At the Leo Awards for the best of B.C.-made film and television, Nancy Robertson from cancelled CTV sitcom Hiccups and fellow presenter Ryan Robbins jokingly pitched a new comedy series. Who knew a new sitcom was already in the works at City-TV? At last week’s Rogers Media Upfront in Toronto, execs announced a 13-episode order for a new multi-camera sitcom called Package Deal, about a woman who starts dating a single successful lawyer who seems too good to be true until she meets the two older brothers who are part of his package deal. Will he ever grow up and be his own man?
Creator Andrew Orenstein, who’s written for 3rd Rock from the Sun, Malcolm in the Middle and 18 to Life, is tasked with making Package Deal edgy, hip and funny. The yet-to-be-cast comedy will be produced by Thunderbird Films, which already has one hit sitcom in Vancouver — youth-oriented Mr. Young currently filming its third season in front of a live studio audience in a south Burnaby studio. Here are some of my photos of a Friday night taping of Mr. Young last fall, which airs on YTV in Canada and Disney XD in the U.S.
Package Deal, expected to air mid-season on City-TV, might use the same south Burnaby studio as Mr. Young but wherever it sets up it will be the first adult multi-camera sitcom to ever film in front of a live studio audience in Vancouver. Something else to look forward to this year.