Dave Foley, one of a number of Canadians who have once again landed on the U.S. network fall schedules, has this tip for Americans trying to spot a Canadian in Los Angeles: “If you see a man holding a door while thousands of people walk through it and he’s not wearing epaulets and a cap, that’s probably a Canadian.”
The former “Kids in the Hall” and “NewsRadio” star is part of the ensemble on the new CBS comedy “How to Be a Gentleman.” David Hornsby (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”), Kevin Dillon (“Entourage”), Mary Lynn Rajskub (“24”) and Rhys Darby (“Flight of the Conchords”) also star.
“I’ve stumbled into another great ensemble cast so I’m thrilled,” says Foley, who plays an editor on the series.
He was among several Canadian performers in the mix at the annual summer gathering of the Television Critics Association. Earlier in the week, at the NBC sessions, Will Arnett, who was in last season’s short-lived comedy “Running Wilde,” joined co-stars Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph on the panel for “Up All Night.” The sitcom features Arnett and Applegate as a busy career couple who can barely cope with a new child. Maya Rudolph (“Bridesmaids”) plays a friend of the pair who’s also an Oprah-like talk show host.
Playing a sleep-deprived parent was easy for Arnett. He and wife Amy Poehler (“Parks & Recreation”) have two children at home under the age of three. His oldest had a fever the night before the press tour session and Arnett really was up all night.
When the Toronto-native’s nearly three-year-old son saw the pilot for his dad’s new series, he pointed to his father on screen and said, “That’s Dada’s brother?” Arnett gently explained, “No, no, no, that’s Dada.” The child then pointed to the baby in the series and said, “That’s Dada’s baby?” “No,” said Arnett, “that’s not Dada’s real baby.” Said the lad, “That baby’s real.”
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Other Canadians on the U.S. fall schedules include Gil Bellows and Tom Cavanagh, both appearing in the Hallmark Channel TV-movie “Debbie Macomber’s Trading Christmas.” Like a lot of Hallmark fare, the movie was shot in Vancouver which posed a problem when it came time to render snowy Christmas scenes – especially since the project shot during the summer months. Director Michael Scott told critics he worked around the weather. “Luckily there are lots of ice rinks in the area, so we collect the snow, we lay it out, and hopefully it lasts long enough for the scene.”
As Scott says, “they’re very experienced in Vancouver at creating snow scenes in the summer. So we’ve done it quite a bit, and it works quite well.”
Another Canadian, 23-year-old Jared Abrahamson, landed a lead role in another Hallmark film, “Finding a Family.” Abrahamson hails from Flin Flon, Man. “Way up north. You’ve never heard of it, unless you watch hockey,” he told a room full of mostly American critics.
Flin Flon was the birthplace of Team Canada ’72 hockey hero Bobby Clarke.
Abrahamson was working in a diamond mine a year ago when he decided to move to Vancouver to pursue his acting dream. He quickly landed an agent and within two months found this role on the U.S. cable network.
Other Canadians joining the U.S. schedules this fall include Leah Renee Cudmore, who plays one of the bunnies in NBC’s “The Playboy Club.” The Toronto native was previously on the CBC series “M.V.P.” Quebecer Karine Vanasse is among the stewardesses of “Pan Am,” a series set in the early ’60s coming to ABC. Former model Natasha Henstridge is part of the cast of “The Secret Circle.” The Newfoundland native will play one of the witches on the series from The CW.
Not all the news on the current TCA press tour has been positive for Canadians.
CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler said, “I don’t think so,” when asked directly whether “Flashpoint” will return to her network beyond the current summer run. The four-year-old police drama, which is shot in Toronto, has already been renewed for a fifth season by its Canadian network partner CTV and a distribution deal is already in place that will see the series remain in America on the U.S. cable network ION.
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Bill Brioux is a freelance TV columnist based in Brampton, Ont.
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