''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil'' was a Canadian

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...

horror

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

that follows a group of high school students who confront the effects of a demonic book. The series premiered on

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consi ...

on September 29, 2010, with two back-to-back episodes. The series was created for television by Craig David Wallace, Charles Picco, and Anthony Leo. The series is based on the

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

of the same title written by Craig David Wallace and Max Reid, and directed by Wallace. The short film was produced through the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1988. Originally launched as film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for pr ...

’s Short Dramatic Film Programme, and kicked off an international festival tour by premiering at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

in 2003. The series was developed for television through the

National Screen Institute The National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI; originally Canadian Screen Institute, CSI) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The organization describes itself as "Serving content creators across Canada to te ...

's Totally TV Program. A pilot for ''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil'' was shot for Space in 2009 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. Like the low-budget short film, the series uses supernatural elements,

profanity Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...

, graphic violence, and non-sequitur lines. Sci-fi veteran

David Winning David Winning is a Canadian-American film and television director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and occasional actor. Although Winning has worked in numerous film and TV genres, his name is most commonly associated with science fiction, thri ...

directed four episodes. On April 4, 2011,

announced that they had renewed ''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil'' for a second season, with principal photography being set for spring 2011. The new 13-episode season premiered on Space on October 30, 2011, at 10pm. In April 2012, it was announced that there would not be a third season, but following an Indiegogo campaign as well as additional funding being secured, an animated feature film was released to conclude the series on November 3, 2017.

Plot

Todd Smith, Curtis Weaver, Jenny Kolinsky, and Hannah Williams are students at Crowley High, the only

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in a small town secretly founded by

Satanists Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...

. They encounter a cursed magical tome with a mind of its own called the Book of Pure Evil, which grants the wishes of those who hold it in dark and sinister ways they didn't intend. the teens team up in an attempt to track down and destroy the Book. Each episode revolves around a student at Crowley High using the Book to try to make their life better, though this usually results in chaos, mayhem, and bloodshed at the school. Todd and his gang then fight against whatever the Book has done, and try to keep Crowley High from being totally destroyed. Supposedly friendly school guidance

counselor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dipl ...

, Atticus Murphy helps them in their quest to destroy the Book, though secretly he is a member of the cabal of Satanists who run the town from behind the scenes and has been tasked with returning the Book of Pure Evil to their leader.

Cast

Alex House Alexander Charles Albert House (born December 11, 1986) is a Canadian actor best known for his Gemini Award winning role in the television series ''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil''. Early life House was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canad ...

as Todd Smith * Billy Turnbull as Curtis Weaver *

Maggie Castle Maggie Castle (born August 7, 1983) is a Canadian actress best known for her role as Jenny Kolinsky in cult horror comedy series ''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil''. She was also the little girl, Amy Kramer, that battles the evil ventriloquist's ...

as Jenny Kolinsky *

Melanie Leishman Melanie Leishman (born February 20, 1989) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for portraying bespectacled Hannah B. Williams, one of the main characters on the cult horror/comedy television series ''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil''. Before t ...

as Hannah B. Williams *

Chris Leavins Chris Leavins is a Canadian actor and writer based in Los Angeles. He has appeared in a number of successful Canadian television shows and been nominated for two Gemini Awards. Internationally, he is best known for his satirical internet show, ...

as Atticus Murphy, Jr. *

Jason Mewes Jason Edward Mewes (born June 12, 1974) is an American actor, comedian, film producer, and podcaster. He is best known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith, Kevin Smith's films. Early lif ...

as Jimmy the Janitor *

Dan Petronijevic Daniel Petronijevic (born March 28, 1981 in Scarborough, Ontario), known professionally as Dan Petronijevic, is a Canadian actor who has appeared in various feature films, including the '' American Pie'' franchise, and in TV shows such as '' 19-2 ...

as Brody * Norman Yeung as Eddie *

Steve Arbuckle Stephen Arbuckle is a Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist ...

as Rob *

Julian Richings Julian Richings (born 30 August 1956)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at Ancestry.com is a British-Canadian character actor. He has appeared in over 225 films and television series. Career After touring th ...

as Hooded Leader

Episodes

Season 1 (2010)

Season 2 (2011–12)

Production

Each episode was produced with two variations of the audio track: a pre-

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

version with "clean" replacement dialogue dubbed in by the actors, and the original uncensored version with profanity.

