{"id":2500,"date":"2013-09-26T22:09:53","date_gmt":"2013-09-26T22:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thunderbird.tv\/2013\/09\/26\/package-deal-among-canuck-sitcoms-taped-in-front-of-live-audience\/"},"modified":"2013-09-26T22:09:53","modified_gmt":"2013-09-26T22:09:53","slug":"package-deal-among-canuck-sitcoms-taped-in-front-of-live-audience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thunderbird.tv\/2013\/09\/26\/package-deal-among-canuck-sitcoms-taped-in-front-of-live-audience\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Package Deal\u2019 among Canuck sitcoms taped in front of live audience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bill Brioux \/ The Canadian Press<\/em><\/p>\n

VANCOUVER \u2013 In Canada, a live, studio audience sitcom taping is a rarity.<\/p>\n

One of the most popular ones, CBC\u2019s \u201cThe King of Kensington,\u201d aired in the \u201970s.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, however, a couple of Canadian comedies are venturing forth with the same four-camera, live studio audience format that has worked in Hollywood in shows ranging from \u201cI Love Lucy\u201d to \u201cThe Big Bang Theory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toronto audiences lined up earlier this year to see tapings of Dave Foley\u2019s new comedy \u201cSpun Out,\u201d airing later this season on CTV. In Vancouver, the bleachers were filled for tapings of \u201cPackage Deal,\u201d which premieres Monday, September 30 (check local listings).<\/p>\n

The series stars Randal Edwards (\u201cThe Killing,\u201d \u201cThe Best Years\u201d) as a young lawyer named Danny who has just met the love of his life, Kim (Julia Voth). He also has a great loft apartment, which is where his two goofy brothers, played by comedians Harland Williams and Jay Malone, like to crash. Eugene Levy and Pamela Anderson add a little star power in recurring roles.<\/p>\n

The underlying premise of the series: will Kim be cool with this three-brother package deal?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all somewhat based on a period of time in the life of creator\/executive producer Andrew Orenstein.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a show about me and my stepbrother,\u201d says Orenstein, who grew up in Toronto but moved to Los Angeles when he took a chance on a career writing for television. He went on to become a writer and producer on several hit U.S. sitcoms, including \u201c3rd Rock from the Sun,\u201d \u201cMalcolm in the Middle\u201d and \u201cEverybody Hates Chris.\u201d More recently, he was behind the CBC sitcom \u201c18 to Life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orenstein\u2019s stepbrother is ten years older. He\u2019s basically the Harland Williams character in \u201cPackage Deal,\u201d \u201cbut don\u2019t tell him that,\u201d says the producer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started dating my wife, I would talk about my brother in reverential tones,\u201d he says. When she finally met the older sibling, he wasn\u2019t quite the superman Orenstein had made him out to be.<\/p>\n

Orenstein learned he had a blind spot when it came to his brother. He took a closer look at the sibling rivalry between his own two sons and, voila, a sitcom was born.<\/p>\n

Williams has turned out to be the perfect older brother in more ways than one. He\u2019s the only cast member who has experience in four-camera sitcoms, starring in \u201cSimon\u201d (1995-96) and as part of the ensemble in \u201cThe Geena Davis Show\u201d (2000-01). \u201cI played Geena\u2019s sidekick in that one,\u201d he says, \u201cand here I am back in the motherland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams admits going to work through a famous Hollywood Studio arch, like at Disney or Paramount, is more exciting than checking into this dull, converted warehouse \u201cstealth studio\u201d tucked into an industrial corner of suburban Vancouver.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like we\u2019re wedged between a Canadian Tire and a broadloom manufacturer,\u201d he says, \u201cand I think there\u2019s a kayak maker on the corner.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact that there actually is a river behind the makeshift studio is just so Canadian, says Williams. \u201cIf I wanted to, I could shoot a scene, go catch a salmon, and come back in and shoot another scene. Now you don\u2019t get that in Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 50-year-old \u201cJust for Laughs\u201d veteran grew up in Toronto as the middle child between four sisters. Being among brothers is cool, he says, even if it is \u201cfake.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s odd is being the older guy. \u201cI always think of myself as a kid because I\u2019m in the entertainment industry and what I do is so much fun,\u201d he says. \u201cBut then I got here and realized I\u2019m the only one that\u2019s really done this before. Sometimes the gang comes to me with questions or we just talk about stuff. It\u2019s new to me. It\u2019s weird. It makes me feel a little bit old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, he\u2019s happy to take on the mentor role. \u201cWhen I was comin\u2019 up and doing my first few sitcoms, I would have liked to have a voice like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards says Williams is valued not just for his sitcom experience but also for his great sense of play. \u201cI think of Harland as this giant rabbit, with these big, padded boxing gloves, and he\u2019s just-Boom! Boom! Boom!-drumming on you all day,\u201d says Edwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that comes out of his mouth is funny,\u201d he adds. \u201cWhen you look at him, he gives you this persona that you think you\u2019re going to get, and then what comes out of him-he\u2019s so intelligent, so quick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards is even more impressed with Williams when the cast ventures out in public. \u201cHe\u2019s the most genuinely humble celebrity I\u2019ve ever met. This is the guy who has been put in front of me to say, this is how you treat people with respect in this business.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the night of a performance, the studio audience reacts as each member of the cast takes turns trying out alternate lines on succeeding takes. Williams never does anything the same way twice, and Malone and Voth shine in a scene calling for a bit of physical shtick.<\/p>\n

Voth, a Regina-native, was a model before branching out into acting and television. (Her likeness also appears in \u201cResident Evil\u201d video games.) She admits it\u2019s hard to hold a straight face in front of the studio audience with Williams, Edwards and Malone cutting up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so nervous,\u201d says Voth. \u201cEven in my modeling days, I didn\u2019t like runway \u2019cause, damn, there\u2019s a thousand people out front. But there\u2019s great energy on this set, and Harland and the guys just make everything super fun.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bill Brioux \/ The Canadian Press VANCOUVER \u2013 In Canada, a live, studio audience sitcom taping is a rarity. One of the most popular ones, CBC\u2019s \u201cThe King of Kensington,\u201d aired in the \u201970s. Suddenly, however, a couple of Canadian comedies are venturing forth with the same four-camera, live studio audience format that has worked … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n'Package Deal\u2019 among Canuck sitcoms taped in front of live audience - Thunderbird Entertainment<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thunderbird.tv\/2013\/09\/26\/package-deal-among-canuck-sitcoms-taped-in-front-of-live-audience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Package Deal\u2019 among Canuck sitcoms taped in front of live audience - Thunderbird Entertainment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bill Brioux \/ The Canadian Press VANCOUVER \u2013 In Canada, a live, studio audience sitcom taping is a rarity. 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