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Production begins on Season 4 of CBC’s Son of a Critch

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From a media release:

CBC, Canada’s national public broadcaster, and global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B), today announced the start of principal photography on the fourth season of the hit original comedy series SON OF A CRITCH (13 x 30) in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The celebrated series was recently recognized with the Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards. Based on comedian Mark Critch’s award-winning, best-selling memoir of the same name, SON OF A CRITCH is a heartfelt window into the life of now 14-year-old Mark – much older than his years – coming of age in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The new season will premiere winter 2025 on CBC Gem and CBC TV in Canada. Lionsgate handles worldwide distribution rights outside of Canada.

Since the series first premiered in January 2022, SON OF A CRITCH has continued to rank as the most-watched original Canadian comedy in the country and as one of the top 5 most-watched comedies overall in Canada.* It also continues to be one of the most-streamed comedies on CBC Gem.**

In Season 4, Mark begins high school on the cusp of a new decade and finds himself once again at the bottom rung. From his relentless pursuit of his creative dreams to his burgeoning romance with Fox, we’ll watch as Mark navigates a quickly growing world filled with new promise, potential and love. In this new era of video dance parties, political shifts, and digital transformation, Mark won’t be alone in his chase for something greater: his inner circle of family and close friends also finds itself caught up in the winds of change.

“We’re thrilled to roll into the 90s with Mark as he finds his way in high school and are looking forward to sharing this exciting new season with audiences,” say creators, showrunners and executive producers Mark Critch and Tim McAuliffe.

SON OF A CRITCH stars Mark Critch portraying his own father, Mike, while Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (The Haunting of Bly Manor, Pinocchio) plays young Mark. Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Entourage) is his grandfather, Pop; Claire Rankin (Stargate Atlantis) plays his mother Mary; Colton Gobbo (Ginny & Georgia) as his older brother Mike Jr; Mark Rivera is his best friend Ritche; and Sophia Powers (Fourth Down and Love) is Fox, now officially Mark’s girlfriend.

Returning cast members include Richard Clarkin as Dick, Nicole Underhay as Fox’s mom Suzanne, Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll as Father Garcia, and Nora McLellan as Sister Rose.

SON OF A CRITCH was created by showrunners Mark Critch (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and Tim McAuliffe (The Office, Last Man on Earth, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and is produced by Project 10 Productions and Hawco Productions in association with CBC and Lionsgate Television. Executive producers are Critch, McAuliffe, Emmy® and Golden Globe® winning producer Andrew Barnsley (Schitt’s Creek), and Allan Hawco (Republic of Doyle). Perry Chafe and Amanda Joy serve as co-executive producers and John Vatcher is producer. Series directors this season are John Vatcher (Caught), Deanne Foley (Son of a Critch), Joyce Wong (Sort Of), and Vanessa Matsui (Ghost BFF).

Image courtesy of Vaida Nairn.

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This Hour Has 22 Minutes

CBC’s iconic This Hour Has 22 Minutes celebrates historic 30th season with a live taping in Toronto

From a media release:

THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (24×30) returns to CBC and CBC Gem on Tuesday, September 13 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) for a historic 30th season that includes a live taping at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto and a special episode that explores what has made the show a cultural touchstone for viewers across Canada over the past three decades.

TRENT McCLELLAN, ABA AMUQUANDOH, STACEY McGUNNIGLE, and 22 Minutes veteran MARK CRITCH are back on the news desk of Canada’s longest-running TV comedy series, continuing to push the boundaries of provocative satire; targeting politics, culture and world events with biting parodies and an unrelenting skewering of the weekly news. With a legacy that spans three decades, 22 Minutes remains a beloved staple for television audiences across the country and has also cultivated a large and dedicated online following. Throughout the duration of Season 29, the show’s social media audience grew by over 650,000 followers collectively. Season 29 also marked a successful introduction to TikTok, with their account earning roughly 82.2 million video views and 9.1 million likes over the course of the season.

