Walsh pilot Hatches as series in St. John’s

St. John’s – Bolstered by a very warm response to her CBC pilot Hatching, Matching & Dispatching, the prolific Mary Walsh is currently shooting season one of the 6 x 30 series in Newfoundland.

Mary Sexton (Hospital City), who produces with Walsh, says that after the pilot aired in January, CBC put out a call to viewers for feedback, and received 2,695 enthusiastic replies. This, according to the Ceeb, is the biggest response the broadcaster has ever received for a pilot. Sexton adds Walsh’s past involvement with the pubcaster – from CODCO to This Hour Has 22 Minutes to Open Book and more – might have had a bit to do with the pilot’s push to series.

‘Given [Walsh’s] track record with the CBC, I think she has the golden touch when it comes to comedy,’ says Sexton. ‘She is the queen of comedy in Canada.’

A coproduction between Walsh’s and Sexton’s St. John’s prodco 2M Innovations and Toronto-based Insight Productions, HM&D is a dark comedy about a Newfoundland family that operates a combination funeral parlor, ambulance service and wedding hall all under one roof.

Walsh, who is writing the series with Ed Macdonald (Rideau Hall), stars with Mark McKinney (The Saddest Music in the World) and Shaun Majumder (This Hour Has 22 Minutes).

The budget is about $4.2 million, with funding from the CBC, CTF, Newfoundland Labrador Film Development Corporation and tax credits. On paper, Sexton admits the budget seems large for a six-ep comedy series, but she insists every cent is required.

‘We are on an island and bringing everyone in, putting everyone up in hotels and all the spin-off – that eats up a lot of the budget,’ she says. ‘Plus we’re shooting with two cameras. It’s a healthy budget, but we can always use more.’

Insight’s John Brunton (2004 Juno Awards) and Barbara Bowlby (Open Mike with Mike Bullard) are executive producing. Lindsay Cox also produces. Henry Sarwer-Foner and Stephen Reynolds are splitting directing duties.

The series is being entirely shot in St. John’s and will post in Toronto and Halifax. Shooting began July 18 and continues to Aug. 25. HM&D is scheduled for delivery to CBC at the end of October for airing in early 2006. Dustin Dinoff

Kitchen Crimes committed in Winnipeg

Winnipeg – In an apparent bid to out-gross the competition featured on Frantic Films’ new series, one Winnipeg-area family didn’t even bother to clean up their kitchen’s ample dog hair and beetle larvae before the production crew showed up.

That’s just another day on the set for Frantic, which is currently in production on 13 half-hours of Kitchen Crimes for The Food Network. The reality/lifestyle series will expose some of Manitoba’s most disgusting kitchens – places where food should not be stored, much less prepared.

Frantic put out a call for local families willing to have their kitchens scrutinized and the reaction has been good thus far, says Frantic producer Lynne Skromeda. Selected families will receive $5,000 for kitchen improvements in addition to advice from a food inspector and an interior designer specializing in kitchens.

Directed by Roxana Spicer, the series has a budget of about $1 million, with licence fees and tax credits footing the bill.

‘There are not a lot of shows shooting entirely out of Winnipeg, so I think the community has been pretty excited,’ says Skromeda.

Offline post-production is being done at Frantic, with online farmed out within Winnipeg. Frantic will continue to shoot throughout the summer. Kitchen Crimes is scheduled to premiere on Food in October. Dustin Dinoff