GET IN THE KNOW: Who Cast These 10 Canadian TV Shows?
Explore 10 of the best, funniest, and longest running Made in Canada TV shows & the teams of people who put the iconic casts together.
If you’ve been hit with a sudden wave of Canadian Pride, it may be time to watch (or rewatch) these 10 Made in Canada TV Shows! And if you want to see yourself on one, one day - check out the casting teams that put together your favourite ensembles.
10) Orphan Black
Orphan Black is a multi-international award winning TV show, starring Canadian Actor and Emmy winner (2016), Tatiana Maslany in multiple roles.
The original, AND its spin off, Orphan Black: Echoes (starring Kristen Ritter) were filmed in Toronto! From Humber College the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation to The Thompson Carlsborough Hotel; many parts of the city are featured!
Casting by: Susan & Sharon Forrest (Forrest & Forrest Casting)
With: Erin Keating / Jenny Duffy / Nick Butler / Kat Kleine
9) Anne with an E
Anne with an E hosted a country-wide casting, before finally selecting Amybeth McNulty to star as the iconic Canadian red head, Anne Shirley. Based and filmed mostly in Prince Edward Island, this CBC show features gorgeous Canadian landscapes, you don’t get to see anywhere else.
Casting by: Stephanie Gorin
With: Brendan Wilcocks / Jesse Griffiths / Rita Bertucci / Riva Cahn-Thompson / Nicole Hilliard-Forde / Marisol Roncali / Raylin Sabo / Natalie Semotiuk / Haley Tibbitts / Mary Vernieu / Fawnda Neckoway / Alexandra Perpick / Susie Figgis / Julie Fitzsimmons
8) The Office Movers
YouTubers and brothers, Jermaine and Trevaunn Richards, are the co-creators and stars of The Office Movers - a new comedy TV show, set and filmed in Toronto, On. One viewer on IMDB described the show as “peak Toronto/Canadian Comedy.”
Casting by: Larissa Mair & Colleen Rush (Larissa Mair Casting & Associates)
With: Jade Hesson / Sophie Van Bastelaer / Maureen Evans
7) Mr. Dressup
American Actor, Ernie Coombs, created and starred in over 4, 000 episodes of Mr. Dressup for the CBC, between 1967-1996. The show won multiple Gemini awards (now called the Canadian Screen Awards), and is remembered as an iconic part of Canadian Children’s TV.
The show featured mostly puppets - specifically, Casey and Finnegan, by puppeteer Judith Lawrence, and there is not much information in the way of casting credits. It was produced by the CBC.
Though you cannot find ALL the episodes of Mr. Dressup online, there are many full episodes uploaded on YouTube - like this one, posted by Nostalgia Canadiana.
Or check out Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make Believe, a documentary about the original show, on Crave!
6) Murdoch Mysteries
Another long running Canadian Classic - premiering in 2008, Murdoch Mysteries is set in a late 1800 - early 1900’s Toronto and revolves around Detective William Murdoch - played by Canadian Actor, Yannick Bisson. The show has racked up over 100 award nominations in its time!
Murdoch Mysteries films on the Sullivan Studios Backlot - but features scenes shot in Rockwood, Hamilton, Brantford, Cambridge, and other parts of the Greater Toronto Area.
Fun fact: in one episode, you can see Linds (me) walking around 1900’s Toronto!
Casting by: Diane Kerbel / John Buchan & Jason Knight (Buchan Knight Casting) / Deirdre Bowen / Angélique Luisi
With: Donna Dupere / Suzy Catliff / Michael T. Burgess / Alicia Faucher / Megan Conacher / Christopher Richards / Dora Emerson / Ron Leach / Clare Walker / Diane Kerbel / Danielle Irvine / Annie Klein / Jackie Lind / Chandler Loryn Boriska
5) Reign
Set in France and Scotland, but filmed mostly in a CineSpace studio in Etobicoke, On, Reign is a dramatic retelling of the story of Mary, Queen of Scots - played by Australian actor, Adelaide Kane.
Kane stars alongside Canadian TV pro, Megan Follows (the original Anne of Green Gables) as Catherine de’Medici, and if you look close, you can spot a teenage Linds (me) in the background!
