McCULLOCH RETURNS HOME
KIDS IN THE HALL STAR SHOOTS NEW COMEDY NEAR HIS FORMER NEIGHBOURHOOD
A southwestern Calgary neighbourhood has been whisked back to the 1980s as production begins on the comedy series Young Drunk Punk.
The series will air in the winter of 2015 and will be bringing both new and familiar faces to the city. It is the brainchild of Kid In the Hall Bruce McCulloch, a singlecamera, semi-autobiographical tale about two teens growing up in the Calgary suburbs of the 1980s.
Newcomer Tim Carlson, of Vancouver, will play Ian, the character loosely based on McCulloch. Toronto actor Atticus Mitchell, who was recently in Calgary playing young bully Mickey Hess in Fargo, will play his best friend Shinky.
“We saw people from all across the country and had casting happening in all the centres,” said Nataline Rodrigues, the director of original programming for Rogers who commissioned the series.
“Even though we are shooting in Calgary and it is set there, we cast a very wide net all across the country. There is an opportunity to bring these really interesting, fresh-faced talent to a new audience.”
McCulloch, who grew up in southwest Calgary not far from where the series is being shot, will play Ian’s father. His wife, Tracy Ryan, perhaps best known for playing TV’s Nancy Drew in the 1990s, has been cast as Ian’s mother.
The 13-episode first season takes place in the early 1980s and will focus on the coming-of-age hijinks of Ian and Shinky, who have recently graduated from high school and “embark on a hilarious and rebellious search to find out who they are.”
Young Drunk Punk, which McCulloch will also write and executive produce, will air on City. Toronto’s Accent Entertainment and Calgary’s Seven24 Films will produce. Filming is scheduled to take place until mid-December.
Calgary’s Louise Middleton will be production designer, putting her in charge of the series’ 1980s look. Jennifer Haffenden, also of Calgary, will design the costumes.
“Our key locations are good and have that 80s vibe,” said Jordy Randall of Seven 24 films. “It’s going to be a challenge going forward to find those places in Calgary that haven’t had the facelifts and the new strip malls and things like that.”
Part of the fun, of course, will be finding the props from the early 1980s.
“I’m old enough to feel dated by that, for sure,” says Randall with a laugh. “Especially when you walk down the halls of the production office and you see the props and set (decoration) and you think ‘I remember that stuff that’s now back in our show.’ It’s a bit disconcerting. But it’s actually such a fun period. I think enough time had to pass to actually appreciate it and it’s such a great era to be doing a comedy in.”