Tag Archives: Run the Burbs

Co-showrunners Jennica Harper and Nelu Handa to “Run” Run the Burbs

From a media release:

Longtime collaborators Jennica Harper (JANN, above right) and Nelu Handa (SORT OF, above left) will co-showrun Season 3 of the popular, hit CBC original comedy, RUN THE BURBS. Created by writer and actor Andrew Phung (KIM’S CONVENIENCE) and filmmaker Scott Townend (The Secret Marathon), RUN THE BURBS follows the Phams, a young, bold Vietnamese-South Asian-Canadian family taking a different approach to living life to the fullest, while changing the way we think about contemporary family values and life in the burbs. The series is produced by Pier 21 Films and distributed by Fifth Season. Season 3 of RUN THE BURBS is slated to broadcast on CBC and CBC Gem in Winter 2024, the first two seasons are available to stream now on CBC Gem.

Jennica Harper steps in after showrunning three seasons and a holiday special of the Jann Arden CTV comedy JANN. Nelu Handa has written and produced on the previous two seasons of RUN THE BURBS. Harper and Handa have a history of collaborating and worked together on all three seasons of JANN. They take over RUN THE BURBS from Season 2 showrunner Anthony Farrell. 

Harper and Handa bring a slew of accolades and comedy experience to the RUN THE BURBS team. In 2021, Nelu Handa won a Canadian Screen Award for “Best Writing” on the BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW. Her script for SORT OF was nominated for a Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award for “Best Comedy”. She earned a Peabody Award for her contribution to the ground-breaking first season for SORT OF. Jennica Harper has won two Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Awards including “Best Comedy” script for JANN and “Best Tweens and Teens” script for kids’ comedy SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED.

Creator and star Andrew Phung shares, “I’m so pumped to be working with Jennica and Nelu on Season 3. I’m a big fan of Jennica’s work, and she brings such joy and relatability to the writer’s room. She leads with such a calming presence. I’ve worked with Nelu for the past two seasons of RUN THE BURBS, and have loved every minute of it. She’s so thoughtful and hilarious, and her experiences have greatly added to the development of the show and its characters. I’m truly honoured and so excited that they are co-leading the show together.”

Jennica Harper shares Phung’s enthusiasm stating, “I’m thrilled to be joining the RUN THE BURBS team, showrunning alongside Nelu. We’ve got a built-in trust, and share a lot of comedic instincts. Andrew and Scott, the creators, have been so welcoming to ‘the new kid.’ I’m honoured they’re trusting Nelu and I with their baby.

Season 2 was incredible. It told culturally specific yet super relatable stories, the characters deepened, and yet the whole season really amped up the funny. The goal for Season 3 is to have fun paying off a bunch of storylines started last season. Andrew and Camille are both working their dream jobs — but what does that mean for their work/life balance?”

Nelu Handa continues, “I’m excited to be taking this next step in my career on a show that I’ve come to love for two seasons. I’ve learned a lot from our past showrunners Anthony and Shebli Zarghami, they both exemplified strong leadership and created a really great work culture, traditions I’m aiming to continue in this role. Jennica’s an incredible person and has been a mentor for many years, so getting the chance to work alongside her is like a dream come true. 

I’m proud of the stories we get to tell. Exploring the experiences of a modern Canadian couple with rich cultural backgrounds is both very rewarding personally and relatable to so many viewers who are excited to see themselves reflected on Canadian television.”

In addition to CTV JANN’s three seasons and a holiday special, Jennica Harper has written and produced a wide range of TV genres, from dark crime dramas to kids’ multi-cam comedies. She was a Writer and Co-Executive Producer on the light mystery series THE SPENCER SISTERS (CTV), the medical adventure drama SKYMED (Paramount+/CBC), horror-comedy cult favourite THE ORDER (Netflix), and critically acclaimed thriller CARDINAL (Hulu/CTV), among others. 

Nelu Handa has written for multiple seasons of award winning comedy series including: JANN, SORT OF, BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW, ODD SQUAD, THE BEAVERTON, TALLBOYZ, and A Little Late with Lilly Singh. She’s written for RUN THE BURBS since the first season and served as writer/Co-EP on season two.

A CBC original series, RUN THE BURBS is Executive Produced by 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, writers and showrunners. Co-executive producer is Jay Vaidya. Jessica Daniel is the Series Producer. Season 3 writers include Andrew Phung, Scott Townend, Jennica Harper, Nelu Handa, Jay Vaidya, Sara Peters, Angelica Mendizabal, and Mandeq Hassan.

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TV, Eh? Podcast Episode 260: More Transplant on CTV, new seasons of CBC comedies ordered and CSAs, Part 2

Welcome back to another bi-weekly chat about the latest news in Canadian TV! First, Greg goes through debuts and returns on the Canadian TV calendar.

