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Production underway on Season 2 of CBC’s Run the Burbs

From a media release:

CBC and Pier 21 Films today announced that production is underway in and around Toronto on the second 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 comic talents lead by Andrew Phung as Andrew Pham, Rakhee Morzaria as Camille Pham, and Zoriah Wong, and Roman Pesino as Khia and Leo Pham. The series regulars include Ali Hassan (CBC’s Laugh Out Loud), Julie Nolke (Explaining the Pandemic to my Past Self), Jonathan Langdon (Utopia Falls), Chris Locke (Workin’ Moms, Mr. D), Samantha Wan (Second Jen), and Aurora Browne (Baroness von Sketch Show). The second season will premiere on CBC and CBC Gem in Winter 2023.

A playful comedy about life in the suburbs, oddball neighbours, and a loving family that sticks together through thick and thin, RUN THE BURBS welcomes some new faces to the neighbourhood for season two, including new cast member Sharjil Rasool (New Eden) playing Camille’s cousin Nikhil and an array of guest stars including Dakota Ray Hebert (Run Woman Run), The Great Canadian Baking Show’s Ann Pornel, and multi-award-winning comic and actor Gavin Crawford. As previously announced, veteran showrunner Anthony Q. Farrell joins the creative team as Executive Producer and Showrunner.

A CBC original series, RUN THE BURBS is produced by Pier 21 Films. Executive Producers are Laszlo Barna, Nicole Butler, and Karen Tsang (for Pier 21 Films), Andrew Phung, Scott Townend, and Aleysa Young. Anthony Q. Farrell serves as Executive Producer and Showrunner. Co-Executive Producers are Nelu Handa and Courtney J. Walker. Jessica Daniel is the Series Producer. Season Two directors include Aleysa Young, Zoe Hopkins, Pat Mills, Joyce Wong and Sherren Lee.

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Andrew Phung returns to CBC with his own creation, Run the Burbs

Like other fans, I was gutted when Kim’s Convenience came to an end. I missed the laughs, the family dynamic, and the diversity I was seeing on my television screen. Thankfully, that hole has been filled by Andrew Phung—Kim’s Convenience‘s Kimchee—in Run the Burbs.

Co-created by Phung and his best bud and collaborator, filmmaker Scott Townend, Run the Burbs—debuting Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. on CBC—follows the Phams, a young Vietnamese-South Asian-Canadian family living on a cul-de-sac in the suburbs.

“Relatable” was the first word that came to mind as I watched the debut episode of Run the Burbs. In those opening moments, I witnessed something I’ve done myself: trying to deliver a trunkful of groceries from the car into my house in one trip. To see the Phams—father Andrew (Phung), mother Camille (Rakhee Morzaria), daughter Khia (Zoriah Wong) and son Leo (Roman Pesino)—draped like pack mules struggling in the heat, made me laugh out loud at them, and myself.

“For this family, in particular, they make these mundane moments big,” Townend says. “And there are the families around them as well. People are going to say, ‘I have a neighbour like that.’ I’ve got neighbours like this, Andrew’s got neighbours like that. It was important to find the comedy in those everyday moments.”

In the works since the summer of 2019, Phung says Run the Burbs came organically and easily, thanks in large part to their longtime friendship and the way they constantly supported each other. By December of that year, Phung was confident what they had created would end up on a network.

“We had something here that was so fun and full of life and energetic,” Phung says. “What’s wild to me is that, through the process, a lot of it has remained the same.”

At the centre of Run the Burbs is Andrew Pham, a whirling dervish of a man who is full of positivity, good-natured humour and truly believes in the good in everyone. Even when there are down moments, like in Episode 1, when a planned block party seems to be going off the rails, it doesn’t last long. And with high-powered and diverse comedic talent in Phung’s co-stars and supporting roles played by Aurora Browne, Ali Hassan, Julie Nolke, Jonathan Langdon, Chris Locke, Samantha Wan, Simone Miller and the late Candy Palmater, the laughs are loud and last long.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have the cast that we do,” Townend says. “It is a powerhouse of comedy and every episode, every actor brought something new to the part. They took what was on the page, directors included, elevated it and made it better.”

Run the Burbs airs Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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