You love Funnyman Andrew Phung from Kim’s Convenience and fans will be delighted to see him back on his own new Series, RUN THE BURBS premiering on CBC and CBC Gem!
The energetic Series follows the Pham family, or Phamily if you will, as they relocate to the suburbs, eager to settle-in and be accepted. Over thirteen episodes at 30 minutes each, we follow the antics and lessons learned by Andrew, Camille (Rakhee Morzaria), Khia (Zoriah Wong) and Leo (Roman Pesino) as they adapt to their new locale.
We had the joy of chatting with Co-Creators (and best friends) Scott Townend and Phung, plus breakout star Morzaria about their exciting new Series.
“I was in Calgary filming a Movie, and Scott and I were hanging out eating Pizza and I pitched him this idea about a show set in the suburbs and a family that loved each other. And literally a week before, I was in Montreal with Rakhee. We were at Just for Laughs and we were at a CBC event, and we met-up with Bill Lundy at Pier 21 and he said, ‘I would love to get a pitch Andrew from you about your show”, so it all came together!”, says Phung. “Scott and I took December 2019 to develop the show and brought it to Pier 21 in January and by March we were in-development by CBC“.
“We grew-up in the suburbs and it’s always been portrayed as very dull and boring. We wanted to show the life of the suburbs and energy. Two we wanted to show a family with the modern values of today but we’re old school in how we love each other in how they were so big and extra and energetic. We wanted to see a show about a family who take on the world together as opposed to fighting with each other.”.
See the full Chat:
RUN THE BURBS premieres Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 8:30 PM on CBC and will be available on CBC Gem.
(Photo/video credit: CBC)
Call it a homecoming! The Cast and Crew behind LITTLE ITALY brought it all back home for a festive bash at Scotiabank Theatre tonight in Toronto! The Romantic-Comedy directed by Donald Petrie (Miss Congeniality, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) took over the City last summer and Torontonians have been excited to see this pizza delivered!
Attending the event were Petrie himself and the Film’s stars, Emma Roberts, Hayden Christensen, Andrea Martin, Danny Aiello, Jane Seymour, Andrew Phung, Cristina Rosato, Vas Saranga, Linda Kash, Ava Preston and Nicky Cappella. Producer Vinay Virmani (also a Co-Writer) also was in attendance, as was 6Dad Norm Kelly, Olympian Donovan Bailey and Jaleel White, known best for his iconic role as Steve Urkel in ABC Series Family Matters.
Little Italy centers on a couple who must deal with their feuding, pizza restauranteur families. The Film was show and is set in Toronto.
Our Team had the pleasure of being a part of the fun and in ways it was like seeing a nephew or niece grow-up. We had the joy of visiting the set last summer and it was a blast. We even shared pizza with Roberts! More here.
We ask Director Donald Petrie what makes Little Italy‘s love story so great. He tells us, “This isn’t a singular love story. A lot of the audience are gonna look at the poster and go ‘I know the ending! These two get together!’. And they’re right, they do! But there are a lot of surprise love stories along the way that they don’t know. It’s all about the journey and that’s what makes Little Italy great”.
Emma Roberts
Hayden Christensen with Roberts and also his Nonna
Jane Seymour
Vinay Virmani
Nicky Romero x Ava Preston (they play the younger versions of Christensen x Roberts)
Danny Aiello
Amrit Kaur
Andrew Phung
For advertising opportunites please contact mrwill@mrwillwong.com