Locally shot series nationally recognized
Two shows up for Canadian Screen Awards
Two television series shot in Edmonton, one comic and the other dramatic, are up for major honours at this year’s Canadian Screen Awards.
In recognition of its eightepisode inaugural season on Super Channel, Mosaic Entertainment’s Tiny Plastic Men has been nominated in the Best Comedy Series category. And Blackstone, a three-year-old series from Prairie Dog Film & Television which airs on APTN (Aborig-inal Peoples Television Network), is among nominees in the Best Dramatic Series category.
“We’re very honoured and excited,” says Mark Meer, one of three Edmonton actor/improvisers, including Chris Craddock and Matt Alden, who created Tiny Plastic Men, a unique workplace comedy set in Gottlieb Brothers Toy and Train Company. The three star as a trio of ultra-nerds who test prototypes in the grungy basement of company headquarters. The series springboards from there, flashing back into the past and forward into the future in fantasy sequences.
The best comedy series nominees include Call Me Fritz, Gavin Crawford’s Wild West, Mr. D and Seed.
Blackstone, created in 2010 and set on the Blackstone Reserve, has garnered nominations and prizes before, as a series and for its performances, writing and design. In addition to Blackstone’s best dramatic series nod this year, up against Global’s Bomb Girls, CTV’s Flashpoint and Motive and Bell Media’s Orphan Black, Michelle Thrush is nominated for her performance in a continuing leading dramatic role, the team of Damon Vignale and Ron E. Scott for writing, and Cheri Maracle for supporting performance.
Edmonton’s presence in the nomination list, which comprises 123 categories, includes 19-year-old Brendan Meyer, nominated for his work in Mr. Young from YTV (Corus Entertainment). The digital categories include a nomination for the web series Versus Valerie, which stars Edmonton ex-pat Hannah Spear, Rapid Fire Theatre alumnus, as well as Meer in a continuing role as Valerie’s boyfriend.
Like the Golden Globes, the Canadian Screen Awards combine film and television honours, the Genies and Geminis respectively, and add a seven-category digital-media component. They will be presented March 9 in Toronto, in a two-hour CBC broadcast hosted by Martin Short.