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Production underway on Season 3 of CBC original hit comedy Run the Burbs

From a media release:

CBC and Pier 21 Films today announced that production is underway around Toronto, Hamilton and Barrie, ON on the third season of the popular original comedy series RUN THE BURBS (13×30). Created by Andrew Phung and Scott Townend, RUN THE BURBS stars an exciting ensemble of Canadian comedic talent lead by Andrew Phung as Andrew Pham, Rakhee Morzaria as Camille Pham – both of whom were recognized for their work on the show with Best Lead Performer, Comedy nominations at this year’s Canadian Screen Awards – and Zoriah Wong, and Roman Pesino as Khia and Leo Pham, respectively. Series regulars include Ali Hassan (CBC’s Laugh Out Loud), Julie Nolke (Explaining the Pandemic to my Past Self), Jonathan Langdon (Robyn Hood), Chris Locke (Workin’ Moms, Mr. D), Samantha Wan (Second Jen), and Gavin Crawford (Because News). The third season will premiere on CBC and CBC Gem in Winter 2024.

A playful comedy about life in the suburbs, oddball neighbours, and a loving family who always has each other’s backs, RUN THE BURBS season three will see the family expand their horizons and head on all-new adventures, bringing the signature Pham energy to everything they do. Often recognized for its nuanced and thoughtful representation of a bold Indian and Vietnamese family, the third season continues to highlight culturally specific stories, including what has become an annual series hallmark, a Vietnamese Lunar New Year – Tết – episode. Also for the third season in a row, the iconic rapper, DJ, and producer, Kardinal Offishall, returns to the ‘burbs to resume the guest-starring role that earned him a 2023 CSA nomination alongside the nods for Phung and Morzaria.

As previously announced, television veterans Jennica Harper and Nelu Handa have taken over showrunning duties this season. The duo previously collaborated on the series JANN, on which Harper served as showrunner. For Handa, season three is her third with the RUN THE BURBS writer’s room.

A CBC original series, RUN THE BURBS is produced by Pier 21 Films. Executive Producers are Laszlo Barna, Nicole Butler, Karen Tsang, and Vanessa Steinmetz (for Pier 21 Films), Andrew Phung, and Scott Townend. Jennica Harper and Nelu Handa serve as Executive Producers and Showrunners. Jay Vaidya is Co-Executive Producer and Sara Peters is Co-Producer. Jessica Daniel is Producer. Season Three directors include Aleysa Young, Pat Mills, Joyce Wong, Sherren Lee, and Zoe Hopkins.

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Run the Burbs

Links: Run the Burbs, Season 2

From Aisling Murphy of the Toronto Star:

Link: ‘We laugh a lot on set’: Andrew Phung and Rakhee Morzaria on running the ’burbs for a second season
“One thing we noticed right away was that our audience was much younger, was often families and often families of colour. That’s something I’m really proud of. In order for us to make those changes in our media landscape, we have to engage audiences who haven’t always been engaged by mainstream broadcasters.” Continue reading.

From Eric Volmers of the Calgary Herald:

Link: What about Bob? Albertans Andrew Phung and Gavin Crawford face off in Season 2 of Run the Burbs
In the three years that Andrew Phung worked at Calgary’s Village Square Leisure Centre co-ordinating youth programs, he got a good look at bureaucracy. Continue reading.

From Courtney Shea of Toronto Life:

Link: “King Street nightlife is fun, but then you turn 30 and just want to be in bed by 11”: A Q&A with Run the Burbs creator Andrew Phung
“If Full House was about the Tanners, you could say Run the Burbs is about their neighbours—the people whose stories never got told. But our show is unique in other ways: a lot of family comedies are about bickering, whereas my show is about two adults who love their kids. It’s funny that such a basic premise feels fresh.” Continue reading.

From Noel Ransome of The Canadian Press:

Link: ‘Run the Burbs’ has a new showrunner and renewed focus on authenticity for Season 2
Newly minted “Run the Burbs” showrunner Anthony Q. Farrell firmly believes that authenticity is a central part of diverse storytelling — from the script to diverging perspectives on set that express what is real versus “what doesn’t feel true.” Continue reading.

