Everything about Schitt’s Creek, eh?

Book of Negroes, Featured, Schitt's Creek, Strange Empire

CBC: Not dead yet

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One of my frequent criticisms of Canadian conventional networks is that they’re so risk averse, they would rather create shows generic enough to sell overseas than stand out with anything that hasn’t worked in the American market — or at least, worked there five years ago. And one of my most frequent criticisms of the CBC has been that they were so busy pursuing the same kind of shows as the private networks, they gave me little reason to find solace in our public broadcaster.

Then came a regime change. And a declaration that they were changing direction to pursue more cable-like series. And some rolling of eyes as some of us recalled the low-rated and swiftly cancelled cable-like Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays and Intelligence. I could almost hear them say “honest, babe, this time it’ll be different.”

It’s early days in their attempt to shift direction, and a shift can only be judged over time. But with The Book of Negroes and Schitt’s Creek, they’re finally getting rewarded with ratings as well as the critical acclaim of their first bold new-direction show, Strange Empire.

Schitt’s Creek provides the welcome return of Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara, so comedically comfortable together, into our homes each week, in a show that mercifully isn’t trying to be either Corner Gas or a Chuck Lorre production.

In an unusual partnership, CBC will air ex-Kid in the Hall Bruce McCulloch’s comedy Young Drunk Punk this fall after its season airs on City, making CBC the new home of edgy comedies from nostalgic favourites.

But it’s the dramas that reveal what the public broadcaster should be able to do but hasn’t done in a while: reveal to Canadians through entertainment a history we often sanitize, from the birth of our country steeped in violence and the sex trade — not just a national railroad — to our unsavory role in the slave trade — not just the underground railroad.  Soon will come X Company, centred around Canada’s little-known role in WWII espionage.

There’s innovation with money too. With The Book of Negroes, the risk to their limited budget was mitigated by partnering with BET for the expensive co-production — not an unusual solution, to be sure. But the partnership with City (which will also have Mr. D air on that Rogers-owned network) gives them more programming for less money.

And given that the CBC debate usually circles around whether they should be chasing ratings or edgier fare, it’s a relief to see their risk rewarded both ways this winter. Schitt’s Creek premiered to 1.3 million viewers, while The Book of Negroes bowed to 1.7, dipping to a still-great 1.4 for the second episode.

In a year where it’s been hard to cheer for our public broadcaster, that’s good news for CBC, for the audience, and for a Canadian industry that could use some incentive to take more risks.

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Awards, Continuum, Featured, Orphan Black, Schitt's Creek

Comments and queries for the week of Jan. 16

Readers were positively chatty this past week, with comments about Schitt’s Creek (an early ratings winner for CBC), the latest development news out of Canada that includes one TV series based on Pierre Berton’s The Last Spike and another on Nora Roberts’ book trilogy with former Lost Girl showrunner Emily Andras. Veteran TV writer Denis McGrath explained the nuances that go into what is considered a Canadian series when it comes to the Canadian Screen Awards nominations and some Bryan Baeumler fans voiced their opinions his latest show.

I loved that Schitt’s Creek didn’t feature an annoying laugh track. The giggles and belly laughs were coming out of me last night! Hilarious! Excellent! Love it! Hope they show two episodes in a row every week. Can’t get enough.—Karen

I like historical dramas, so The Last Spike sounds good to me. Also, Black Magick sounds good too. Pacific Spirit is something I’m really excited for.—Alicia

The determination was made that the Best Series category should be driven by and open to those shows where the primary creative personnel are Canadians. This would normally be the producer, the writer/showrunner, if there is a directing producer, i.e.: where was the show conceived and primarily developed? These shows would include made in Canada fare like 19-2, Flashpoint, Continuum, Motive, Orphan Black.

Series that have Canadian involvement at the industrial or craft level but whose writers, directors, and key decisionmaking come from elsewhere are eligible for the Best International Series Award, recognizing their unique position as pulling from labour and crews and artists from all over the world. In this way, the division is modeled after a similar split at the BAFTA Awards (the British Film & TV Awards). They basically do the same thing.

It’s easy to get confused because when people come in with money sometimes it’s said that they’re a “co-production.” That can mean maybe a U.S. or American channel gave money to the show, or bought presale or whatever.

But there’s a separate, legal defined term called a “treaty co-production” — which are governed by treaties Canada has with a number of countries. These treaty co-productions under the terms of the treaty count for 100% 10/10 content for the purposes of the Canadian broadcaster … but they might actually also include shows that are actually “Minority co-productions,” i.e.: where Canada as the partner has the lesser of the investment, and in these cases most often most of the primary creative decision making (showrunner, lead writer, directors, stars) is made outside of Canada.

So … sometimes a show like Orphan Black is called a “co-production” because it has a financial partner — but if you look at the production it’s actually legitimately 10/10 Canadian because the writing staff, the producers, etc., are Canadian.

And sometimes a show like The Borgias can be “deemed” under the international co-production treaty as being “10/10 Canadian” for the broadcaster, though when you look at it further, most of the creative decisionmaking isn’t made here. In cases like this, as per the way the BAFTAS do it, it can compete for International Series but not Best Series.

