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Canadian SitCom Crossovers?

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kkelso

Well-known member
Apr 27, 2003
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Whilst lounging in my Canadian hotel room I have had occasion to sample a few Canadian sitcoms here and there. I like Brit humor, but the stuff from Canada leaves me cold. No offense meant, just personal preference.

Started me thinking, have there been any Canadian sitcoms that have become mainstream in the U.S.? I mean, how would I know if there were? Lots of Canadian comedians to be sure. And there's Kids in the Hall (awesome) but that's not a sitcom.

Are there shows that I'm missing?
 
More of a comedy drama, but "Due South" was the first Canadian-made series to earn a prime time slot on a major US network.
 
For kids:

You Can't Do That On Television premiered in Ottawa, and purchased by Nickelodeon for use in the States.

It was pretty popular.
 
There seems to be better luck with Canadian documentaries and dramas in the states.

US public TV often uses Canadian documentaries, and I've seen Cdn cartoons in the states.

That show Flashpoint is based on the Toronto Emergency Task Force. Is the show supposed to take place in Toronto?
 
ig-88 said:
That show Flashpoint is based on the Toronto Emergency Task Force. Is the show supposed to take place in Toronto?
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Yes and it makes Toronto look like guns are a huge problem there.
 
ig-88 said:
There seems to be better luck with Canadian documentaries and dramas in the states.
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Agreed, it's "the funny" that doesn't seem to translate too well.
 
They use to run the King of Kensington in LA in the middle of the night on some of the crappier TV stations.
 
Sitcom is a US format; I don't think the Brits do it particularly well either. We tend to do better with sketch comedy, ans you and others have mentioned.

BUt no one can beat The Trouble With Tracy
 
kkelso said:
Whilst lounging in my Canadian hotel room I have had occasion to sample a few Canadian sitcoms here and there. I like Brit humor, but the stuff from Canada leaves me cold. No offense meant, just personal preference.

Started me thinking, have there been any Canadian sitcoms that have become mainstream in the U.S.? I mean, how would I know if there were? Lots of Canadian comedians to be sure. And there's Kids in the Hall (awesome) but that's not a sitcom.

Are there shows that I'm missing?
Click to expand...

Are you trying to tell us that The Beachcombers weren't on mainstream TV in the U.S.A?

Canadians are funny, and sitcoms are about the creative writing and character building. The creative ones move to the U.S. to work on American sitcoms. The talent goes where the money is.

Our production is in Documentaries, Cartoons, and Children's Television. Such as, 'How It Works', 'Care Bears', and 'Popular Mechanics for Kids'.

The only Canadian show that could have been creative enough for an American prime time slot, would be in my opinion, 'The Trailer Park Boys'. However, due to it's content it's just not ready for prime time.
 
Canadians make sitcoms?

X-files was shot in BC.
Stargate SG-1 was shot in BC
Stargate Atlantis is pretty well a Canadian show shot in BC
BattleStar Galactica was shot in BC
The Outer Limits (90's remake) was Canadian
Sanctuary is Canadian and shot in BC

Sit com humour is very much cultural based, which is why it does not translate well between countries. I don't watch them, BTW.
 
Magnum PI.

The pilot was filmed in Saskatchewan.

Tom Selleck starred as a private detective who was hired by a local farmer to locate some missing pigs. Magnum soon discovered that a local butcher (played by Gary Busey) had been stealing them, having sex with them and then selling them at his butcher shop.

Magnum lived in a shed located on a wealthy pig farmers ranch.

Not even the stench of pig shit stood in the way of his good looks and charm, as he was able to bed down several of the local girls.

NBC changed the format a little bit.
 
Sophie, and Little Mosque each have fans, and foreign sales.

Another Canadian gem was The Mighty Jungle (Zookeeper and family live in the zoo, and he can talk to the animals; hilarity ensues) which even did the live studio audience thing here. But you can't hold it against us, it was for a US producer in LA. Not sure where you'd find evidence of its one and only season.
 
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