''That's So Weird'' is a Canadian
sketch comedy
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and ...
television show produced by
Halifax Film Company
WildBrain Studios is the in-house television studio arm of Canadian entertainment company WildBrain based in Vancouver which was established in 2016 as DHX Studios.
History
In January 2016, DHX Media announced that they would be building a 60 ...
(later DHX Media Halifax), created by Jeff Copeland, broadcasts on
YTV. The show has been described as ''
SCTV'' or ''
Mad TV
''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...
'' for teenagers and includes an array of comedic skits.
Reruns of the show currently airs on
ABC Spark
ABC Spark is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel was launched on March 26, 2012, replacing the declining channel Dusk.
ABC Spark is based on the U.S. subscription channel Freeform (previously ...
.
Premise
The show is a documentation of a group of teenagers who work at a fictional television station called So Weird TV. They receive various unusual products from their owner, Jamco, and are given the duty of creating commercial advertisements for the strange items. Alongside the ads they are required to do, So Weird TV also has programming that parodies television programs such as ''
Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and ''
This is Daniel Cook
''This is Daniel Cook.'' is a Canadian children's television series created by J. J. Johnson (producer), J. J. Johnson and Blair Powers and produced by Toronto's Marblemedia and Sinking Ship Entertainment, Sinking Ship Productions in association ...
''.
Characters
* Alana Johnston
– The boss of the station, who, despite being a good friend, can be harsh.
*
Kayla Lorette – A worker in the station. She is often criticized by Alana. In season 2 she develops a crush on James.
* James Hartnett – A worker in the station that develops a crush on Hannah, and is unaware that Kayla has a crush on him.
* Hannah Hogan
– Has the highest popularity rating, and is often overconfident mostly for her own good. Her father also owns Jamco.
* Joey Lucius – A worker in the station who always manages to attract the attention of others.
* AJ Vaage – A worker in the station who often assists others.
* Alex Spencer – A worker in the station who has a relatively good relationship with everyone.
Production
Most scenes are filmed in front of live studio audiences. Season 1 was filmed in the former St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School building in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
.
Later seasons were filmed in
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
in Studio 1 at
CBC Halifax.
Episodes
Season 1 (2009–2010)
Season 2 (2010–2011)
Season 3 (2011–2012)
Specials
* "That's So Scary!" – Put in an online version, and a televised version. Both have different sketches from each other. For example, the online version has the sketch "Ghost Chasers", while the televised version has "The Mom Whisperer" instead.
Minis
A series of four mini episodes were made, featuring sketches from the first and second seasons without any sitcom content. The theme song from the second season plays without any opening sketch.
Recurring sketches
* Every episode shows something going on with the team. In Season two, Kayla develops a crush on James who develops a crush on Hannah.
* "This is Daniel Book" – A parody of the TV show ''
This is Daniel Cook
''This is Daniel Cook.'' is a Canadian children's television series created by J. J. Johnson (producer), J. J. Johnson and Blair Powers and produced by Toronto's Marblemedia and Sinking Ship Entertainment, Sinking Ship Productions in association ...
'', except this is Daniel ''Book'' who is nineteen years old instead of six years old, but acts as if he is six years old. Daniel has gone of various adventures, such as dating and snowboarding.
* "Talking with Logan and Wilf" – Two boys that are played by girls talk about various things.
* "Poptrendz" – A parody of entertainment news shows like ''
etalk'' or ''
Entertainment Tonight
''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American first-run syndicated news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Paramount Streaming. ET also airs in Aust ...
'', Poptrendz is a show with various guest stars talking and doing adventures. Some of these are James meeting Eva, and interviews with Mario and Peach, Hogwarts Students, etc.
* "Raptoritis" – A boy is afflicted with a rare condition where loud noises cause him to act like a
velociraptor
''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the p ...
.
* "Like a Doctor" – A man who thinks he's a doctor because he has seen every episode of ''
Grey's Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into ...
'' ever made.
* "Abby and Trevor" (unofficial name) – A series where Abby reads incredibly weird things out loud to Trevor, who has a crush on Abby. Unfortunately Trevor has a very hard time trying to clearly explaining his crush.
* Jamco commercials and their production – Appearing in most episodes where the gang receives a product from the fictional company Jamco and have to make a commercial for it. Products include "Extra-cise", "Combo-cise", "Chock-lick" and "Invisiball".
Awards and nominations
2011 Gemini Award Nomination
Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program or Series That's So Weird, Gary Pearson Michael Donovan, Charles Bishop
2011 Canadian Comedy Awards-
Best Television Performance, Ensemble: James Hartnett, Hannah Hogan, Alana Johnston, Kayla Lorette, Joey Lucius, Alex Spencer, AJ Vaage (That's So Weird) (winner)
2013 – Canadian Screen Award Nominations.
Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program or Series – That's So Weird! Gary Pearson, Michael Donovan, Charles Bishop
Best Writing in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series – That's So Weird! Mike Allison, Jan Caruana, James Hartnett, Alana Johnston, Jerry Schaefer, Gary Pearson, Duncan McKenzie
References
External links
*
*
Halifax Film productionsInside Halton
{{Former YTV original series
2000s Canadian children's television series
2010s Canadian children's television series
2000s Canadian sketch comedy television series
2010s Canadian sketch comedy television series
2000s Canadian workplace comedy television series
2010s Canadian workplace comedy television series
2009 Canadian television series debuts
2012 Canadian television series endings
Canadian children's comedy television series
Children's sketch comedy
English-language television shows
Television series about teenagers
Television series by Corus Entertainment
Television series by DHX Media
Television shows filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Television stations in fiction
YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming