Manitoba TV show made by Steinbach producer

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This article was published 12/04/2024 (439 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A made in Manitoba television series, featuring Manitoba talent was an exciting project for Steinbach born and raised producer Meg Robinson.

“This is a testament to what can be done,” she said of the three-episode miniseries called Big Small Town which premiered April 6. “Our hopes would be that this would lead to more opportunities for the people involved and the comedians involved for sure. We would love to do (another) show like this but on a bigger scale.”

Big Small Town is a sketch comedy series featuring an impressive lineup of Manitoba comedians including Kids in the Hall’s Kevin McDonald, Blackberry’s Mike Scott, JFL’s Spencer Adamus, CBC Podcast’s Jane Testar, Comedy Record’s Emmanuel Lomuro, comedians Quinn Greene, Jaydin Pommer, Griffin Kehler, Garrett LeBlanc, Tyler Kotowski and more.

Robinson works in development and is a producer for Folks Films, a Winnipeg production company started by sibling duo Taylor Brown and Laina Brown.

The show has been compared to sketch comedy shows like Tim Robinson’s I Think You Should Leave.

“From sentient self-checkout machines to Halloween funerals, Big Small Town is Manitoba’s premiere sketch comedy showcasing hilarious comedians on local adventures in classic Winnipeg locations,” a press release stated.

Robinson said as a creative team they saw the potential for a show like this.

“We all kind of collectively thought there’s so much talent here and there’s so many funny writers here in Manitoba, we want to do something that’s a calling card for Manitoba,” she said.

Fans of local comedy may see some familiar scenes.

“Some of these sketches have been performed, like on stage with Fringe for example,” she said. “We took them and translated to the screen and added a Manitoba element to it.”

The small team worked hard to find locations, complete casting and modify stories.

Robinson said her role as producer was defined differently in such a small setting.

“There’s sketches where I was holding a light or doing sound,” she said. “It was really fun working with the best comedians in Manitoba and Canada.”

Once the shooting began, Robinson said the humour seemed to flow.

“A lot of funny parts were the comedians doing what they do best and riffing with each other,” she said.

The miniseries premiered to rave reviews from industry insiders, a source of relief to Robinson.

“We’re a small team so it’s us watching this thing over and over and being so involved that we don’t even really know how other people will view it,” she said.

The three-episode miniseries features two to three sketches per episode with a sketch length of eight to 12 minutes.

Robinson describes them as “totally off the wall, super goofy humour.”

And making it in Manitoba makes a point as well.

“Oftentimes the shows you see on TV are produced in Vancouver and Toronto,” she said. “We want to show that Manitoba’s got it, and we can do it too.”

For Robinson, who still calls Steinbach home, it also shows that you can do well in the industry without moving away.

“I think a lot of people think you have to move out of Manitoba and even move out of your small town and I don’t subscribe to that,” she said. “If anything, this just shows what’s possible here, and you can be proud of the talent that we have in Manitoba.”

Big Small Town is available on demand through Bell FibeTV.