This season, 22 MINUTES will celebrate 30 years with two special episodes:

22 MINUTES AT GLENN GOULD STUDIO (October 4), will be filmed in Toronto before a live studio audience of politicians, newsmakers and stars from the world of Canadian comedy.

THIS SPECIAL HAS 30 YEARS (October 11), is a retrospective episode that will look back at 22 Minutes’ history while exploring what has made the show such a groundbreaking cultural force over its 30 seasons, featuring interviews with cast, creatives, and collaborators including Rick Mercer, Mary Walsh and Peter Mansbridge.

The series is filmed in front of a reduced live audience in its new studio and production facilities at the Light House Arts Centre in Halifax, where the show employs an integral and experienced crew across all production disciplines to bring the show to life every week.

This Hour Has 22 Minutes is produced by IoM Media: Executive Producers Mike Allison and Michael Donovan; Producers Meaghan Clark, Carl Gosine, Tracey Jardine, and Dana Landry.

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Son of a Critch

Links: Son of a Critch, Season 1

From Stephen Cooke of Saltwire:

Link: New East Coast television series mines a Critch vein of warm family comedy
It was like a jovial family reunion broke out during a Zoom call to discuss the new Newfoundland-shot comedy series Son of a Critch, and it was hard not to get steamrolled a bit by the whole affair. Continue reading.

From Anne Brodie of What She Said Talk:

Link: The Son of a Critch shares his journey from boyhood to Canadian comedy icon
Mark Critch’s wonderfully wild and on-point humour has elevated CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes since 2013 and he remains a treasure there to this day, in Season 29. Critch has his own comedy series now! Continue reading.

From Tatiana Hullender of Screenrant:

Link: Mark Critch, Malcolm McDowell & Benjamin Evan Ainsworth Interview: Son Of A Critch
When comedian, writer and actor Mark Critch sat down to pen his memoir, Son of a Critch, he had little idea it would become its own comedy series. Continue reading.

From Sadaf Ahsan of the The Canadian Press:

Link: Comic Mark Critch on reliving childhood in his father’s shoes in ‘Son of a Critch’
Comedian Mark Critch is reliving his childhood for all to see in the new TV series “Son of a Critch” – but he’s doing it in his father’s shoes this time around. Continue reading.

From Bill Brioux of Brioux.tv:

Link: Son of a Critch is an East Coast Conners meets The Wonder Years
Watching the first two episodes of Son of a Critch brought me right back to the first time I saw The Wonder Years, the original, ABC version which premiered in 1988. Continue reading.

From Tara Bradbury of Saltwire:

Link: Did Mark Critch’s brother witness a would-be murder in St. John’s? Family lore will come to life this season on ‘Son of a Critch’
There was a Sunday evening, growing up in the boonies of Kenmount Road near the VOCM station, when Mike Critch Jr. may or may not have witnessed the aftermath of a murder. Continue reading.

From Steve Norton of Screenfish:

Link: Son of a Critch: Memories are Made of Critch
They say you can never truly go home again. But can you feel welcome revisiting someone else’s home? Continue reading.

From Bill Brioux of the Toronto Star:

Link: ‘Holy crap! That’s Malcolm McDowell!’ How the acting legend ended up on CBC’s ‘Son of a Critch’
Malcolm McDowell made quite an entrance when the new CBC sitcom “Son of a Critch” premiered earlier this month. Continue reading.

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Featured, Son of a Critch, This Hour Has 22 Minutes

Mark Critch’s childhood comes to life in the heartfelt and hilarious Son of a Critch

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CBC was delivered a one-two punch to its primetime comedy lineup when Schitt’s Creek and Kim’s Convenience both ended. Thankfully, the huge holes left by those two wonderful series are being filled by equally special projects this winter, Son of a Critch and Run the Burbs.

