Fill ‘r’ Up With Laughs At Corner Gas, CTV’s First Narrative Comedy Series, Premiering Jan. 22

Forty kilometres from nowhere and way beyond normal is Corner Gas, CTV’s new 13-part, ensemble comedy series about a bunch of nobodies who get up to a whole lot of nothing in the fictional prairie town of Dog River, Saskatchewan.

Starring Saskatchewan native and Gemini nominee Brent Butt, Corner Gas is a roadside service station that also shares its name with CTV’s first original narrative comedy series. The only primetime network series to be shot entirely in Saskatchewan, Corner Gas will air Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET premiering January 22 on CTV (check local listings). The multi-million dollar production co-stars fellow Saskatchewan natives and Gemini winners Eric Peterson (Trudeau) and Janet Wright (The Perfect Storm).

Brent Butt stars in Corner Gas

Corner Gas focuses on the life (or lack thereof) of Brent LeRoy, proprietor of a gas station that is the only stop for miles around and a hub of action on the Prairies. As LeRoy, Canadian Comedy Award winner and series creator Brent Butt returns to his native province to portray the life he would have led had he gotten a real job: pumping gas in a small prairie town.

Dog River is a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Populated by a group of regular folks, the town’s many “distinguished” residents include Brent’s parents Oscar and Emma (Eric Peterson and Janet Wright), coffee shop owner Lacey Burrows (Gemini nominee Gabrielle Miller), his best friend Hank Yarbo (Fred Ewanuick), police officers Davis Quinton (Lorne Cardinal) and Karen Pelly (New Waterford Girl’s Tara Spencer-Nairn) and retail assistant Wanda (Nancy Robertson). The series features guest stars including Kevin MacDonald (Kids in the Hall), Mike Wilmot, Peter Oldring and Julie Stewart with cameos by Pamela Wallin, Colin Mochrie, Dan Matheson, Darren Dutchyshen, Jennifer Hedger and the Canadian Idol judges.

“With genuine characters and a gentle pace, Corner Gas is a comedy that is instantly likeable,” said Susanne Boyce, CTV’s President of Programming and Chair of the Media Group. “Brent Butt is one of Canada’s most respected and funniest comedians for a reason: he has broad appeal and a generous comedic approach.”

Originally from Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Brent Butt has shared his love of small town prairie life with audiences around the world. He is a Gemini Award nominee for “Best Comedy Performance” for his CTV/Comedy Network Comedy Now! special and is the winner of the “Best Male Stand-Up” award at the 2001 Canadian Comedy Awards.

A regular at Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival, Butt was selected to represent Canada on the World Comedy Tour that aired on The Comedy Network, Comedy Central and Australia’s comedychannel. He has also been seen on A&E, HBO and CBC.

Boasting an award winning creative team, Corner Gas features directors David Storey (The Seán Cullen Show; Blackfly) and Henry Sarwer-Foner (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) along with Robert de Lint (Incredible Story Studio), Mark Farrell and Rob King (Just Cause). Writers are Brent Butt, Mark Farrell (Made in Canada), Paul Mather (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), Andrew Carr, Chris Finn and Iain Maclean. Supervising Producer is Mark Farrell. Producers are Virginia Thompson (Incredible Story Studio, renegadepress.com) and David Storey. Executive Producers are Brent Butt, David Storey and Virginia Thompson.

Corner Gas is complemented with a sophisticated and quirky Web site, www.cornergas.com, in which viewers can step into the series, become virtual residents of Dog River, and participate in an adaptive, 3-D, online community. The Web site is designed with three principles in mind: – fame, fortune and power. Visitors seeking fame can win a guest appearance on the show; those seeking power can become mayor of the Dog River online community; and those seeking money can win a piece of Saskatchewan… in the illustrious town of Climax.

Corner Gas was filmed at Regina’s new Canada/Saskatchewan Production Studios and on location in Rouleau, Saskatchewan.

Corner Gas was produced in association with CTV by Prairie Pants Productions, comprised of Virginia Thompson of Vérité Films (Incredible Story Studio) and 335 Productions, a partnership of Brent Butt and David Storey. Corner Gas was produced with the support of the Groundbreaker Fund, a strand of the BCE-CTV Benefits Package. The Corner Gas Web site is produced by Calgary’s White Iron Communications.