SCTV alum Dave Thomas has teamed with actor and son Harrison Thomas to develop the dark comedy The Orange for the CBC and BBC Studios.
The father-son sitcom, produced by Canada’s Project 10 Productions, follows a family that witnesses a gangland bombing and is placed by The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in a witness protection program in Rye, England. Only when they reach their new U.K. home does the family realize the Mounties have been dumping all their witnesses and informants in Rye, including Canada’s most hardened criminals who are now their next-door neighbors.
Canadian comic and actor Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis played SCTV‘s and Saturday Night Live’s beer-loving McKenzie brothers during the 1980s. Their act, which was launched to mock government mandated Canadian TV content rules, was spun off into the 1983 cult comedy Strange Brew, and that year also made the late-night transition stateside to SNL.
Dave Thomas is also known for his star-turn in Grace Under Fire. Son Harrison has TV credits that include House, Fringe, Criminal Minds, Silicon Valley, Lucifer and more recently playing Lyle on Better Call Saul.
Besides The Orange, Project 10 Productions, which recently named Shonna Foster as director of development, has another seven scripted series in development with broadcasters. That includes Apres Ski, a CBC one hour drama about a family-owned private resort from creator Kathleen Robertson (Beverly Hills 90210) and executive producer Chris Cowles (Blockers).
Project 10, based in Toronto under CEO Andrew Barnsley and specializing in scripted comedy, also produced Son of a Critch for the CBC and recently picked up by The CW for its summer schedule, and the Kids in the Hall reboot in partnership with Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video for Amazon Prime.
