The Trailer Park Boys Come Down From Up North

A lot has happened since my last TV posting here. Wonderfalls has fallen, Cracking Up is gone, Playing It Straight is, too, and unfortunately Donald Trump’s The Apprentice is still popular.

So much for things as usual, but there’s one other very amazing thing about to make its debut on American TV, and it took BBC America to get it here. It’s Trailer Park Boys, the Canadian comedy cult hit, and it’s wonderful. I’ve known about it for a while, and finally last trip up to Nova Scotia got to catch a few episodes, and fell in love with it. Congrats to BBC America for picking it up here; other than the The Office, their programming of late has been a little predictable and too full of DIY shows. Even though they had to stray a bit from their Brit mandate, TPB is worth it.

Made on a veritable shoestring on location in Halifax (my future provincial capital, btw), Trailer Park Boys is a Cops-esque mockumentary about the inhabitants of Sunnyvale Trailer Park, chief among them Ricky (John Paul Tremblay) and Julian (Robb Wells), two hapless ex-cons who are also inveterate schemers and dreamers. Between them they have an assortment of estranged girlfriends, drunk fathers, loyal children and the hard-ass law after them, but also a cadre of buddies to commiserate with, including the kitty-lovin’ indisputable heart of the show, Bubbles. Wearing thick-thicker-thickest eyeglasses and affecting a unique comedy voice (which reminds me a little of Neil from The Young Ones), Mike Smith (along with show creator Mike Clattenburg and fellow actor/writers Tremblay and Wells) has fashioned a comic character whose impact goes far beyond the obvious. He looks funny, he talks funny, and you’re going to fall in love with him. Everybody in the cast is great, but Mike Smith’s Bubbles expertly walks that thin, precious and rarely-traveled line between comedy and genuine humanity.

What also makes Trailer Park Boys stand out among comedy shows is its reputation -- well deserved, too -- as one of the most profanity-laden series ever. If you’re a fan of endless swear words masterfully and hilariously delivered (as I am), then TPB will delight you beyond measure. Although they don’t mention it on their site, it was widely reported that BBCA would air a cleaned-up (by the producers) version in primetime, and the unexpurgated late at night. I’d of course recommend going for the full-on profanity quotient; the language is organic to the comedy, and these guys know how to use it to perfection.

Trailer Park Boys may take a while to grow on you, as often is the case with prickly and different comedy (think Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm or The Office) but the rewards are certainly worth the effort. I think you’ll have a new favorite comedy to add to your must-watch list after this Thursday night. As a writer for MacLean’s magazine said, “An episode of Trailer Park Boys costs less than a quarter of what Jennifer Aniston earns every week for flapping her arms on Friends.” You gotta love it just for that, and it’s way funnier, too.



BBC America airs Trailer Park Boys beginning this Thursday, April 15th, at 9pm, with encores at 2am and 4am. Edited version runs at 9pm, and supposedly the late-night airings will not be cut for language. Here’s hoping!


Check out the BBC America website for show information.

Trailer Park Boys premiered on Canada’s Showcase network in 2001. (It's kind of like Trio or Bravo, here._

This is the official Trailer Park Boys website, where you can catch a listen to their mellow and addictive theme song over the opening graphics. Be sure to read the informative and enlightening article from MacLean’s magazine.

Check out this fascinating article from CBC news about the Trailer Park Boys phenomenon and the Canadian-ness of the show.

And find out what Bubbles would do if he were Canadian Prime Minister.