Edgy, edgier, edgiest. It’s no surprise comedy and format series are inching farther and farther onto the precipice of what’s funny and what’s in good taste.

‘We see at the markets that buyers are looking for edgy, off-the-wall concepts,’ says Neil Bregman, president of Sound Venture Productions, which has developed the outlandish, animated comedy PMS Girl.com.

It is set to entertain and offend, with its brazen and boisterous discussion of premenstrual syndrome, which afflicts lead character Pattie.

‘Television has become the medium that deals with risque topics in a humorous manner,’ says show creator Katherine Jeans.

PMS Girl.com will become a full multimedia package once the show airs. A website will allow viewers to download their favorite episode, get real advice from medical professionals on pms, create a monthly calendar with Raoul, Pattie’s gay cat, and have access to an online ‘bitch room.’

Satire remains a Canadian strength where nothing is sacred.

‘In comedy, a lot of shows are parodies, like The Itch [and] Made in Canada,’ says Greg Jones of Creative Atlantic, executive producer (with Janice Evans) of Liography, a spoof of A&E’s Biography. Liography instalments include ‘Boys are Us,’ a send-up of boy bands, and ‘Anne Surly,’ a profile of Anne of Green Gables.

Meanwhile, format is an up-and-coming category that threatens to change the way everyone buys and watches tv.

Montreal-based Distraction Formats is at mip with a suitcase full. Online Caroline is an interactive soap/mystery/suspense wherein the lead character sends viewers e-mails, and the audience can access her voice-mail or look in on webcam activity.

‘It’s a cross-platform drama, but it turns into a game,’ says Arabelle Pouliot, vp of sales at Distraction. Pouliot calls the format business ‘selling a recipe.’ Into that recipe goes the concept, production, technology and consultation. ‘We create a brand, and that is where television is going. It’s not about shows that start at 8 and end at 9 anymore. We’re targeting edgy commercial broadcasters looking for the up-market, savvy 16 to 34 demo.’ Pouliot even says those selling finished product should rethink the business plan.

‘Broadcasters are doing more local production. People want to see their own celebrities; they want to be the ones winning on the game shows. Formats are like a stepping stone to local production.’