A Kids in the Hall star comes to you with a series. The series is based on an autobiographical theatrical show about that star's childhood. The episodes are well-written with interesting characters. The show is very Canadian. And you don't even have to produce Season 1 of the show since the episodes already ran elsewhere on Canadian TV.
All you have to do is start being solely responsible come Season 2 after 10 episodes have aired.
The CBC did run those 10 episodes of Young Drunk Punk last fall after they ran on City TV the previous winter. The ratings were good especially since a number of Canadians already watched the show 9 months earlier. But the CBC decided not to run Young Drunk Punk for Season 2.
We noted last week that Young Drunk Punk did win the Strange Empire award for "awesome show, but cancelled." For the second year in a row, a CBC show that didn't always fit in well has been cancelled. Like Strange Empire, the ratings were good but not good enough.
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The program features Ian and Shinky growing up in Calgary in 1980 without selling out. McCulloch plays Ian's father, Lloyd McKay.
I was able to watch two episodes. The first dealt with overcoming prejudice: one subplot was about Ian learning to like his girlfriend's bad taste in music. Lloyd struggled to learn about cultures different from his own. The latter could have proven more problematic but was handled tastefully.
The other episode dealt with how the video game Space Invaders impacted the community center. The episode reminded me a bit of the Pacman episode from Square Pegs where Father Guido Sarducci makes a cameo appearance. If you make me recall a Square Pegs episode, you are doing something good.
The Young Drunk Punk title might have scared some people off, but I didn't see anything horrible in the episode. Characters were well-drawn and likable, even the woman who fights to keep the game in the community center.
Tracy Ryan, McCulloch's real-life wife, plays his wife in the show. Allie MacDonald plays Ian's sister Belinda. You can currently see her as Trina in Season 4 of Orphan Black and she played Joanna Polley in Stories We Tell.
Atticus Mitchell plays Shinky, who is interested in both of the women in the McKay household.
The CBC has to take some risks but also needs to do a better job at nurturing those risks. The U.S. landscape is filled with stories of shows that needed momentum to make an impact. Seinfeld was a prime example of this phenomena.
Canadian TV shows can't all be Heartland or Murdoch Mysteries. There should be room for Strange Empire and Young Drunk Punk. If nothing else, having atypical shows last 2 seasons sparks others to bring their shows to the CBC. If atypical shows keep getting cancelled after a single season, artists might feel they are wasting their time pitching a show to the CBC.
Americans can watch episodes of Young Drunk Punk via Sesso.
The program did get 7 Canadian Screen Award nominations, including one for best comedy series. Mitchell and Ryan were nominated for acting awards. While the show didn't win an award, when going up against Schitt's Creek, being nominated is an honor.
CBC likes to diversify programming across the country. Young Drunk Punk was set in Calgary. Heartland doesn't have to be the only Western Canada show.
McCulloch said he was looking for a home for a second season. Hopefully, that will happen. Shame that the CBC wasn't the answer to a good Canadian show.
video credit: City TV/Young Drunk Punk
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