Canada’s leading television network, CTV, announced today from Prime Time in Ottawa its newest original series CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING. The new, half-hour MADE®-in-Canada comedy showcases one couple’s efforts to reclaim a piece of their old lives which are continually thwarted by their young children in surprising and absurd ways. But somewhere in the toy-filled, pee-stained wreckage of what they once had, they find a new life that’s pretty good, too.
The series has been in development at CTV since 2016 and is now set to begin production in Spring 2020 in and around Toronto. Casting is underway.
From award-winning L.A.- and Toronto-based producer New Metric Media, CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING is created by veteran comedy writer and producer Kurt Smeaton (SCHITT’S CREEK, KIM’S CONVENIENCE). Alongside Smeaton, one of television’s premier comedy writers, Chuck Tatham (MODERN FAMILY, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT) joins multiple Canadian Screen Award-winner Mark Montefiore (LETTERKENNY, WHAT WOULD SAL DO?) as executive producer, with Beth Iley (KILLJOYS) serving as producer.
“This is a hilarious series with broad, universal comedy at its heart, from an amazing creative team in Kurt and Chuck together with our talented partners at New Metric Media,†said Mike Cosentino, President, Content and Programming, Bell Media. “Commissioning this new series also provides the opportunity to deliver a hit series for CTV while simultaneously expanding the roster of titles for our Bell Media Distribution catalogue.â€
Cosentino also confirmed that Bell Media Distribution has stepped up to become the series’ International Distributor, and has subsequently named New Metric Media as its exclusive Sales Agent for the program. CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING joins LETTERKENNY in New Metric Media’s growing comedy catalogue.
CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING is produced by New Metric Media in association with CTV and with the participation of the Canada Media Fund.
Award-winning independent production company New Metric Media (Letterkenny, Bad Blood) is in development with Bell Media on a new single-camera comedy series Children Ruin Everything, with Emmy, PGA and WGA award nominated Chuck Tatham (Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, Arrested Development) attached as Executive Producer.
Created by Kurt Smeaton (Schitt’s Creek, Kim’s Convenience), Children Ruin Everything is an original comedy about living with the worst roommates of all: your young children. Astrid and James struggle to find a balance between being ‘Mom and Dad’ to two kids and being who they were before offspring. Children Ruin Everything explores the hilarious and varied ways kids can tear down your life and, if you’re lucky, replace it with something you have to admit is pretty okay, too.
Alongside Tatham, Smeaton and Montefiore will also serve as Executive Producers.
As previously announced, New Metric Media is committed to expanding its original development slate by optioning the rights for multiple projects from three renowned authors including bestselling Criminologist Dr. Michael Arntfield for Monster City, veteran author and Toronto Star’s lead investigative reporter for organized crime Peter Edwards to create the Peter Edwards Universe based on a selection of his novels and popular online personality Anne T. Donahue for Nobody Cares.
There are 500 kids at Letterkenny Central School, and audiences will soon learn about all of their pint-sized problems. The new Crave Original Series LITTLEKENNY, an irreverent, short-form animated extension of Crave’s smash-hit comedy LETTERKENNY, premieres on Friday, June 28 with all six episodes, just in time for the Canada Day long weekend.
Created, written, and directed by Jared Keeso, LITTLEKENNY tells the origin story of The Hicks, and how standing up for each other in the schoolyard resulted in their friendship. Featuring the voices of LETTERKENNY stars Nathan Dales as young Daryl; K. Trevor Wilson as young Dan; Keeso as young Wayne; and Canadian actress Kandyse McClure as the voice of Ms. Tricia, these wee-hicks may seem adorable, but as with their original incarnations, their quick wit packs a Texas-sized punch.
LITTLEKENNY will also be available on other Bell Media platforms including:
SnackableTV (all six episodes drop on June 28)
On CTV.ca as part of the SnackableTV collection (all six episodes drop on June 28)
The Crave YouTube channel (sampling)
TheComedyNetwork.ca (sampling)
MUCH.com (sampling)
MTV.ca (sampling)
Additionally, Episodes 1 and 2 will be available as a sneak peek on the Letterkenny Problems YouTube channel on June 27.
