The final season of Schitt’s Creek has led nominations for the Canadian Screen Awards for the second year in a row, followed by the dramas Cardinal and Trickster.

Emmy and Golden Globe winner Schitt’s Creek (Not a Real Company Productions) earned 21 nominations total for the year – coming under its record-breaking haul in 2020 – including Best Comedy Series where it will compete against Baroness Von Sketch Show (Frantic Films), Kim’s Convenience (Thunderbird Entertainment), Letterkenny (New Metric Media) and Workin’ Moms (Wolf + Rabbit Entertainment).

CTV’s Cardinal (Sienna Films, eOne) and CBC’s Trickster (Sienna Films) tied for the second-most nominations coming in at 15, with Cardinal up for Best Drama Series alongside Burden of Truth (ICF Films, Eagle Vision, eOne), Departure (Shaftesbury), Transplant (Sphere Media) and Vikings (Take 5 Productions).

Trickster was not nominated in the Best Drama Series category, but it received seven nominations for its performers along with additional nods in the craft categories.

One thing the top-nominated series do have in common is all of them ended in 2020 – Schitt’s Creek and Cardinal ended their multi-season runs and Trickster was cancelled by CBC ahead of planned season two after the Indigenous identity of showrunner Michelle Latimer was called into question.

On the unscripted side, the most-nominated reality or competition series is Canada’s Drag Race (Blue Ant Studios) with seven total, including Best Reality/Competition Program or Series. The most-nominated lifestyle program is Property Brothers: Forever Home (Scott Brothers Entertainment) with three, including Best Lifestyle Program or Series.

Among the other highly lauded Canadian scripted shows, Kim’s Convenience tied with Workin’ Moms for the third-highest nominations with 11, with both earning nods for writing, directing and performances. Other multi-nominated comedies include Baroness von Sketch Show and Letterkenny with six, Jann with four and New Eden with two.

Multi-nominated scripted dramas include Coroner (Cineflix Studios, Back Alley Films, Muse Entertainment) with eight; Transplant and Frankie Drake Mysteries (Shaftesbury) with six; Departure, Vikings and Wynonna Earp (SEVEN24 Films) with five; Murdoch Mysteries (Shaftesbury) with four and Burden of Truth and Diggstown (Freddie Films, Circle Blue Entertainment) with three.

Among the notable nominations is a posthumous performance nomination for Christopher Plummer for his role in Departure. Schitt’s Creek actors Emily Hampshire, Dan Levy, Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara have also officially received a performance nod for all six seasons of the series. This is also the first year Baroness von Sketch Show will be nominated in the Best Comedy Series category. The category for sketch comedy was collapsed in 2021 due to the fact that less than six titles were submit for potential nomination.

Elsewhere, CBC claimed three out of five nominations in the best children’s or youth fiction category for Detention Adventure (LoCo Motion Pictures), Endlings (Sinking Ship) and Utopia Falls (Sonar Canada). Also in contention is Family Channel’s Holly Hobbie (Aircraft Pictures) and TVOKids’ Odd Squad Mobile Unit (Sinking Ship).

On the non-fiction side of the children’s and youth section, TVO picked up three of six nominations for All-Round Champion (marblemedia), Backyard Beats (BGM) and My Stay-at-Home Diary (Lopii Productions). CTV’s Your Kids, Their Question: A Your Morning Coronavirus Special (Bell Media Studios) and APTN’s Every Child Matters (Insight Productions) also claimed nominations.

There will be fierce competition once more in the best pre-school series category, with TVO’s Abby Hatcher (Spin Master), Dino Dana (Sinking Ship) and PAW Patrol (Spin Master), CBC’s True and the Rainbow Kingdom (Guru Studio) and Treehouse TV’s Esme & Roy (Nelvana) competing for the award.

In the best animated series category, which straddles both kids and adult-focused content, the streaming players are making their presence felt. Netflix’s The Magic School Bus Rides Again: The Frizz Connection (9 Story Media Group) and AppleTV+’s Snoopy In Space were nominated alongside CTV Comedy’s Corner Gas Animated (Verite Films, Sparrow Media, Aslan Entertainment), Teletoon’s Hotel Transylvania: The Series (Nelvana) and TVOKids’ Wild Kratts (9 Story Media Group).

In the digital media categories, The Amazing Gayl Pile: Last Resort and Bit Playas (both produced by LaRue Entertainment), Decoys (Counterfeit Pictures), Hey Lady! (TJ Content) and NarcoLeap (KGP Films) will vie for the best web program or series, fiction prize.

The nominees in the best non-fiction digital series category are Canada’s a Drag (CBC), Dark Cloud: The High Cost of Cyberbullying (Spotlight Productions), Love Letters from Everest (Storyline Entertainment), My Trans Journey (Yap Films) and Pride: The LGBTQ+ History Series (We Demand Productions).

