Award winning Family Channel show ‘Holly Hobbie’ rolls cameras in Hamilton’s east end
Family Channel's Holly Hobbie" was in town.
The TV series about a young girl from a small town who writes songs and helps averts troubles for family and friends was filming at a house on Charlton Avenue West, between Kent Street and Queen Street South, last month.
It also filmed scenes in the east end, on Kenilworth Avenue North.
The show, filming its 3rd season, was in Hamilton after shooting in Fergus and St. Jacobs.
Some of the situations Holly Hobbie has been involved in during past seasons is saving a beloved town cafe and finding the culprit behind the destruction of a farmer's giant cucumber.
Ruby Jay stars as Holly Hobbie and has been in such shows as Grey's Anatomy," when she was a baby, and Modern Family."
Her father Robert Hobbie is played by Evan Buliung. He has been in such shows as Departure." Mother Katherine Hobbie is played by Erin Karpluk, well-known for the CBC series Being Erica," and grandmother Helen Hobbie is played by Sara Botsford ("Anne of Green Gables" and E.N.G.)
The show filmed in Hamilton in 2018. The series is shown on Hulu in the United States.
A synopsis from the show's website says about Holly: This intelligent and independent girl prefers vintage dresses and combat boats to capes and crowns, and the only weapon she carries is her guitar. Still, you could call her a hero. Holly thinks a lot and talks a lot about everything. She's not afraid to fight for causes she believes in, even if it ruffles feathers. She's a dreamer and a doer who plans on saving the world someday but is happy to start with her small town."
The series is based on the character created by the artist of the same name in the 1960s for an American greeting card company. Back then, she was a young girl wearing a rag-dress and a giant bonnet.
Over the years, she has been the subject of books and animated TV shows.
Holly Hobbie" won the prize for Best children's or youth fiction program or series at the 2020 Canadian Screen Awards. It also won Best direction in a children's or youth program or series (Megan Follows, better known as Anne from Anne of Green Gables").
The American family sitcom The Parker Andersons," which filmed in Hamilton last year, has been picked up by Burlington-based YES TV.
Hamilton stands in for Chicago.
A synopsis of the show says: The Parker Andersons are a blended, interracial family. Tony Parker, a British widower and father of two (Nathan and Amelia), moves to Chicago to manage the soccer career of his nephew, a superstar striker. While there, he meets, dates, and marries Cleo Anderson, a white suburban dentist and the mother of two kids of her own (Victoria and Charlie). The series follows the comedic antics of this diverse family, sometimes being blended' feels a lot like being in a blender. The family learns that their differences end up being exactly what they need to create a happy new life together."
The show shot scenes at the Hamilton City Centre, David Braley Health Sciences Centre, McMaster University, Tim Hortons Field, C Hotel by Carmen's and the Wentworth Arena.
It also filmed at Uncle Ray's Food and Liquor on James Street North, Sagarmatha Curry Palace on King William Street, The Lakeview wedding venue on Van Wagners Beach Road, Hutch's on the Beach on Van Wagners Beach Road and the former Holy Family School on Kenilworth Avenue North.
Tony Parker is played by Arnold Pinnock (The Incredible Hulk" 2008) and Cleo Anderson is played by Kate Hewlett (playwright behind The Swearing Jar," of which the film adaptation was recently filmed in Dundas and Hamilton).
YES TV will also show Amelia Parker." It is a companion program that shows the family's life from the point of view of Amelia, played by Millie Davis ("Odd Squad").
Daniel Nolan is a freelance writer who writes about film for The Hamilton Spectator. He can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com