Strays is a Canadian television sitcom, which aired on CBC Television for two seasons from 2021 to 2022.[1] A spin-off of Kim's Convenience, the series centres on Shannon Ross (Nicole Power) as she embarks on a new career in Hamilton as executive director of an animal shelter.[2]
The cast also includes Frank Cox-O'Connell, Tina Jung, Nikki Duval, Kevin Vidal, Tony Nappo, Paula Boudreau, Emily Piggford and Leah Doz.[3] The series is produced by Thunderbird Entertainment.[3]
The series had been planned to start production in 2020, but was delayed until early 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.[1] It premiered on September 14, 2021.[4] It was renewed for a second season, which premiered in September 2022. The CBC announced in April 2023 that the show would not be picked up for a third season.[5]
Production
The show initially faced some criticism for the implications of the fact that Shannon, the only white character in the core cast of Kim's Convenience, was being given her own spinoff over any of the show's Asian characters.[6] John Doyle of The Globe and Mail noted the complexities of the situation, explaining that since all of the other major characters in Kim's Convenience were drawn from Ins Choi's original theatrical play, and Shannon was the only character who had been newly created specifically for the television series, she was the only character who was the intellectual property of the show's producers and thus the only one who could be spun off without Choi's participation.[7]
Cast
- Nicole Power as Shannon Ross
- Frank Cox-O'Connell as Kristian
- Tina Jung as Joy
- Nikki Duval as Nikki
- Kevin Vidal as Liam
- Tony Nappo as Paul
- Paula Boudreau as Aunt Peggy
- Emily Piggford as Lara
- Leah Doz as Tonya
- Dennis Andres as Travis
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 10 | September 14, 2021 | November 16, 2021 | |
| 2 | 10 | September 13, 2022 | November 15, 2022 | |
Season 1 (2021)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Cat Condo" | Pat Mills | Clara Altimas and Kevin White | September 14, 2021 |
| 2 | 2 | "The Snowball Effect" | Pat Mills | Anita Kapila and Zlatina Pacheva | September 21, 2021 |
| 3 | 3 | "New Neighbours" | Renuka Jeyapalan | Anita Kapila and Kevin White | September 28, 2021 |
| 4 | 4 | "Trivial Pursuits" | Pat Mills | Clara Altimas | October 5, 2021 |
| 5 | 5 | "Girls Night" | Renuka Jeyapalan | Anita Kapila | October 12, 2021 |
| 6 | 6 | "Hot for Pappa" | Pat Mills | Kevin White | October 19, 2021 |
| 7 | 7 | "Empty Nesters" | Joyce Wong | Rosamund Small and Kevin White | October 26, 2021 |
| 8 | 8 | "Speak Your Truth" | Joyce Wong | Clara Altimas and Allana Reoch | November 2, 2021 |
| 9 | 9 | "Animal Passion" | Aleysa Young | Clara Altimas and Anita Kapila | November 9, 2021 |
| 10 | 10 | "Eggs Anyone?" | Aleysa Young | Anita Kapila and Kevin White | November 16, 2021 |
Season 2 (2022)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title [8] | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Friends & Neighbours" | Jasmin Mozaffari | Anita Kapila & Kevin White | September 13, 2022 |
| 12 | 2 | "Puppy Love" | Jasmin Mozaffari | Clara Altimas & Anita Kapila | September 20, 2022 |
| 13 | 3 | "Mama Madness" | Pat Mills | Lief Ramsaran & Kevin White | September 27, 2022 |
| 14 | 4 | "Kristian's Therapist" | Pat Mills | Clara Altimas & Allana Reoch | October 4, 2022 |
| 15 | 5 | "Shannon's Reign" | Joyce Wong | Anita Kapila & Zlatina Pacheva | October 11, 2022 |
| 16 | 6 | "Testimonials" | Joyce Wong | Matt Kippen & Kevin White | October 18, 2022 |
| 17 | 7 | "Attractor" | Jasmin Mozaffari | Clara Altimas & Kevin White | October 25, 2022 |
| 18 | 8 | "House Sitting" | Jasmin Mozaffari | Anita Kapila & Matt Kippen | November 1, 2022 |
| 19 | 9 | "Promoting from Within" | Clara Altimas | Matt Kippen & Kevin White | November 8, 2022 |
| 20 | 10 | "Work Is Its Own Award" | Clara Altimas | Anita Kapila & Kevin White | November 15, 2022 |
Critical response
Doyle favourably reviewed the first episodes of the series, writing that "The sheer energy of Strays is admirable. It's gags galore and it can be fiendishly clever contrivance, often anchored in the style of that theatrical staple, the British bedroom farce. At the same time, it's a distinctly contemporary Canadian series, with a diverse cast, and if there's a tincture of subtext that subtext is tolerance. But you'd hardly notice with all the exuberance on display. Besides, there are cute animals almost everywhere."[9]
References
- ^ a b Houpt, Simon (March 26, 2021). "The abrupt end of Kim's Convenience: Why did CBC let its beloved sitcom close up shop?". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ Alexandra Del Rosario, "‘Kim Convenience’s Andrew Phung & Nicole Power Set New Comedies At Canada’s CBC". Deadline Hollywood, March 26, 2021.
- ^ a b "Kim’s Convenience’ stars Nicole Power and Andrew Phung getting their own CBC shows". Red Deer Advocate, March 27, 2021.
- ^ Greg David, "CBC sets fall schedule and unveils 2021-22 programming slate, including over 35 original series from Canadian creators". TV, eh?, June 2, 2021.
- ^ Nolan, Daniel (April 14, 2023). "Hamilton-filmed sitcom 'Strays' gets dropped by CBC". The Hamilton Spectator.
- ^ Carras, Christi (June 7, 2021). "'Kim's Convenience' stars decry 'overtly racist' storylines, lack of representation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
- ^ Doyle, John (June 4, 2021). "Bitterness abounds: More fallout from Kim's Convenience". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ a b "Strays". Zap2it. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- ^ Doyle, John (September 27, 2021). "CBC's Strays: The funny, unlucky cousin of Kim's Convenience". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
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