Bit Playas also received a pair of nominations in the best direction section, with Allison Johnston and Samir Rehem receiving nominations for the episodes “Comic Con” and “Final Thought,” respectively. Also in contention are Ant Horasanli for his work on episode eight of The Runner (N5 Pictures), Celeste Koon for Love Letters from Everest and Adriana Maggs, Sarah Polley and Will Bowes, who co-directed episode three of Hey Lady!

The Canadian Screen Award winners will be announced virtually in seven genre-based presentations across four nights, beginning on May 17 and ending on May 20.

A number of the television nominees are listed below. For the full list of nominees visit the Canadian Academy website.

Best Drama Series

Burden of Truth
Cardinal: Until The Night
Departure
Transplant
Vikings

Best Comedy Series

Baroness von Sketch Show
Kim’s Convenience
Letterkenny
Schitt’s Creek
Workin’ Moms

Best Reality/Competition Program or Series

Battle of the Blades
Canada’s Drag Race
Dragons’ Den
The Great Canadian Baking Show
Wall of Chefs

Best Lifestyle Program or Series

Carnival Eats
Mary’s Kitchen Crush
Property Brothers: Forever Home
Restaurants on the Edge
Scott’s Vacation House Rules

Best TV Movie

Christmas Jars
Glass Houses
No Good Deed
The Sanctuary

Best Documentary Program

Company Town
Finding Sally
Hockey Mom
The Internet of Everything
They Call Me Dr. Miami

Best Factual Series

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan
The Detectives
Good People
Wild Archaeology
You Can’t Ask That

Best Direction, Drama Series

Coroner – “Fire Pt. 2”
Adrienne Mitchell

Coroner – “One Drum”
Charles Officer

Diggstown – “Cheryl Battiste”
Cory Bowles

Frankie Drake Mysteries – “Counterpunch”
Mina Shum

Transplant – “Pilot”
Holly Dale

Best Direction, Comedy

Kim’s Convenience – “Beacon Of Truth”
Siobhan Devine

New Eden – “Go With Gaion”
Aleysa Young

Schitt’s Creek – “Happy Ending”
Andrew Cividino, Daniel Levy

Schitt’s Creek – “Sunrise, Sunset”
Jordan Canning

Workin’ Moms – “Charade”
Catherine Reitman

Best Writing, Drama Series

Cardinal: Until The Night – “Barry”
Penny E. Gummerson

Cardinal: Until The Night – “Adele”
Sarah Dodd

Transplant – “Pilot”
Joseph Kay

Trickster – “Episode 105”
Penny E. Gummerson

Wynonna Earp – “Friends in Low Places”
Emily Andras

Best Writing, Comedy

Jann – “The Tunies”
Jennica Harper

Jann – “What Did Jann Do”
Leah Gauthier, Jennica Harper

Kim’s Convenience – “Knife Strife”
Kurt Smeaton

Kim’s Convenience – “Which Witch is Which”
Anita Kapila

Schitt’s Creek – “Happy Ending”
Daniel Levy

Best Lead Actor, Drama Series

Burden of Truth
Peter Mooney

Cardinal: Until The Night
Billy Campbell

Coroner
Roger Cross

Transplant
Hamza Haq

Trickster
Joel Oulette

Best Lead Actress, Drama Series

Burden of Truth
Kristin Kreuk

Cardinal: Until The Night
Karine Vanasse

Diggstown
Vinessa Antoine

Trickster
Crystle Lightning

Wynonna Earp
Melanie Scrofano

Best Supporting Actor, Drama

Departure
Evan Buliung

Departure
Christopher Plummer

Murdoch Mysteries
Jonny Harris

Trickster
Joel Thomas Hynes

Trickster
Kalani Queypo

Best Supporting Actress, Drama

Coroner
Tamara Podemski

Frankie Drake Mysteries
Sharron Matthews

Trickster
Anna Lambe

Trickster
Georgina Lightning

Trickster
Gail Maurice

Best Lead Actor, Comedy

Kim’s Convenience
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee

Letterkenny
Jared Keeso

Schitt’s Creek
Daniel Levy

Schitt’s Creek
Eugene Levy

Best Lead Actress, Comedy

Kim’s Convenience
Jean Yoon

Schitt’s Creek
Annie Murphy

Schitt’s Creek
Catherine O’Hara

Workin’ Moms
Dani Kind

Workin’ Moms
Catherine Reitman

Best Supporting Actor, Comedy

Kim’s Convenience
Andrew Phung

Schitt’s Creek
Chris Elliott

Schitt’s Creek
Noah Reid

Workin’ Moms
Ryan Belleville

Workin’ Moms
Peter Keleghan

Best Supporting Actress, Comedy

Schitt’s Creek
Emily Hampshire

Schitt’s Creek
Jennifer Robertson

Schitt’s Creek
Karen Robinson

Workin’ Moms
Sarah McVie

Workin’ Moms
Juno Rinaldi