Hamilton-filmed sitcom ‘Strays’ gets dropped by CBC
There won't be any more Hamilton adventures for animal shelter manager Shannon Ross on the CBC.
The network has announced it won't be renewing the spinoff from its wildly successful Kim's Convenience" for a third season.
We can confirm that Strays' will not be returning," CBC spokesperson Tanya Koivusalo said in an email to The Spectator.
It was a CBC Programming decision not to renew the series."
A representative of the show did not return a request for comment.
There is good news, however, on one other front. The network has approved its other locally-filmed sitcom, Run The Burbs" for a third season. The show about the funny Pham family, and starring comedian Andrew Phung, films on the west Mountain.
Strays" starred Nicole Power as Ross, who moves to Hamilton from Toronto to run and help save the Hamilton East Animal Shelter from closure. Ross was a car rental manager on Kim's Convenience," which ran on CBC between 2016-2021. The show also ran on Netflix. Strays" was created by Kevin White, co-creator of Kim's Convenience."
The GoHotWater office on Ottawa Street North, just south of Dofasco, was made up to be the shelter's home during filming in the spring of 2021 and 2022. The first and second seasons ran in the fall of both years.
The show also shot at The Lister Block, The French restaurant, Westinghouse HQ on Sanford Avenue North and Green Acres Park in Stoney Creek.
It filmed at the Polish Alliance Building on Barton Street East, and its setup there caused a bit of a sensation in the neighbourhood. It converted the outside of the building to be Donnatella's Strip N Bowl.
Other cast members in Strays" included Tina Jung, Frank Cox-O'Connell, Nikki Duval, Kevin Vidal and Tony Nappo. Dennis Andres joined the second season as Travis, a love interest for Ross. Andres is from Hamilton and is a graduate of Cathedral High School.
CBC announced Son of a Critch" - the coming of age sitcom from Newfoundland comic Mark Critch - would return for a third season and This Hour has 22 Minutes" would be back for its 31st season.
If you thought you saw actor Zachary Quinto on the Hamilton Beachstrip recently, you weren't imagining it.
The actor known for playing Spock in the reboot of Star Trek" was in town at the end of March filming scenes for a medical pilot for NBC called Wolf."
Quinto plays Dr. Oliver Wolf, described as a larger-than-life neurologist who heads a team of interns at Bronx General that explore medical dramas surrounding the mind, plus their own mental health and relationships.
Wolf" was in Hamilton for 10 days of filming inside and outside of a home on Beach Boulevard, between 3rd and 4th avenues.
The show is inspired by Dr. Oliver Sacks' books The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat" and An Anthropologist on Mars."
The Amazon Prime series Alex Cross," based on the best selling books by James Patterson, filmed in Flamborough at the end of March.
The show starring Aldis Hodge filmed at a farm on 2nd Concession Rd W., near the Beverly Golf and Country Club, and at the Breezy Corners Family Restaurant on Highway 6.
Late Bloomer," the sitcom based on the musings of Guelph funnyman Jasmeet Singh Raina (known as Jus Reign on his popular YouTube show), filmed scenes last week at the Sikh temple Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib on Lake Avenue North, near Barton Street East. The series, which began filming in the city in March, is destined for Crave.
Pink Is In" has been nominated for an ACTRA Toronto Award. For the second year in a row, the Hamilton-filmed prison comedy is a nominee for the Members' Choice Series Ensemble Award. Other nominees are Murdoch Mysteries," Pretty Hard Cases," Sort Of" and Tokens." The winner will be announced April 26.
Daniel Nolan is a freelance writer who writes about film for The Hamilton Spectator. He can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com