Once you get beyond the series level to the craft categories, none of that matters … and all craft categories are treated similarly. So you can have Costume Design or Sound or Editing on Orphan Black compete against the same artists working on The Borgias, so long as that work was done by a Canadian as the Canadian part of the international treaty co-production.—Denis

Glad someone posted something about Sarah Baeumler. I am finding it difficult to watch her. Perhaps it’s the editing, but she comes across as entitled. A $20,000 custom imported monster of a stove, and now she “will learn how to cook”? All we ever hear is how they need a big kitchen and space for all the family entertaining they do. I am more interested in the nuts and bolts of this construction, and the real obstacles people encounter in a major reno. That is why all his other programs have done so well. He’s funny and educational without being demeaning.—Mary

Sarah may be annoying, but she allows Bryan to shine and use his wit. Let’s worry about worse things.—Bob

 

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

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Ratings, Schitt's Creek

1.4 million tune in to Schitt’s Creek debut

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schitts_creek

From CBC:

CBC’s original series SCHITT’S CREEK premiered with 1.36 and 1.37 million viewers respectively tuning in to watch the back-to-back broadcast of episodes one and two last night. The half-hour single-camera comedy created by Eugene and Daniel Levy beat out American newcomer, Marvel’s Agent Carter. SCHITT’S CREEK’s second episode was the most highly rated comedy and the most highly rated half-hour series of the night.

Canadians took to Twitter as the #SchittsCreek hashtag trended throughout the night and into the morning.

The series centres around a wealthy family who suddenly find themselves broke and forced to live in Schitt’s Creek, a small, depressing town they once bought as a joke. With their pampered lives now abandoned, they must confront their new-found poverty and discover what it means to be a family, all within the confines of their new home.

SCHITT’S CREEK is commissioned by CBC, produced by Not A Real Company Productions Inc. and created by Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy.  The executive producers are Eugene Levy, Daniel Levy, Andrew Barnsley, Fred Levy and Ben Feigin.  SCHITT’S CREEK is distributed by ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

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Rick Mercer Report, Schitt's Creek, This Hour Has 22 Minutes

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

Rick Mercer Report, CBC
Rick and ‘Dr Popsicle’ check out Mustang Survival in Burnaby, BC and wear their life-saving gear when they’re dropped into English Bay. Then Rick is off to Toronto’s York University to check out the campus observatory, the nursing school, and the innovative NHL fitness testing programme.

22 Minutes, CBC
This week on an all-new episode of 22 Minutes the cast tackles fear; Federal Fisheries Minister and Conservative MP Gail Shea; and Kanye West sings with Paul McCartney.

Schitt’s Creek, CBC
When filthy-rich video store magnate Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy), his soap star wife Moira (Catherine O’Hara), and their two kids – über-hipster son David (Dan Levy) and socialite daughter Alexis (Annie Murphy) – suddenly find themselves broke, they are forced to live in Schitt’s Creek, a small, depressing town they once bought as a joke.

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Featured, Schitt's Creek

Schitt’s Creek is anything but for CBC

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Go ahead, say them. Your jokes about the name, Schitt’s Creek. Some wondered—months ago when CBC announced the Eugene Levy/Catherine O’Hara project co-created by Levy and his son, Dan—if the title would make for easy headlines if the ratings were bad.

The fact is, CBC may end up getting the last laugh by having the strongest homegrown sitcom this country has had since, well, that show about not much going on that just recently made a movie. Just yesterday, CBC announced it had greenlit a second season of Schitt’s Creek before Season 1 had even debuted. That’s the kind of move that Netflix makes, not a public broadcaster, and it’s an indication of just how confident they are in the project.

Debuting Tuesday, Schitt’s Creek stars Eugene Levy as Johnny Rose, a video store magnate who sees his empire crumble due to bad investments. The government descends, claiming their mansion and almost everything in it. The only thing the feds don’t touch is a property Johnny bought for his son, David (Dan Levy), on a lark: the small town of Schitt’s Creek. The pair, along with wife/mother Moira (Catherine O’Hara) and daughter/sister Alexis (Annie Murphy), decamp for the little community where they’re met with odd characters—including mayor Roland Schitt (Chris Elliott)—and a fish out of water situation. But where most sitcoms go over-the-top to get laughs, Schitt’s Creek is more subtle, with funny things going on in the background and names (hello, Roland Schitt?) as opposed to pratfalls.

“We talked a lot about that in the writer’s room,” Dan says. “We never played anything for the laughs and it’s something my Dad comes from. That’s why I came to him with this show. I knew there was a special touch that he has in terms of legitimizing funny situations in a reality that’s tangible. If you have great people playing these funny situations, that’s where the magic is.”

He’s right. Eugene and O’Hara have made careers out of playing characters who don’t mug for the camera, and Eugene’s DNA has been carried on to Dan. Best-known to a generation of viewers for his co-hosting duties on The After Show alongside Jessi Cruickshank, Dan’s comic chops cause a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. One great scene features David and Alexis arguing who will sleep in the motel bed closest to the door; David wants his sister to sleep there because a murderer who breaks in will kill her first, giving him time to escape.

Dan had been playing with the idea of a family who has lost their money for a TV show and it went through several incarnations once Eugene came on board. It was over dinner conversations with friends, Eugene recalls, that they realized “Why not call the town Schitt’s Creek?” (“Because that’s exactly what I’d think of,” O’Hara jokes.) He admits the CBC wasn’t the first network he thought of to air Schitt’s Creek, but positive meetings coupled with the network looking to rebrand, and a deal was made.

“We set out to make the kind of show that we want to watch,” Eugene explains. “What I find funny and the most interesting are character-driven pieces because that’s all I’ve done, from SCTV on. You have to stay in the character and stay as grounded as you possibly can, that’s what appealed to me.”

And, clearly, the CBC.

Schitt’s Creek airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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