Codco, This Hour Has 22 MinutesŠthe Atlantic region’s ability to tickle the country’s collective funny bone is one of its claims to fame and in addition to the series supplied by Salter Street Films, local producers have a new crop of sketch comedies in the works to keep the laughs rolling.

Topsail Entertainment, currently in prepro on another 13-episode order of its Fogbound Films copro drama series Black Harbour, is also making its first foray onto comic ground, clinching a development deal from the cbc for a sketch comedy series called The Bette Show.

Topsail partner Mike Volpe is scheduled to shoot six half-hours, budgeted at roughly $1.2 million, this fall. The show stars Nova Scotia comic Bette MacDonald, brother Ed, who writes for This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and Tim Steeves, a stand-up comic and 22 Minutes writing veteran.

Peter d’Entremont of Halifax-based Triad Film Productions is banking on the talents of former codco scriptwriter Greg Malone and Jeff Rosen (Theodore Tugboat) to pen some laughs for Triad’s as yet untitled new situation comedy series.