Casting by: Jon Comerford / Lisa Parasyn / Stephanie Gorin / Lori Sugar / Gillian O'Neill
With: Suzanne Smith / Emily Johnston / Ali Coffey / Stephanie Gorin / Matthew Skrobalak / Tom Cable Rees / Vaishni Majoomdar / Jeremiah Krickhahn / David Kennedy / Kimberly Ehrlich / Stephen Kirk / Janine Snape / Daniel Lloyd / Nicola Chisholm
4) Kim’s Convenience
Kim’s Convenience only got 5 seasons, but it was well loved while it lasted! Starring Andrea Bang and a pre-Marvel Simu Liu, as the adult kids of convenience store owners, Jean Yoon & Paul Sun-Hyung Lee.
Kim’s Convenience, is based and shot in Toronto, On. The show features a real convenience store, on Queen St E, once named Mimi’s Variety - it now dons a “Kim’s Convenience” sign and remains open to the public!
Fun fact: Linds (me) appeared in one episode of Kim’s Convenience as a fellow art school student.
Casting by: Deirdre Bowen & Millie Tom
With: Christopher Richards / Roisin McGilly / Hannah Antaki
3) Heartland
Since 2007, Alberta-based and shot drama, Heartland, has captivated Canadians from coast to coast. Starring Canadians Amber Marshall and Michelle Morgan as sisters, and Shaun Johnston (NOT Shawn Johnson) as the patriarch of the fictional Heartland Ranch.
Much like Kim’s Convenience, there is a REAL Heartland Ranch; a working, privately owned ranch in Millarville, Ab, that rents out its property for filming - but it is NOT open to the public.
Casting by: Rhonda Fisekci / Sharon & Susan Forrest (Forrest & Forrest Casting) / Andrea Kenyon / Randi Wells
With: Marcy Dichter / Damian Barret / Curtis Cripps / Betty Tong / Erin Keating / Cayley Wreggitt / Rhonda Fisekci / Tony LaHaye / Mara Stevens / Steve Tsang / Randy Hutchings / Kris Rurka / John Buchan / J.D. Schroder / Andrea Kenyon / Kevin Doree / Kristofer Betts / Kat Kleine
2) Schitt’s Creek
Maybe the most quoted Canadian TV show of all time, Schitt’s Creek is endlessly funny and worth every rewatch. The show is created by and stars real life Canadian father and son, Eugene and Dan Levy, as fictional father and son - Johnny and David Rose, respectively. They are joined by Canadians, Catherine O’Hara as Johnny’s wife, the eccentric Moira Rose, and Annie Murphy, as their iconic daughter, Alexis.
Schitt’s Creek is based in the fictional town of Schitt’s Creek, but it was shot in Goodwood, Unionville, Orangeville, and other parts of the Greater Toronto Area.
Casting by: Jon Comerford / Lisa Parasyn
With: Maureen Evans / Vaishni Majoomdar / Tom Cable Rees
1) Degrassi
Maybe it’s because I’m a child of the 90’s, but Degrassi will always be the most iconic Canadian TV show to me - and it was a dream come true as a teenager to sit in fake Degrassi math classes (yes, I did background in this show too).
The Degrassi universe started in 1979, with The Kids of Degrassi Street - a show on public Television, starring American Actor, Stacie Mistysyn, among Canadian actors, John Ioannou and Sarah Charlesworth, among others. The show revolved around a group of kids on Degrassi St. in Toronto, On.
By 1987, “The kids of Degrassi Street have grown into teenagers attending Degrassi Jr. High [original title], where they face the facts and problems typical to people their age,” according to the Degrassi High IMDB summary.
Mistysyn, Ioannou, Charlesworth, and much of the original cast stayed on the show, but donned new character names in this iteration.
In 2001, the show rebranded again, to Degrassi: Next Generation. This is the version that brought us a pre-rap career Drake, known then as Aubrey Graham, as “Wheelchair” Jimmy Brooks.
Around 2010, I remember the show dropping “Next Generation,” and going simply by Degrassi, as seen below - but IMDB is telling me otherwise and I concede.
The show had ANOTHER rebrand in 2016, to Degrassi: Next Class - this version of the show only lasted a few seasons, but it was a great building block in the careers of Sara Waisglass, Chelsea Clark, and Spencer Macpherson, among its other stars.
The Toronto studio where many seasons of Degrassi was filmed, was all but a functioning school - with a maze of with hallways, classrooms, and locker bays making up the set.
Casting by: Stephanie Gorin / Larissa Mair / Krisha Bullock / Millie Tom / Nicole Hamilton
With: Krista Fraser / Sheena Clowater / Kathleen Howell / Rebecca Moran / Karen Williams-Posival / Janice Mendes / Jen Smardenkas