'Less Than Kind' seeks bigger audience on HBO Canada after stint on Citytv
'Less Than Kind' seeks bigger audience on HBO Canada after stint on Citytv
By Cassandra Szklarski (CP) - 3 days ago
TORONTO - After failing to capture audiences on Citytv, "Less Than Kind" returns for a second season on HBO Canada with showrunner Mark McKinney touting the premium channel as a better fit for the black comedy.
McKinney says a move up the dial grants the Winnipeg-based series greater freedom to push the boundaries than during its limited run on conventional television.
"The show was always conceived to be quite edgy, quite dark and to take a lot of permission with the subject matter, and now that we're on HBO it just fits like a glove," says McKinney, seated next to star Maury Chaykin for a round of media interviews.
"It's kind of where the show belongs, I think, on premium TV. We make use of it, and I don't just mean by cursing and showing nudity - although there is some of that. It's about the way you can sort of explore a theme."
The serial nature of shows on HBO Canada - home to such daring fare as the polygamy drama "Big Love" and the vampire romance "True Blood" - allows "Less Than Kind" to pursue its long story arcs without fear of losing audiences to surprise schedule changes, McKinney says.
He bemoaned the show's Citytv time-slot - directly after the sensational reality show "The Bachelorette" - as less than kind to the offbeat series, about the trials of an overweight teen and his overbearing Jewish family.
"We sort of caught a bad break at the beginning because the ('Bachelorette'), which was scheduled at 90 minutes ... was this runaway hit last year and they extended the show for two hours," notes the writer/producer.
"And because City was trapped into a simulcast they had to bump us, and so we came back on the dial sometime in mid-March."
"It started to build an audience and then the poor audience didn't know where to find it," adds Chaykin.
McKinney says the beauty of premium cable is that schedules are generally a lot more consistent and not as "reactive" as on network TV.
Things for the Blecher clan don't look good as the new season kicks off with the beleaguered Sheldon and his kin standing vigil at the bedside of their dying patriarch, played by Chaykin.
McKinney's Kids in the Hall pal Dave Foley guest stars as Dr. Sheasgreen, a doctor whose efforts to display his skill at comforting the grieving are frustrated when Sam's health unexpectedly rallies.
Other guests this season include George Wendt from "Cheers" as a biker, and Henry Czerny of "The Tudors" and "The Boys of St. Vincent" as a love interest for Sheldon's aunt, Clara.
McKinney says the series is already in development for season 3 and insists the cast is more enamoured of Winnipeg than ever.
"And God willing we do season 3, it'll be (shot) in a much warmer environment," says Chaykin, referring to the winter shoots that marked the first two seasons. "People are warning us about the giant mosquitoes."
"And the colour of people's skin in shorts come May," added McKinney. "Apparently that's really frightening, when people first put on their shorts, it's like a scene from 'Dawn of the Dead.' "
"Less Than Kind" airs on HBO Canada on Friday, followed by the debut of the animated "Ricky Gervais Show" and, later in the evening, the launch of the web spinoff "Funny or Die Presents."
Source.
By Cassandra Szklarski (CP) - 3 days ago
TORONTO - After failing to capture audiences on Citytv, "Less Than Kind" returns for a second season on HBO Canada with showrunner Mark McKinney touting the premium channel as a better fit for the black comedy.
McKinney says a move up the dial grants the Winnipeg-based series greater freedom to push the boundaries than during its limited run on conventional television.
"The show was always conceived to be quite edgy, quite dark and to take a lot of permission with the subject matter, and now that we're on HBO it just fits like a glove," says McKinney, seated next to star Maury Chaykin for a round of media interviews.
"It's kind of where the show belongs, I think, on premium TV. We make use of it, and I don't just mean by cursing and showing nudity - although there is some of that. It's about the way you can sort of explore a theme."
The serial nature of shows on HBO Canada - home to such daring fare as the polygamy drama "Big Love" and the vampire romance "True Blood" - allows "Less Than Kind" to pursue its long story arcs without fear of losing audiences to surprise schedule changes, McKinney says.
He bemoaned the show's Citytv time-slot - directly after the sensational reality show "The Bachelorette" - as less than kind to the offbeat series, about the trials of an overweight teen and his overbearing Jewish family.
"We sort of caught a bad break at the beginning because the ('Bachelorette'), which was scheduled at 90 minutes ... was this runaway hit last year and they extended the show for two hours," notes the writer/producer.
"And because City was trapped into a simulcast they had to bump us, and so we came back on the dial sometime in mid-March."
"It started to build an audience and then the poor audience didn't know where to find it," adds Chaykin.
McKinney says the beauty of premium cable is that schedules are generally a lot more consistent and not as "reactive" as on network TV.
Things for the Blecher clan don't look good as the new season kicks off with the beleaguered Sheldon and his kin standing vigil at the bedside of their dying patriarch, played by Chaykin.
McKinney's Kids in the Hall pal Dave Foley guest stars as Dr. Sheasgreen, a doctor whose efforts to display his skill at comforting the grieving are frustrated when Sam's health unexpectedly rallies.
Other guests this season include George Wendt from "Cheers" as a biker, and Henry Czerny of "The Tudors" and "The Boys of St. Vincent" as a love interest for Sheldon's aunt, Clara.
McKinney says the series is already in development for season 3 and insists the cast is more enamoured of Winnipeg than ever.
"And God willing we do season 3, it'll be (shot) in a much warmer environment," says Chaykin, referring to the winter shoots that marked the first two seasons. "People are warning us about the giant mosquitoes."
"And the colour of people's skin in shorts come May," added McKinney. "Apparently that's really frightening, when people first put on their shorts, it's like a scene from 'Dawn of the Dead.' "
"Less Than Kind" airs on HBO Canada on Friday, followed by the debut of the animated "Ricky Gervais Show" and, later in the evening, the launch of the web spinoff "Funny or Die Presents."
Source.