`MORE OF THE SAME'
Corner Gas creator knows better than to mess with a winning formula
Corner Gas Animated
CTV Comedy Channel, Crave
Brent Butt has a pretty succinct idea why Corner Gas, the show he created 16 years ago, is still a fan favourite.
“It's a place of comfort for 22 minutes,” Butt, 54, says from his Vancouver home, where he lives with his wife and Corner Gas co-star Nancy Robertson.
Corner Gas was a top-rated sitcom in Canada throughout its six-season run, which aired from 2004 to 2009. A 2014 reunion movie was also a hit and gave Butt an inkling that he could reimagine the show in animated form.
Debuting in 2018, the Canadian Screen Award-winning Corner Gas Animated was a ratings hit. A popular second season aired last summer, with the third season getting underway this week.
Q Before going the animated route, you had this successful live-action show, which ran for six seasons, and the 2014 movie. How did you know a cartoon version of Corner Gas could work?
A When we did the movie, and it was a successful, the network came to us and asked if we wanted to do more episodes. But I didn't really want to go back and do that. So I started thinking about ways we could deliver what people liked about Corner Gas with a slightly different wrinkle. I have a background in cartooning and illustrating, and I love animation, so that came to mind pretty quick. But it's a tricky transition, and I didn't want to just do it for the sake of doing it. So what we decided to do was make a three-minute demo, and see how it felt and if it felt right.
Q What can we expect this season?
A More of the same. That's always been my goal with Corner Gas. It's a show that doesn't arc. The characters don't arc. The series doesn't arc. Thematically, it's about being resistant to change. It's a show about comfort and it's about giving people an opportunity to escape. This is a show where you know what you're getting. All those series that I loved growing up like the Honeymooners and I Love Lucy and Cheers, those were programs that I couldn't wait to watch because I knew it was a place of comfort. That's what Corner Gas is.
Q How do you feel about the new season?
A It certainly feels like with season 3 we've hit our stride. Season 1 you spend so much time just building and there are some stumbles and hits and misses, and so you learn all about that. Season 2 creates the machine that will work based on your experiences the first time around. So season 3, you're able to hit the ground running, because what doesn't work has already been filtered out.
Q The show debuted in 2004 and went on to great success here in Canada. Just where did the idea come from?
A It forks from two spots into one. When I was growing up in a small town in Saskatchewan, I always felt like you never saw where I lived on TV. It just didn't happen. As a little kid, when I dreamt about going into show business, I used to think that if I ever got a chance to do a show, I wanted to set it in a small town in Saskatchewan. So that was planted in my head at an early age. Then, when I was in my 30s, I had been in standup since I was in my 20s, I had an idea for a movie that could kind of take place anywhere, so I thought, `Why not Saskatchewan?' The main character ran a gas station in this small town in Saskatchewan, and as I was writing it I realized it wasn't going to work as a movie. But what I wasn't having trouble with was the characters. The dialogue came easy, the jokes came easy and those characters were a lot of fun. One day, this director friend of mine, David Storey, called me up and told me (CTV was) interested in new TV show ideas. And I told him about my idea about a gas station in Saskatchewan, but I didn't think anyone would be interested. Shortly afterward, he got back to me telling me that they liked it and it went from there.
Q Sixteen years doing anything is a huge achievement, let alone entertainment. What do you think is the key to Corner Gas' success?
A When we got greenlit for 13 episodes, and we went to Rouleau, this little town in Saskatchewan, I thought it was a mistake on the network's part. I didn't know how we convinced them to do the show. But I remember thinking that no one was going to watch it and so all we could do was take pride in the product. We just wanted to make a show that we could enjoy and that made us laugh. I thought that at the end of the day, seven people were going to watch it and then we'd all go our separate ways. The result of that attitude — not worrying about demographics and ratings and appeasing people — allowed us to focus on what we wanted to make and that allowed us to create something with some authenticity. People responded to that. People could tell the show didn't have an agenda other than to be funny for 22 minutes.
I remember thinking that no one was going to watch it and so all we could do was take pride in the product. We just wanted to make a show that we could enjoy and that made us laugh.
Q What's the best advice you ever got?
A This always sticks out and it's from David Storey — the guy who first approached me about Corner Gas. When I first started directing TV, he said to me, “Always show up with a plan and always be prepared to abandon the plan.” That's such good advice. Be ready, but don't be so fenced in that you can't roll with the punches. It's good advice to apply to almost anything you do.
BRENT BUTT