As LITTLEKENNY gets introduced to the world, its big brother LETTERKENNY is also in the spotlight over the Canada long weekend with:
A LETTERKENNY Season 5 marathon on Crave on Sunday, June 30 beginning at 9 p.m. ET, followed by a Season 6 marathon on Monday, July 1, beginning at 9 p.m. ET
New LETTERKENNY-inspired collections on Crave including “LETTERKENNY Cast’s Favourite Comedies†chosen by cast including Mark Forward and Nathan Dales, “The Best of Squirrely Dan,†and “The Best of Darylâ€
A “Best of LETTERKENNY†five-episode marathon airs on Much on Saturday, June 29 at midnight following THE SIMPSONS. Select LITTLEKENNY episodes will also air on Much on Friday, June 28 during the Much Friday Night movie.
Another six-pack of LETTERKENNY is set to debut on Crave on October 11, as production gets set to begin on Season 8 this summer.
LITTLEKENNY is produced by New Metric Media in association with Playfun Games and Bell Media, with the participation of Canadian Media Fund, OMDC Tax Credits and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and distributed by DHX Media with New Metric Media as sales agent. Animation services for LITTLEKENNY were provided by Little Blackstone Inc.
For LETTERKENNY, Jared Keeso is executive producer, co-writer, star, and creator, Jacob Tierney is executive producer, director, and co-writer and Mark Montefiore is executive producer for New Metric Media.
New Metric Media, the independent production company behind Hulu’s hit series “Letterkenny†and the popular Netflix series “Bad Bloodâ€, has optioned the rights for multiple projects from three renowned authors including bestselling Criminologist Dr. Michael Arntfield (“Murder City: The Untold History of Canada’s Capital of Serial Homicideâ€), veteran author and Toronto Star’s lead investigative reporter for organized crime Peter Edwards and popular online personality Anne T. Donahue, announced today by Mark Montefiore, President, New Metric Media.
Based on the book by best-selling true-crime author Dr. Michael Arntfield, “Monster City†divulges the true account of the serial killers who terrorized Nashville’s music scene for over three decades in recent history — and the cold-case Murder Squad determined to bring an end to the sadistic killing sprees of ‘The Motel Killer’, ‘The Fast Food Killer’ and ‘The Rest Stop Killer’ among others. An industry-leading consultant on crime trends and emerging forensic methodologies, Arntfield is attached to consult on the project. Monster City is published by Little A, the literary fiction and nonfiction imprint of Amazon Publishing.
New Metric Media is extending its partnership with Peter Edwards, currently serving as an Executive Producer on the hit TV series “Bad Blood†which is based on one of his books. The indie prod-co will develop multiple television series to create the “Peter Edwards Universeâ€, based on optioning the rights to a selection of his novels. Some of his most notable books under the deal include “Unrepentant: The Strange and (Sometimes) Terrible Life of Lorne Campbell, Satan’s Choice and Hells Angels Biker†and “The Bandido Massacre: A True Story of Bikers, Brotherhood, and Betrayalâ€, both of which were national bestsellers as well as upcoming titles such as “The Wolfpackâ€Â to be published by Penguin Random House this year.
 “Nobody Caresâ€Â is a frank, funny personal essay collection by the author of popular newsletter ‘That’s What She Said’ Anne T. Donahue. The prolific and raw memoir about work, failure, friendship, and the messy business of being alive in your twenties and thirties also deftly tackles the subject of mental health. As she shares her hard-won insights from screwing up, growing up, and trying to find her own path, Anne’s essays offer all the honesty, laughs, and reassurance of a late-night phone call with your best friend. Donahue is attached in the adaptation. “Nobody Cares†is published by ECW Press.
 Michael Arntfield is repped by Sohrab Merchant at The Characters, Grace Freedson at Grace Freedson’s Publishing Network and Danny Webber at Hall Webber LLP. Peter Edwards is repped by Juliet Forrester from Top Left Entertainment and Premier Artists’ Management. Anne T. Donahue is repped by Addison Duffy at UTA and Carly Watters at PS Literary.
