Trailer Park Boys an Unconventional Success

N.S. FILM DEVELOPMENT CORP.--Trailer Park Boys an Unconventional Success

How did a locally produced, low-budget film emerge as one of Canada's hottest comedy series? Perseverance, humour and a commitment to the unconventional.

When Dartmouth director Mike Clattenburg screened his film Trailer Park Boys at the Atlantic Film Festival in 1999, it became an instant favourite with audiences.

Clattenburg had relied on his old high school buddies, John Paul Tremblay and Robb Wells, to play the key roles of Julian and Ricky, two guys who live in a trailer park and are always planning the big score that will let them retire before they turn 35.

Veteran producer/actor Barrie Dunn, who was among the film's fans, saw even greater possibilities. He approached Clattenburg and suggested that the film be developed into a television series.

Before long, Clattenburg and Dunn were joined in the project by Mike Volpe -- lawyer, producer and owner of Topsail Entertainment, the company behind such shows as Black Harbour and The Bette Show.

It was a partnership that would change the way Canadian television is created.

"Our initial concern was how television broadcasters would react to the show," says Dunn, who also helps write the show and stars in the series as Ricky's dad, Ray. "The mockumentary style, which is not done a lot, and some of the language and stories may have put some people off."

In the end, however, it was that very style --coupled with the comedic and improvisational abilities of the cast -- that attracted an audience.

"The Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation was approached in the early days of Trailer Park Boys," says Ann MacKenzie, CEO of the corporation. "We are pleased to have been able to provide the support necessary to get this highly successful Nova Scotia production off the ground."

Volpe, executive producer of the series, says the team was concerned the series might end after the first season. "But the fans keep coming back for more. At its zany heart, Trailer Park Boys is really about friendship and loyalty -- I think these are values that everyone can appreciate."

A growing number of fans agree. In fact, Trailer Park Boys has reached cult status in Canada after only 21 episodes over three seasons on Showcase. "The boys" -- who now also include fan favourite Mike Smith as Bubbles -- tour with bands like Our Lady Peace and appeared on the cover of Maclean's magazine this year.

Soon viewers south of the border will also be getting a taste of the trailer park's humour. BBC America will begin airing the first season of Trailer Park Boys in the United States on Thursday, April 15.

And talk of a major feature film continues to attract international attention thanks, in part, to the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation which recommended the show to a representative of Endeavour, a large Los Angeles-based talent agency, who was in Nova Scotia scouting another project.

Not bad for a hit show that began as a locally produced, low- budget film.