Film

announced in April 2012 that they had decided not to renew ''Todd'' for a third season. Due to this, the showrunners launched an Indiegogo campaign in May 2013, collecting over $120,000 to make an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

feature film to conclude the series, titled ''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil: The End of the End''. The film was picked up for distribution by Raven Banner Entertainment, which initially stated that the film would hit Canadian theaters in Fall 2015. However, this failed to happen due to issues with securing additional funding, and the release was pushed back to October 2016. After another delay, the film received a theatrical release in Canada on November 3, 2017. A limited edition DVD was released in Canada on December 12, 2017, and the film was released digitally through

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

for audiences from both Canada and the United States on December 15, 2017.

International airdates

On May 2, 2011,

Fearnet Fearnet was an American digital cable television network, website and video on demand service owned by Comcast. The network specialized in horror entertainment programming through a mix of acquired and original series, and feature films. Backgr ...

announced that it had picked up the rights to air the series in the United States beginning August 2, 2011. Season 2 began airing on Fearnet starting March 13, 2012 at 10pm. In 2015, the series re-aired in the U.S. on

Chiller A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid coolant via a vapor-compression, adsorption refrigeration, or absorption refrigeration cycles. This liquid can then be circulated through a heat exchanger to cool equipment, or another p ...

. In February 2012,

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. La ...

announced that it will be airing the series in the United Kingdom beginning March 6, 2012.

Home media

Entertainment One Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...

released the first season on DVD in Canada with a

MSRP The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer ...

of $29.99. Special features include the original

, cast Q&A, a

blooper A blooper is a short clip from a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms o ...

reel,

outtake An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and D ...

s, deleted/extended scenes from the musical, and cast/crew commentary tracks. eOne released the season in the United States on February 28, 2012. Extras are listed as the original short film, cast Q&A, a blooper reel, outtakes, cast/crew commentary, and short promotional clips.

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

and

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

United States added each episode after its US premiere date, in both

standard definition Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...

and high definition, and the show is also available on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

Vudu Vudu is an American digital video store and streaming service owned by Fandango Media, a joint-venture between NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. The company offers transactional video on demand rentals and digital purchases of fi ...

(US), and Zune Marketplace (US and Canada) at up to 1080p. In addition, the first season can be viewed on Space's website or purchased on iTunes Canada in standard definition widescreen. The second season was added to iTunes Canada in HD on February 13, 2012. The Original Score Soundtrack for season 1, which includes both score and the original songs heard in the musical, is sold on iTunes, Amazon, Zune, eMusic, and Napster.

Reception

The '' Winnipeg Sun'' described the show as having the "feel of ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the 1992 film of the same name, also written by Whedon, although the events of the film are not consid ...

'' with potty-mouth ...

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

is a good thing," and went on to say the show "generally is good fun, if not quite good clean fun." The show's premiere became the highest-rated premiere for a

SPACE Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consi ...

original series ever, and was the highest-rated program on Non-Sports Specialty for the demo A18-49. The first season was nominated for eight

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

, of which it won Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series for "The Phantom of Crowley High".

Awards and nominations

Canadian Cinema Editors Awards

Canadian Comedy Awards

Canadian Screen Awards

Directors Guild of Canada Awards

Gemini Awards

Golden Sheaf Awards

Leo Awards

Writers Guild of Canada Awards

References

External links

* *
SPACE Channel page

Watch the short film online
at

Ain't It Cool News Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book proje ...

Channel Canada Press Release announcing start of production
{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd And The Book Of Pure Evil 2010 Canadian television series debuts 2012 Canadian television series endings 2010s Canadian comedy television series 2010s Canadian high school television series English-language television shows Television series about teenagers Television shows filmed in Winnipeg Television series by Bell Media CTV Sci-Fi Channel original programming Canadian comedy horror television series