No holiday humbugs here. With the festive season on the approach, Crave delivers tidings of all-new LETTERKENNY quicker than you can say golds, frankincenses, and myrrhs. This Crave seasonal delivery includes the brand new special, A LETTERKENNY CHRISTMAS: THE THREE WISE MEN, streaming Friday, Nov. 23, followed by a fresh six-pack of episodes launching Christmas Day. Created by and starring Jared Keeso, the hit small town comedy is produced by New Metric Media in partnership with DHX Media and Play Fun Games.
“Pitter patter, let’s get Advent’er!†In the brand new special, A LETTERKENNY CHRISTMAS: THE THREE WISE MEN, the Hicks get in the festive spirit and throw a holiday get-together with enough gifts and jingle juice to go around. There is talk around town that it might just be the best Christmas party ever.
In keeping with what has become an annual holiday tradition, viewers wake up to more LETTERKENNY under the tree again this year with another all-new six-pack available to stream on Christmas Day. While the LETTERKENNY locals continue to seek out love in all sorts of places – from bush parties all the way to the big city – new and familiar faces make appearances around town, including guest stars Sarah Wayne Callies (THE WALKING DEAD) and Jonathan Torrens (TRAILER PARK BOYS) as Mennonite parents, Noah and Anita Dyck; and the return of Sarah Gadon as mysterious lady-skid, Gae.
Based on overwhelming demand, additional shows and markets have been added to the 2018 LETTERKENNY LIVE tour – a 90-minute comedy experience, starring Jared Keeso, Nathan Dales, K Trevor Wilson, and Mark Forward. Kicking off in Orillia on Dec.1, LETTERKENNY LIVE, THE ENCORE! tour, presented by Puppers Premium Lager and Crave, and produced by New Metric Media, features additional sketches and video not seen on the original tour, as well as original stand-up sets from Wilson and Forward. Tickets for LETTERKENNY LIVE, THE ENCORE! are available here.
LETTERKENNY LIVE, THE ENCORE! Tour Dates:
December 1 – Orillia, ON – Casino Rama
December 3 – Brantford, ON – Sanderson Centre
December 5 – St. Catharines, ON – Meridian Centre
December 6 – Mississauga, ON – Living Arts Centre
December 11 – Regina, SK – Conexus Arts Centre
December 13 – Saskatoon, SK – TCU Place
December 14 – Lethbridge, AB – ENMAX Centre
December 15 – Red Deer, AB – ENMAX Centrium
December 17 – Kelowna, BC – Prospera Place
December 18 – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum Theatre
The first five seasons of LETTERKENNY, along with special episodes “Ferda Editionâ€, “The Haunting of MoDean’s IIâ€, “St. Perfect’s Day,†“Super Hard Easter,†and the original web series Letterkenny Problems, are currently streaming on Crave. The first two seasons of LETTERKENNY are now streaming exclusively on Hulu in the U.S. LETTERKENNY is also available on iTunes and Google Play. Seasons 1-4 of LETTERKENNY are currently available on DVD wherever DVDs are sold.
Created by and starring Jared Keeso, the award-winning half-hour comedy revolves around the dustups Wayne (Keeso) and his buds – Daryl (Nathan Dales), Wayne’s free-spirited younger sister, Katy (Michelle Mylett), and Wayne’s buddy, Dan (K Trevor Wilson) – get into with their small-town rivals. Dylan Playfair and Andrew Herr reprise their roles as hotshot Hockey Players “Jonesy†and “Reillyâ€. Tyler Johnston and Evan Stern return as Skids Stewart and Roald. Mark Forward returns as the temperamental Coach.
LETTERKENNY is produced by New Metric Media, in partnership with DHX Media and Playfun Games in association with Bell Media, with the participation of Canadian Media Fund, OMDC Tax Credits and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and distributed by DHX Media. Jared Keeso is executive producer, co-writer, star, and creator, Jacob Tierney is executive producer, director, and co-writer and Mark Montefiore is executive producer for New Metric Media.