Debuting Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem, Son of a Critch—co-created by Mark Critch and Tim McAuliffe—brings Critch’s childhood to life in a hilarious and truly relatable way. Based on the award-winning, best-selling memoir by Critch, the comedy tracks 11-year-old Mark (played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as he heads off to a new school in 1980s St. John’s, Newfoundland.

As a child of the 80s, I was immediately drawn in and related to Young Mark and what he was going through. What kid hasn’t felt out of place in his own skin, and tried mightily to fit in? Throw in a rocking soundtrack of 80s tunes complemented by music from Keith Power and Alan Doyle, a cast that includes Critch as his own father, Mike, Claire Rankin as his mother, Mary, Malcolm McDowell as his grandfather, Pop, and Colton Gobbo as his brother, Mike Jr., and Son of a Critch is instantly enjoyable.

“It was very strange,” Critch says of being on the set of the television show for the first time. His family home, torn down in the 1990s, was recreated from his sketches and memories. And parts of his wardrobe, as Mike Sr., were his father’s.

“I remember looking down at one point and seeing my grandmother’s wicker chair in my peripheral vision, the radio that I listened to every day during the winter to see if it was going to be a snow day and wearing my Dad’s jacket and thinking, ‘I’m inside a memory.’ And then looking over and seeing Malcolm McDowell and saying to myself, ‘You sick fool, you should be talking to a therapist about this!'”

McDowell is just the tip of the iceberg in a stunning cast assembled for Son of a Critch. It all starts with Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who puts everyone else on his back to carry the series as Young Mark. The British actor, who most recently appeared in The Haunting of Bly Manor, pulls in viewers with his large, soulful eyes and sensitive performance.

“I’ve never seen anybody better than Benjamin,” Critch says. “I’ve never had that Hollywood experience, where he was doing his audition and I said, ‘Stop, we need to get that guy. Here are my keys and my house, just get that guy!'”

Son of a Critch airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Son of a Critch

CBC and Lionsgate reunite with Andrew Barnsley and Project 10 for Mark Critch’s original comedy Son of a Critch

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From a media release:

CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster, and global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) are partnering with “Schitt’s Creek” Emmy® and Golden Globe® winning producer Andrew Barnsley and comedian-actor-writer Mark Critch to bring “SON OF A CRITCH” (13×30) to audiences in Canada, the U.S. and around the world. Created by Critch and Tim McAuliffe (“The Office,” “Last Man on Earth,” and the upcoming “MacGruber” series) and based on Critch’s award-winning, best-selling memoir Son of a Critch: A Childish Newfoundland Memoir, the CBC original series will premiere on CBC TV and CBC Gem in Canada in January 2022, with Lionsgate handling U.S. and international distribution rights.

“Son of a Critch” is the hilarious and very real story of 11-year-old Mark coming of age in St. John’s, Newfoundland in the 80’s. It’s a heartfelt window into the life of a child – much older inside than his 11 years – using comedy and self-deprecation to win friends and connect with the small collection of people in his limited world. With production starting today in St. John’s, Newfoundland, the comedy stars Mark Critch as his father and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (Pinocchio) as young Mark. Ainsworth can currently be seen as one of the leads in the limited series “The Haunting of Bly Manor” for director Mike Flanagan on Netflix, and stars as Pinocchio opposite Tom Hanks in Walt Disney Pictures’ upcoming live action remake of Pinocchio for director Robert Zemeckis. Additionally, Claire Rankin (Molly’s Game) has been cast as Mark’s mother, Mary, alongside newcomers Sophia Powers and Mark Rivera, who are cast as classmates of young Mark. Golden Globe nominee Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) to star as Pop.

The project is a very personal one for both Critch and McAuliffe, as the two have been friends dating back to working on “This Hour has 22 Minutes” together.

A CBC original series, “Son of a Critch” 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, and executive produced by Critch, McAuliffe, Barnsley, Ben Murray and Allan Hawco. Renuka Jeyapalan and Anita Kapila serve as co-executive producers with Jeyapalan directing the first four episodes of the series.

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