New series Strays is about life at a Hamilton animal shelter

Nikki Duval, who performs Shannon’s apathetic cousin Nikki, described filming the sequence as a “wild” attempt to navigate the interruptions of cute puppies, squawking birds, and bunnies copulating.

“I just can’t wait for the public to see it and chuckle with us,” she mentioned. 

CBC’s Conrad Collaco will communicate with members of the forged and crew at noon on Sept. 13 on Fb Dwell. 

The 50 percent-hour comedy series launches on Sept. 14 on CBC Television and CBC Gem. 

Frank Cox-O’Connell performs the animal care manager Kristian — a character who’s “terrific with animals, human beings not so a great deal.”

The actor arrives into the collection from a background of stay theatre — a lifetime that he says fell apart amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. There was some “bitter sweetness” in Shannon’s story, he mentioned, of moving to Hamilton and seeking to obtain hope in a new, enjoyable daily life.

“It feels like it really mirrored what was heading on for a lot of us,” he said. 

“There was this time of excellent modify exactly where we were hoping to commence afresh and start off one thing new and come across a perception of residence, which felt like it was truly the tale of 2020/2021 for a whole lot of us.”

He suggests “it feels so ideal” for the display to be established in Hamilton.

He described Hamilton as a steel-employee town that’s dwelling to “salt-of-the-earth,” no-nonsense people. But he also observed the mass of “younger, hipster” newcomers from Toronto that are correctly gentrifying the city.

It sets the scene very well, he claimed, to have the placing be a put of transform, but also a group with history. 

Strip N’ Bowl

“It truly is not like Shannon is displaying up to a blank slate. She’s arriving at a location that has lifestyle and she’s making an attempt to discover a perception of household in a position that is currently ongoing,” he reported. 

For some time, a Strip N’ Bowl signal adorned a making on Barton Street as portion of the show’s set. Duval laughed as she described a misunderstanding on social media, exactly where inhabitants considered the business was a genuine a person. 

Half of the folks were appalled, she stated, even though the other 50 % was truly “extremely thrilled.”

The actors described the collection as a very long time coming. Duval reported the comedy will be acquainted to Kim’s fans, while bringing in new, dynamic characters. 

The “beating coronary heart” and spirit of Kim’s carries through, Cox-O’Connell said, but Shannon’s journey is at the centre.

Ferrets as costars

Cox-O’Connell worked with a range of animals, juggling the complicated undertaking of managing them in the qualifications of scenes.

“There is no this sort of factor as a properly-properly trained ferret,” he stated.

“Actively playing with adorable animals all day, if that is your position, it really is precisely as exciting as you believe it would be.”

Kevin White (Kim’s Benefit, Schitt’s Creek) designed the series. The forged also incorporates business manager Pleasure (Tina Jung) and the building’s routine maintenance employee Paul (Tony Nappo). 

One more new unique collection slated for the 2021-22 broadcast season, Run the Burbs, will star Andrew Phung, who performed Kimchee on Kim’s Comfort, as a remain-at-home dad in the suburbs.