''Twitch City'' 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 and are collectively the source of ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

produced by CBC Television,"Twitch City a weird look at television addiction; Former King of Kensington gets whacked tonight". '' Edmonton Journal'', January 19, 1988. which aired as two short runs in 1998 and 2000. The series also aired in the United States on

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

, and in Australia. The show's

surreal humour Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical. Portrayals of surrea ...

was popular with critics. The show was never a mainstream ratings success in Canada, although it had a devoted cult following. The show was directed by Bruce McDonald and produced by

Shadow Shows A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...

and Accent Entertainment in association with the CBC. Music was composed by

Bob Wiseman Robert Neil "Bob" Wiseman (born 1962) is a film composer, songwriter, author and music teacher. Wiseman discovered or produced many artists including Ron Sexsmith, The Lowest of the Low, Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall, Anhai, and former ...

Plot

Set in the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

neighbourhood of

Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canad ...

, the series is about Curtis (

Don McKellar Don McKellar (born August 17, 1963) is a Canadian actor, writer, playwright, and filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. He is known for directing and writing th ...

), a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

addict who refuses to leave his apartment, and his friends Nathan (

Daniel MacIvor Daniel MacIvor (born July 23, 1962) is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director, and film director. He is probably best known for his acting roles in independent films and the sitcom '' Twitch City''. Personal MacIvor was born in Sydney, No ...

), Hope (

Molly Parker Molly Parker (born 30 June 1972) is a Canadian actress, writer, and director. She has had roles in independent films as well as television. Her accolades include two Genie Awards, one Canadian Screen Award, one Independent Spirit Awards nomina ...

) and Newbie (

Callum Keith Rennie Callum Keith Rennie (born 14 September 1960) is a British-born Canadian actor who started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski on the television series '' Due South'' was his firs ...

)."Twitch City: Is Canada Ready?". '' Calgary Herald'', January 15, 1998. McKellar was also one of the show's creators. In the first episode, Nathan is sent to prison for killing a homeless man with a can of cat food. The homeless man was played by

Al Waxman Albert Samuel Waxman, (March 2, 1935 – January 18, 2001) was a Canadian actor and director of over 1,000 productions on radio, television, film, and stage. He is best known for his starring roles in the television series '' King of Kensingto ...

, who had been the star of the 1970s sitcom ''

King of Kensington ''King of Kensington'' is a Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980.Mary Jane Miller, ''Turn Up the Contrast: CBC Television Drama since 1952''. UBC Press, 2011. . pp. 134-144. Synopsis Al Waxman starred as Lar ...

'', although the producers claimed that they did not intend for the homeless man to be seen as the same character. Nathan remained in prison throughout the run of the series; the first episode of the second season opened with an '' Oz'' parody in which he criticized the hip hop-inspired

slam poetry A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery. ...

of his cellmate."Riveting world of Oz returns to Showcase Friday". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The new ...

'', August 25, 1999. Throughout the series, Curtis and Hope's ongoing attempts to find a new roommate to replace Nathan provide one of the show's major plot threads. In one episode, Curtis rents Nathan's room to a mysterious businessman who uses it to store drugged cookies, while in another, Hope unwittingly rents it to two Neo-Nazis she mistakes for a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

couple. That episode includes a Nazi rally which features all four members of the rock band Sloan among the extras. At the end of the episode, the two Nazi roommates renounce Nazism and promptly kiss each other, vindicating Hope's judgement.

Bruce McCulloch Bruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, musician and film director. McCulloch is perhaps best known for his work as a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, including starring in the TV series of the same name. He ...

and

Mark McKinney Mark Douglas Brown McKinney (born June 26, 1959) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known as a member of the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, which includes starring in the 1989 to 1995 TV series ''The Kids in the Hall'' and 1 ...

(both from ''

The Kids in the Hall The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, ...

'') also starred in the series as Rex Reilly, the

Jerry Springer Gerald Norman Springer (born February 13, 1944) is a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, former lawyer, and politician. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Jerry Springer'' between September 30, 1991 and July 26, 2018, an ...

-like host of Curtis' favourite TV

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...

. McCulloch played Reilly in the first season, and McKinney played him in the second. The change in Reilly's appearance is explained in his autobiography, ''Tyrannosaurus Rex'', which refers to his "on-air cranium transplant." Guest stars on the series included

Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). Sh ...

Tom McCamus Tom McCamus (born July 25, 1955Tom McCamus' bio
at www.northernstars.ca) is a Canadia ...

Valerie Buhagiar Valerie Buhagiar (born May 12, 1964) is a Maltese-Canadian actress, film director and television host. She studied acting at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario, graduating in 1986. Her debut as a filmmaker was ''The Passion of Rita Camill ...

, Charmion King,

Kenneth Welsh Kenneth Welsh, (March 30, 1942 – May 5, 2022) was a Canadian film and television actor. He was best known as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle in ''Twin Peaks'', for his roles in the films '' The Day After Tomorrow'', ''Adoration'', '' S ...

Hugh Dillon Hugh Dillon (born May 31, 1963) is a Canadian singer and actor who is the lead vocalist of rock band Headstones. He is also a film and television actor; his notable roles include Mike Sweeney in '' Durham County,'' Ed Lane in '' Flashpoint'' an ...

Kim Mitchell Joseph Kim Mitchell (born July 10, 1952) is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Max Webster before going on to a solo career. His 1984 single, " Go for Soda", was his only charted song on the US ''Billbo ...

Stefan Brogren Stefan Brogren (born 21 April 1972) is a Canadian actor, director, and producer. He is best known as Archie "Snake" Simpson in the ''Degrassi'' franchise of television shows. Early life Stefan Brogren was born on 21 April 1972, in Toronto, ...

John L'Ecuyer John L'Ecuyer (born November 15, 1964) is a Canadian film and television director. Biography John L'Ecuyer's first feature, '' Curtis's Charm'' (1995), was an adaptation of a Jim Carroll story. The film received a Special Jury Citation as Best Can ...

and

Joyce DeWitt Joyce Anne DeWitt (born April 23, 1949) is an American actress and comedian known for playing Janet Wood on the ABC sitcom ''Three's Company'' from 1977 to 1984. Early life Joyce DeWitt was born April 23, 1949, in Wheeling, West Virginia, and g ...

. DeWitt plays herself as a guest on ''The Rex Reilly Show'', meeting lookalikes in an episode devoted to the theme "I Look Like Joyce DeWitt".

DVD release

All thirteen episodes were released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

in 2006.

Episodes

Most episodes of the series are titled for the theme of the ''Rex Reilly Show'' episode depicted in the script.

Season One

Season Two

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0135110, title=Twitch City 1998 Canadian television series debuts 2000 Canadian television series endings CBC Television original programming Television shows set in Toronto Kensington Market Television shows filmed in Toronto 1990s Canadian sitcoms 2000s Canadian sitcoms