The idea for An American in Canada came from a Canadian in America, namely Howard Busgang, a 13-year veteran of Los Angeles returning to showrun an upcoming CBC comedy series about an American transplanted to Canada.

The pilot for Busgang’s dramedy that plays on Canadian foibles seen through the eyes of an American drew big numbers when it aired on the CBC last season, prompting a Gemini nomination for best comedy program or series.

Busgang’s partner on An American in Canada is Jebb Fink, an American stand-up comic from L.A. who has lived in Calgary since 1988 and has provided inspiration for the series.

The series features Rick Roberts (Traders, L.A. Doctors) in the role of Jake Crewe, a rising TV morning show host in Phoenix suddenly fired for roughing up his station manager and having to settle on work hosting Wake Up Calgary, the number three morning show in a three-station Canadian TV market.

The way Busgang tells it, a reluctant Arizonan, having to suddenly grasp the meaning of black ice and block heaters in a bitter Calgary winter, provides ripe material for a long-running comedy series based on a fish-out-of-water storyline.

An example: Crewes refuses to buy a winter parka, despite having to report from snow-swept Calgary streets, because purchasing one would be admitting that he wouldn’t be returning to the U.S. anytime soon.

‘Instead he stands outside and freezes rather than admit that he will be here for awhile,’ Busgang explains.

Not surprisingly, Crewe is blocked from wooing Judy, the Calgary morning show’s producer, who has issues with someone who won’t commit to a parka.

Such humor, Busgang suggests proudly, will be readily understood by Canadians and Americans who already eye each other with a mixture of empathy and puzzlement from either side of the border.

‘The show has a strong point of view. It’s about something: Canada seen through the eyes of an American character,’ he argues.

Besides Canada’s quirky nuances, the writing team for An American in Canada will not be shy about skewering this country’s attitudes to social and political issues, from universal health care and a plodding bureaucracy to how Canadians reward those who find success stateside.

‘Canadianism is fair game for us,’ Busgang insists.

Among Busgang’s TV credits in Los Angeles was writing and producing Boy Meets World, an ABC sitcom that ran between 1993 and 2000.

Writing and producing An American in Canada is a dream-come-true for the returning Canadian TV showrunner.

‘This show has been in my heart for years, and to do it in Canada – this could only be done in Canada – is to live a dream and to see it realized,’ Busgang says.

Does the show have potential for international sales, especially to the U.S. market? You bet, Busgang predicts, after test screenings of the pilot.

‘Canadians think we’re making fun of Americans and Americans think we’re making fun of Canadians,’ he says.

‘The more I embrace Canadianism, the more funny the series is,’ he adds.

An American in Canada is produced by Yankee Doodle Productions through S&S Productions, which makes The Red Green Show and History Bites.