Hamilton-based sitcom ‘Pink Is In’ could find a spot on U.S. streaming service

There could be big things in the works for the Hamilton-based sitcom, Pink Is In."

The show about the humorous goings-on at the fictional Chatsworth Hamilton Women's Prison should find out by the end of the year if it will appear on an U.S. streaming service. One service considering taking the show is Tubi, which shows old movies and TV shows, plus some new programming.

I'm feeling pretty good about it," said Lisa Crawford, who created the show along with Caroline Puzinas. We've had some U.S. podcasts interview us and they've raved about the show. We could find out any day now."

Pink Is In" filmed its third season this year for Bell Fibe TV1. The season, consisting of four episodes, is set to debut next April. The show has filmed in Hess Village, the West End Pub, Hamilton Film Studios/Studio B in Dundas and the Cedars Campground in Flamborough.

Each season consists of four shows, so there will be 12 episodes for a streaming service. Such a development could help lead to a fourth season for the show, in which more than four episodes could be made.

In the meantime, however, the show will be showing a little holiday cheer. Its Christmas show called A Pink & Green Christmas" will run on Bell Fibe TV1 on Thursday, Dec. 8.

Cast and crew gathered at The Staircase on Nov. 16 for a screening of the episode.

The show has a solid cast of players, including Crawford and Puzinas. They play inmates Nezrenko and Alcatraz. Also in the show are Ellen-Ray Hennessy, who plays Warden Morgan Dungworth, Kim Lombard, who plays the billionaire CEO of the private prison (he is also a writer for the show), Victoria Kuchar, Trish Rainone, Hannah Termaat, Eileen Li, Margaret Lamarre and Jon Welch.

But the show has also featured Patrick McKenna (The Red Green Show"), who plays Colonel Kowoka, a visiting warden who during his first meeting with Warden Dungworth goes through her purse looking for money. And, featured in the Christmas episode, veteran Canadian actress Jayne Eastwood ("Going Down the Road," My Big Fat Greek Wedding") who plays the warden's mother Mabel, and Dan Todd, the drummer from Platinum Blond, who plays a drummer.

Mabel Dungworth visits Chatsworth on Christmas Eve in the form of a ghost along the lines of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol." Her daughter is somewhat of a Scrooge who never allows the inmates at Chatsworth to celebrate the Christmas season.

Hennessy said it was a thrill to work with Eastwood.

She is a legend in Canadian theatre, film and television and we were tickled pink to have her on set," she said.

Cast members are, likewise, tickled pink about the show.

Everybody loves the show and we hope it keeps going," said Cambridge actress Josie Rossi Cortina, who plays Juice, the prison's sous chef.

People are so envious in our industry. So many people are dying to get into it, to do background work. They just want to be a part of it."

Natasha Bromfield joined the cast for the second season. She plays LaShawndra the therapist. Bromfield was in the sci-fi show Killjoy" and has been in such films as Downsizing" with Matt Damon. She also appeared in the Netflix series Painkiller" which filmed in Hamilton last year and was slated to drop this year. It is about the opioid crisis in the U.S.

Bromfield's Pink Is In" character is bubbly and she tries to make friends with all of the inmates.

There's nothing out there like it," said Bromfield about the show. It's so quirky. It's got great characters."

Daniel Nolan is a freelance writer who writes about film for The Hamilton Spectator. He can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com