An American in Canada

Canadian TV series or program

An American in Canada

Created by| Howard Busgang
Jebb Fink
Starring| Rick Roberts
Hélène Joy
Stewart Francis
Timm Zemanek
Matthew Ferguson
Robin Brûlé
Country of origin| Canada
No. of seasons| 2
No. of episodes| 16
Production
Running time| approx. 30 minutes
Original release
Network| CBC
Release| February 28, 2003 (2003-02-28) –
January 30, 2004 (2004-01-30)

An American in Canada is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television in 2003 and 2004.

The show starred Rick Roberts as Jake Crewe, an American television news host who was forced, after beating up his station manager, to accept a job in Calgary, Alberta as co-host of the lowest-rated morning news program in the city.[1] The show found its comedy in Crewe's attempts to adapt to Canadian culture, as well as his interactions with coworkers such as producer and love interest Judy Surgick (Hélène Joy) and egotistical host Dennis McIlvane (Stewart Francis).[1]

An American in Canada was loosely based on the real-life experiences of Jebb Fink, an American comedian who moved to Canada after marrying a Canadian woman, and did become a morning television host on CKAL-TV, Calgary's A-Channel station.[2] It was created by Fink and Howard Busgang.

The show's pilot aired as a special in January 2002 as part of the CBC's early-2000s strategy of airing comedy pilots to test viewer reaction before ordering the production of a full series.[3] Viewer reaction was overwhelmingly positive, and the series went into production and premiered in 2003.[4] The show produced 16 episodes over two seasons before being cancelled in 2004.[5]

The program won the Gemini Award for Best Comedy Program or Series at the 17th Gemini Awards.[6]

It has also aired on Australia's The Comedy Channel with the title Frostbite, and in syndication on Showcase in Canada and HDNet in the USA.

## Cast[edit]

* Rick Roberts \- Jake Crewe
* Hélène Joy \- Judy Surgick
* Stewart Francis \- Dennis Macilvane
* Timm Zemanek \- Bill Robinson
* Matthew Ferguson \- Derrick
* Robin Brûlé \- Mara
* Sugith Varughese \- Aftab

## Episode list[edit]

### Season 1[edit]

#  | Airdate  | Prod. Code  | Title

|
|
|

1 1 - 1 | February 28, 2003 | 101 | The Bare Naked Lady
2 1 - 2 | March 7, 2003 | 102 | The Order of Canada
3 1 - 3 | March 14, 2003 | 103 | Dirty Kwebeck
4 1 - 4 | March 28, 2003 | 104 | Call Me Dr. Ken
5 1 - 5 | April 4, 2003 | 105 | True North Strong and Almost Free
6 1 - 6 | April 4, 2003 | 106 | To the Good Ol' USA

### Season 2[edit]

#  | Airdate  | Prod. Code  | Title

|
|
|

7 2 - 1 | October 24, 2003 | 201 | A Kiss is Just a Kiss
8 2 - 2 | October 31, 2003 | 202 | Jake and the Fat Men
9 2 - 3 | November 7, 2003 | 203 | Love Notes From the Edge
10 2 - 4 | November 21, 2003 | 204 | Citizen Jake
11 2 - 5 | November 28, 2003 |  | Some Like It Hot Zone
12 2 - 6 | December 5, 2003 |  | Play Misty For Me
13 2 - 7 | January 9, 2004 |  | Dennis Anyone?
14 2 - 8 | January 16, 2004 |  | Frisky Business
15 2 - 9 | January 23, 2004 |  | A Non-Date to Remember
16 2 - 10 | January 30, 2004 |  | I Dream of Judy

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Only in Canada? Pity: An American pokes some gentle fun at us". Calgary Herald, January 17, 2002.
2. ^ "The American in him is always trying to break out: Calgary TV host Jebb Fink lets his ambition show in a CBC sitcom". National Post, January 18, 2002.
3. ^ "Please pick An American In Canada ; CBC really wants your input on new comedy output". Toronto Star, January 17, 2002.
4. ^ "He's American, eh?: Jebb Fink's life as a transplanted Yank basis for new TV series". Calgary Herald, February 6, 2003.
5. ^ "Jebb Fink goes live and unleashed". Calgary Herald, April 22, 2004.
6. ^ "Trudeaumania alive at Gemini Awards". Kingston Whig-Standard, November 5, 2002.

## External links[edit]

* An American in Canada at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Canadian Screen Award for Best Comedy Series

Gemini Awards
(1986–2011)|

* Seeing Things (1986)
* Seeing Things (1987)
* No Award (1988)
* CODCO (1989)
* Material World (1990)
* CODCO (1991)
* The Kids in the Hall (1992)
* The Kids in the Hall (1993)
* This Hour Has 22 Minutes (1994)
* This Hour Has 22 Minutes (1995)
* This Hour Has 22 Minutes (1996)
* This Hour Has 22 Minutes (1997)
* This Hour Has 22 Minutes (1998)
* Made in Canada (1999)
* This Hour Has 22 Minutes (2000)
* Made in Canada (2001)
* An American in Canada (2002)
* This Hour Has 22 Minutes (2003)
* Trailer Park Boys (2004)
* Corner Gas (2005)
* Corner Gas (2006)
* Corner Gas (2007)
* This Hour Has 22 Minutes (2008)
* Rick Mercer Report (2009)
* Less Than Kind (2010)
* Rick Mercer Report (2011)

Canadian Screen Awards
(2012–present)|

* Less Than Kind (2012)
* Call Me Fitz (2013)
* Call Me Fitz (2014)
* Schitt's Creek (2015)
* Letterkenny (2016)
* Kim's Convenience (2017)
* Schitt's Creek (2018)
* Schitt's Creek (2019)
* Schitt's Creek (2020)
* Sort Of (2021)
* Sort Of (2022)

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