First Season Debuted as the Most-Watched Original Canadian Comedy in the country and is one of the Most-Streamed Comedies on CBC’s Streaming Service, CBC Gem
Lionsgate Handles Worldwide Distribution Rights Outside Canada
CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster, and global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B), today announced the start of production on the second season of Mark Critch’s original comedy series “Son of a Critch” in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The series is produced by Project 10 Productions Inc. and Take the Shot Productions in association with CBC and Lionsgate Television. Lionsgate handles worldwide distribution rights outside Canada. The 13-part, half hour comedy stars Mark Critch alongside Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Malcolm McDowell, Claire Rankin, Sophia Powers and Mark Rivera. The second season will premiere on CBC and CBC Gem in winter 2023.
On Saturday, July 30, the creators and cast of "Son Of A Critch" will participate in a panel at the ComedyPRO industry event during the 40th anniversary of the Just For Laughs Montreal Festival. More information about the panel and tickets are available here.
Based on comedian Mark Critch’s award-winning, best-selling memoir, “Son of a Critch” is the hilarious and very real story of 12-year-old Mark coming of age in St. John’s, Newfoundland in the 80s. The series was created by Critch (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and Tim McAuliffe (The Office, Last Man on Earth and MacGruber) and produced by “Schitt’s Creek” Emmy® and Golden Globe® winning producer Andrew Barnsley.
The series premiered in Canada on January 4, 2022 ranking as the #1 scripted program on CBC in the 25-54, 18-49 and 18-34 key audience demographics.* Since its premiere, “Son of a Critch” has ranked as the most-watched original Canadian comedy in the country and as one of the top 5 most-watched comedies overall in Canada.** It is currently one of the most-streamed comedies on CBC’s streaming service, CBC Gem.***
“Son of a Critch” is executive produced by Critch, McAuliffe, Barnsley, Ben Murray and Allan Hawco. Renuka Jeyapalan, Perry Chafe, Anita Kapila and Amanda Joy serve as co-executive producers. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports; Trish Williams is Executive Director, Scripted Content; Sandra Picheca is Director, Current Production, Comedy; and Mélanie Lê Phan is Executive in Charge of Production.
Photo Credit: Derm Carberry
Caption (Left to Right): Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Young Mark and Mark Rivera as Ritche Perez with two new school friends.
*Source: Numeris TV Meter, Total Canada, English TV Networks, 25-54, 18-49, 18-34 AMA, September 13, 2021- April 17, 2022.
**Source: Numeris TV Meter, Total Canada, English TV Networks, AMA, January 4 - April 17, 2022.
***Source: Adobe Analytics, CBC Production, OTT Segment, Jan 2- Jun 25, 2022.
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About Lionsgate
With more than 100 series spanning its scripted, unscripted, Debmar-Mercury and 3 Arts businesses, Lionsgate Television recently reported one of its best years ever, with 14 new shows picked up to series and a track record of 15-for-15 in current series renewed for additional seasons. In addition to Jones and McCormack, Lionsgate Television has prolific talent partnerships with 3 Arts Entertainment, BBC Studios, Paul Feig, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s Point Grey Pictures, Katori Hall, Bob Greenblatt, Eric and Kim Tannenbaum, Carl Beverly and Sarah Timmerman, and Home Economics creators Michael Colton and John Aboud, among others.
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) encompasses world-class motion picture and television studio operations aligned with the STARZ premium global subscription platform to bring a unique and varied portfolio of entertainment to consumers around the world. The Company's film, television, subscription and location-based entertainment businesses are backed by a 17,000-title library and a valuable collection of iconic film and television franchises. A digital age company driven by its entrepreneurial culture and commitment to innovation, the Lionsgate brand is synonymous with bold, original, relatable entertainment for audiences worldwide.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
About Project 10 Productions
Project 10 Productions Inc. was established in 2009 with offices in Toronto and Los Angeles. They are committed to building long term talent relationships in the development and creation of original content. The company specializes in production and creative services and has a proven track record of generating world class episodic television for the global market. Project 10 recently produced the highly anticipated return of THE KIDS IN THE HALL in partnership with Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video for Amazon Prime. The highly anticipated series launched successfully on the service globally this spring. Their hit series JANN, co-created by and starring Jann Arden, recently aired its third season on CTV (22 x ½ hour) and will return with a holiday special shooting this fall in Calgary. Other recent production credits include the the 26 x ½ hour comedy SPUN OUT for CTV, the 15 x ½ hour Family Channel/Netflix series MY PERFECT LANDING, the digital series TOM GREEN’S SNOW JAM for CBC Comedy, the 6 x ½ hour doc series, Sports On Fire for TMN and Movie Central and the award-winning feature documentary, SPIRIT UNFORGETTABLE for HBO Canada. The principal executives for Project 10 Productions Inc. are Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Barnsley – who served as Executive Producer on CBC/PopTV’s SCHITT’S CREEK, which won a record-setting nine EMMY Awards including Best Comedy Series in 2020, and President, Ben Murray. Leveraging their considerable strengths and decades of experience with those of partner and three-time MLB All-Star Vernon Wells, Project 10 brings compelling content to the worldwide marketplace in innovative ways.
About Take the Shot Productions
Take The Shot Productions Inc. has developed and produced award winning content that has garnered critical and commercial success, both domestically and globally. Past productions include series “Republic of Doyle” on CBC and Netflix Original Scripted Series “Frontier” starring “Game of Thrones” and Aquaman’s Jason Momoa. The TTS produced CBC Original Series “Caught” premiered in February of 2018, starring Allan Hawco, Paul Gross, and Tori Anderson.
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