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Awards

Banff’s 2022 Rockie Awards International Program Competition nominees announced

From a media release:

The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) is pleased to announce the full list of nominees for the 2022 Rockie Awards International Program Competition, recognizing excellence in television and digital media from around the globe. Hosted by actress and comedian Rakhee Morzaria (Run the Burbs), the Rockies Program Competition ceremony will be held in-person as well as live-streamed on YouTube during this year’s Festival at 6:30 pm ET (4:30 pm MT) on Monday, June 13th.

The Rockie Awards International Program Competition is one of the largest awards programs of its kind, juried by an esteemed panel of 150 international industry professionals and covering all major genres. The Rockie Awards Grand Jury chooses the coveted Grand Jury Prize, selected from the top-scoring programs across the entire field of nominees. This year’s Grand Jury includes: Vanessa Brookman, Head of Kids EMEA, WarnerMedia; Trish Williams, Executive Director, Scripted Content, CBC; James Blue, Head, Smithsonian Channel & Senior VP, MTV News and Docs, ViacomCBS Entertainment & Youth Brands; Young-kyu Kim, Co-CEO, Studio Dragon; Caroline Hollick,  Head of Drama, Channel 4; Candice Wilson Cherry, Head of Development and Production, LOL and Monika Ille, Director, APTN.

“This year’s Rockie Awards are more international than ever before,” said Jenn Kuzmyk, Executive Director of the Banff World Media Festival. “The creative spirit and exceptional work across the nominees truly exemplify the very best of global content.  We can’t wait to share this year’s show and celebrate in-person with nominees and winners once again in Canada’s beautiful Rockie Mountains.”

In addition to the Grand Jury Prize, the $25,000 Rogers Prize for Excellence in Canadian Content, awarded to the top Canadian production and The Francophone Prize for the top French-language production will also be awarded in addition to other special awards. In total, 29 awards will be bestowed in the category streams of Documentary & Factual, Arts & Entertainment, Children & Youth, Scripted, and Podcast, in addition to the presentation of several Rockies Gala Awards to be announced soon.

Leading nominations by company are:

  • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) – 23 nominations
  • National Geographic and Disney Branded Television – 9 nominations each
  • HBO – 7 nominations
  • Sky – 6 nominations
  • Warner Brothers – 5 nominations

Leading nominations by country are:

  • USA – 54 nominations
  • UK – 59 nominations
  • Canada – 30 nominations
  • Australia – 9 nominations
  • France – 6 nominations

Additional countries represented in the nominations are:

  • Argentina
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Brazil
  • Canary Islands
  • China
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • Germany
  • India
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Mexico
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Qatar
  • Singapore
  • Sweden
  • Uruguay

FOR THE FULL LIST OF NOMINEES, PLEASE VISIT: https://rockies.playbackonline.ca/nominees

Now in its 43rd year, BANFF is the international conference and marketplace where new business partnerships are forged and new TV, film and digital media projects are ignited. With delegates from 50+ countries, the Festival attracts the world’s top creators, producers, showrunners, talent, networks, studios, streamers, press and media companies. In addition, BANFF continues to deliver important fellowships and initiatives including The BANFF Spark Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media, supported by the Government of Canada which empowers and trains Canadian women entrepreneurs to launch and grow their own sustainable businesses within the screen-based industries as well as the Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices Initiative, a program that jumpstarts and accelerates the careers of up to 100 Black, Indigenous and People of Colour producers and creators.

ABOUT RAKHEE MORZARIA

Rakhee Morzaria is an actress and comedian who produced, wrote, and starred in the Canadian Screen Award and Canadian Comedy Award-nominated web series, NOTE TO SELF about the daily adventures of an overconfident second-generation millennial.

Rakhee has performed at the Toronto Fringe Festival, Toronto Sketchfest, SheDot Festival, Hart House Theatre and Bad Dog Theatre. She is a graduate of Factory Theatre’s artistic training program, Second City’s Conservatory, the Second City Bob Curry Fellowship Program, and she has performed in various shows with the company. Her on-screen credits include Global TV’s PRIVATE EYES, FX’s WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, and HUDSON & REX.

Her comedy has been featured at the WIFT-T showcase, Atlantic Film Festival, and the National Screen Institute’s Film Festival.

Rakhee Morzaria is a writer and star in CBC’s original Comedy Run the Burbs, which will return to CBC and CBC Gem for season 2 in 2023.

Image courtesy of CBC.

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