Mercer Report, Schitt's Creek, This Hour Has 22 Minutes

Tonight: Mr. D, Schitt’s Creek, Rick Mercer Report, 22 Minutes

Mr. D, CBC – “Mafai Dad”
Gerry is finally given an opportunity to coach the varsity boys’ basketball team. Trudy’s birthday gift to Lisa causes a stir, while Dwyer endures an unbelievably bad day.

Schitt’s Creek, CBC – “Don’t Worry It’s His Sister”
Johnny tries to get a potentially offensive town sign taken down, while David is faced with the frightening task of finding a job.

Rick Mercer Report, CBC
Rick is in Whistler where he goes bob sledding with Olympians on the world’s fastest track and then he’s at Variety Village, Toronto, participating in activities at a world-class gym for people with disabilities.

22 Minutes, CBC
This week on 22 Minutes the origins of the Donair: Canada’s favourite drunk food; Blue Monday inspires an all new Yoga class and the dating app Tinder gets political.

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Schitt's Creek

Link: Schitt’s Creek is off to a dazzling start

From Vinay Menon of the Toronto Star:

Schitt’s Creek is off to a dazzling start
There hasn’t been much good news inside the CBC in recent months. From the loss of Hockey Night in Canada to budget cuts to the Jian Ghomeshi scandal, the public broadcaster has taken several roundhouse kicks to the face. Some days, as it limps around, with puffy eyes and bleeding from the nose, it’s easy to forget the corporation is still capable of throwing punches of its own. Continue reading.

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Schitt's Creek

Link: Dan Levy: the man behind new TV show Schitt’s Creek, and those glasses

From Courtney Shea of the Globe and Mail:

Dan Levy: the man behind new TV show Schitt’s Creek, and those glasses
The bespectacled former MTV star has started his second act – this time as producer, writer and star of the new CBC comedy series Schitt’s Creek. Dan Levy developed the show with his comedy-legend father Eugene, and recruited dad’s frequent collaborator Catherine O’Hara as a co-star. Here, he shares some of the secrets to his success, including why you should never listen when they make fun of your glasses. Continue reading.

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