Following six seasons and a movie, The Comedy Network greenlights Brent Butt’s reimagined animated series, with pre-production beginning in January 2017.
TORONTO -- Life in Dog River is about to get a lot more animated! Following a trailblazing six-season run and a blockbuster 2014 movie, The Comedy Network has greenlit an all-new animated version of the acclaimed, smash-hit Canadian comedy franchise Corner Gas from 335 Productions and Vérité Films. The 13-episode, half-hour series for The Comedy Network’s 2017-2018 broadcast season is the latest original 4K production from Bell Media. Re-imagined by Corner Gas creator and star Brent Butt, who released a sneak peek of his animated-character yesterday, the all-new animated Corner Gas delivers its revered brand of comedy, but this time in an animated Dog River where anything is possible.
The new series comes from Corner Gas executive producers Brent Butt and David Storey from Prairie Pantoons (335 Productions), and Virginia Thompson from Moving Mountoons (Vérité Films), in association with The Comedy Network. Animation will be produced by Prairie Pantoons, Moving Mountoons and Smiley Guy Studios. The series begins pre-production in January 2017 in Vancouver and Toronto, with the main cast confirmed to return. Producers also confirmed today that beloved character Emma will live on in the animated world with the blessing of the late Janet Wright’s family.
“We are thrilled the original cast is back and that the Emma character will live on in the animated series,” said Executive Producer Virginia Thompson. “Emma will remain funny and fearless in the new series and will pay tribute to Janet Wright for many years to come.”
“We’re ecstatic to be heading back to Dog River with a new animated version of Corner Gas for The Comedy Network,” said Mike Cosentino, Senior Vice-President, CTV and Specialty, Bell Media. “The Corner Gas franchise is iconic and much loved by the entire country. We’re excited to again work with this great production team to deliver more Corner Gas to the dedicated fans who made the franchise so incredibly successful, and also introduce this wonderful world to a new audience.”
Brent (Brent Butt), Lacey (Gabrielle Miller), Oscar (Eric Peterson), Hank (Fred Ewanuick), Davis (Lorne Cardinal), Karen (Tara Spencer-Nairn), and Wanda (Nancy Robertson) are all getting a cartoon makeover as the main cast returns to Dog River for Corner Gas. Casting for the voice of Emma is currently underway.
Corner Gas brings together Butt’s comedy style and love for comic books. Before pursuing his passion as a stand-up comedian, Butt and a friend started a publishing company – Windwolf Graphics. His first comic, Existing Earth, was nominated for a Golden Eagle Award. Windwolf Graphics published two issues before Butt hit the stand-up circuit full time. Butt’s passion for comics lived on through his work, a common theme in the Corner Gas franchise. Bringing Corner Gas into the animated world allows Butt’s comedy to be as limitless as his imagination.
“I’ve always loved animation,” said Creator, Executive Producer and star Brent Butt. “After high school, I was accepted into the animation program at Sheridan College, but I chose to pursue stand-up comedy. It’s been a huge amount of fun creating animated scripts for our Corner Gas gang. We used to come up with some pretty wild fantasy sequences and bizarre flashbacks in the old story room, but were limited with what we could do in the real world. Buckle up! We’re not in the real world anymore!”
The new animated Corner Gas also presents a vast new world of opportunity for branded integration. With Dog River open to expansion through animation, and beyond, brands are able to explore the environment in new ways.
All 107 episodes of the six-season original series, as well as the 90-minute movie, are available now on CraveTV.
Source: The Comedy Network