Then, we cover the latest Canadian TV news, which includes a Season 4 renewal for Transplant, more seasons of Run the Burbs, Son of a Critch and This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and a new comedy series from CBC, APTN and Netflix. We conclude with Part 2 of our discussion about the Canadian Screen Awards, focusing on Best Lead Performers in the Comedy and Drama categories.

This podcast brought to you by coffee.

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CBC renews original comedies Run the Burbs, Son of a Critch and This Hour Has 22 Minutes

From a media release:

Reinforcing its status as Canada’s go-to destination for Canadian comedy, CBC today announced the renewal of popular original series RUN THE BURBS and SON OF A CRITCH for their third seasons, and long-running sketch comedy series THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES for its 31st season. These series join Peabody Award-winning comedy SORT OF, which was renewed for a third season in December 2022 by CBC and HBO Max, as part of CBC’s 2023-24 comedy slate. CBC comedies were recently recognized with 54 Canadian Screen Award nominations, including Best Comedy Series for SORT OF and Best Sketch Comedy Program or Series for THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES. SON OF A CRITCH is also among the Top 5 series currently in the running for the 2023 Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award.

Created by comedian, writer and actor Andrew Phung (Kim’s Convenience) and his best friend and collaborator, filmmaker Scott Townend (The Secret Marathon), RUN THE BURBS follows the Phams, a young, bold Vietnamese-South Asian-Canadian family taking a different approach to living life to the fullest, while changing the way we think about contemporary family values and life in the burbs. The series is produced by Pier 21 Films and distributed by Fifth Season. The Season 2 finale of RUN THE BURBS airs Wednesday, March 29 at 8:30 p.m (9 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem.

Based on Mark Critch’s award-winning, best-selling memoir, SON OF A CRITCH is the hilarious and very real story of 12-year-old Mark coming of age in St. John’s, Newfoundland in the 80s. Created by Critch (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and Tim McAuliffe (The Office, Last Man on Earth and MacGruber) and produced by Emmy® and Golden Globe® winning producer Andrew Barnsley (Schitt’s Creek), the series is an inter-provincial co-production between Barnsley’s Project 10 Productions Inc. and Newfoundland-based Take the Shot Productions in association with CBC and Lionsgate Television, which handles worldwide distribution rights outside Canada. This season, SON OF A CRITCH is the most-watched English Canadian comedy series and CBC’s most-watched program with 18-49 and 25-54 audiences.* The Season 2 finale of SON OF A CRITCH airs Tuesday, March 28 at 8:30 p.m. (9 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem.

Canada’s longest-running TV comedy series, THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES continues to push the boundaries of provocative satire, targeting politics, culture and world events with biting parodies and an unrelenting skewering of the weekly news. Produced by IoM Media, the series remains a beloved sketch comedy staple for audiences across the country after three decades, and has featured some of Canada’s greatest comedians – and most of the country’s political leaders. The finale of THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES’ 30th anniversary season airs Tuesday, March 28 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem.

In addition, CBC continues its commitment to showcasing emerging and established Canadian stand-up talent with returning specials and series for the 2023-24 broadcast season. Recently captured at Just For Laughs Vancouver and produced by Just For Laughs TV, Season 4 of THE NEW WAVE OF STANDUP showcases Canada’s hottest new comedians (Season 3 debuts Friday, March 24 on CBC Gem). Also from Just For Laughs TV, Season 20 of JUST FOR LAUGHS GALAS will offer the best-known international and Canadian stand-up comedians, alongside exciting breakout performers, from the world’s biggest comedy event in Montreal. WINNIPEG COMEDY FESTIVAL (Season 22, Frantic Films) and HALIFAX COMEDY FEST (Season 27, Pilot Light Productions) round out CBC’s comedy lineup for the upcoming broadcast season, capturing some of the most dynamic performers on today’s circuit.

*Source: Numeris TV Meter, September 12, 2022 – March 5, 2023, CBC Total, Total Canada, Based on AMA, Confirmed Audience Data, generated by InfoSys+TV.

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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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TV, Eh? Podcast Episode 254: Production on Murdoch Mysteries spinoff, Run the Burbs and The Hardy Boys

Welcome back to another bi-weekly (ish) chat about the latest news in Canadian TV! First, Greg and Amy go through debuts and returns on the Canadian TV calendar.

Then, we cover the latest Canadian TV news, which includes production beginning on a Murdoch Mysteries spinoff; Season 2 of Run the Burbs; the final season of The Hardy Boys; casting for CBC’s new series, Essex County; and David Suzuki retiring from The Nature of Things. We finish the podcast by getting into the Halloween spirit with Are You Afraid of the Dark?

This podcast brought to you by Candy Corn Cocktails and Pommies Cider.

[Editor’s Note: Greg erroneously said that Anthony Q. Farrell was the showrunner for Diggstown. Anthony Q. Farrell was the showrunner for Overload and the Underwoods, The Parker Andersons/Amelia Parker and the upcoming Shelved. He apologizes for the error.]

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