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Friday 31 January 2014

Canadian version of Coronation Street coming soon?

There's a story in today's Sun, which I can't read fully as I don't subscribe to it.  The headline says that Coronation Street writers are "secretly working on scripts for a Canadian version of the show".

From The Sun: "It is expected to be launched within months — and could see the national dish of pancakes and maple syrup replace Betty’s famous hotpot as the show’s signature dish.

Corrie is screened in 60 countries worldwide but this will be only the second foreign reworking made in 50 years."

What do you think, Canadian Corrie fans?  

Post-blog edit: A Coronation Street source has told Mirror Online: "Coronation Street is already shown in Canada, so we are not remaking Corrie. However, ITV studios are helping to develop a new show, a domestic Canadian soap."
  
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30 comments:

Just Say No said...

If this story were true and writers were actually planning to change out Betty's hotpot, the "national dish" associated with Canada is poutine, not pancakes. I can total bunk! Besides, we're "too nice" (aka dull) to keep a soap afloat.

Anonymous said...

*call

Anonymous said...

A) Be grateful you don't subscribe to the Sun.
B) We, as a people, are not dull.
C). Just Say No, however, is incredibly dull.
D) It could work. Homegrown shows do well here. Only caveat would be not to centre it in Toronto or Vancouver. People are sick of these places. Bay of Fundy area would be nice. Lots of unique people in the Maritimes.

Newfy Pearl said...

#1. We had a Canadian soap bak in the early 80's called High Hopes....it did not last long.
#2. Pancakes and Maple Syrup? Who started this? I think Canada is so diverse it is impossible to have one meal be a national one. For example in Newfoundland it is Fish and Chips - or Jigg's Dinner. I imagin it is the same for every province having its own special meal.
#3. If the writers are having trouble making its regular fans happy with certain characters and storylines which stays true to form - how in the world will they do it for a culture/country they do not even live in?
Sorry but this does not excite me at all.

Newfy Pearl said...

#1. We had a Canadian soap bak in the early 80's called High Hopes....it did not last long.
#2. Pancakes and Maple Syrup? Who started this? I think Canada is so diverse it is impossible to have one meal be a national one. For example in Newfoundland it is Fish and Chips - or Jigg's Dinner. I imagin it is the same for every province having its own special meal.
#3. If the writers are having trouble making its regular fans happy with certain characters and storylines which stays true to form - how in the world will they do it for a culture/country they do not even live in?
Sorry but this does not excite me at all.

Tvor said...

We also had a Canadian soap in the 90s supposedly created and/or written by a former Coronation Street writer or producer or both, called Riverdale, it sucked too.

Anonymous said...

Please tell me this is an early April fool's joke! What a ridiculous idea!

Anonymous said...

I remember Riverdale - on and off and no audience - boring. Our prime time shows don't have a huge following either except Corner Gas a few years back-but that was more comedy than anything. A Canadian soap? Holy Mary mother of God - I hope not aye?

maggie muggins said...

Yikes. Say it ain't so! One of the reasons we Canadians watch Corrie is to seek relief from our own boring TV shows.

piedpiper67 said...

There are been attempts to do this in the past, some centered around Toronto and urban areas (i.e. Riverdale, King of Kensington), and other areas around the country. Sadly North American broadcasters have a poor track record of taking a UK show and adapting them for our audience, and the idea of a soap like Corrie on during prime time here would be buried in many other shows as to not be at all viable.

Anonymous said...

And the hypothetical, imaginary, representative, working class, northern community would be located ....where....exactly? Moosonee,Churchill, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Kitimat? How about further north? Yellowknife, Whitehorse, Iqaluit? I guess Quebec's out, since there's the problem of French being the official language. Come to think of it, if you're looking for English as the main spoken language, that let's out a lot of the north. I suppose somewhere in the Maritimes could work, but it's not a northern area. Sorry, Corrie staff. Canada's too young, too large, too thinly populated, and too ethnically diverse to focus in on one little community and try to make it representative of Canada.

Dubcek said...

poutine???? might as well be cabbage rolls or perogies or any other ethnic food found in Canada.
I live in Alberta and up to a year or so ago I had never heard of poutine, in my area it is more likely to be something from central or eastern europe.

Anonymous said...

NOOOOOOOO say it isn't so. We LIKE the UK version.

Anonymous said...

I remember watching the special episode of Heartbeat some years ago, in which Nick, the English police officer,took up his new job as a Canadian Mountie. As a Canadian, it made me cringe. It had every possible stereotype you could think of. I don't think I would watch this.

Rebecca said...

I call BS! I would totally believe that a bunch of Corrie writers went out for a few drinks after work one night and started spouting out the stupidest ideas they could come up with and this was one of them.

Pancakes and maple syrup? Please! They probably also discussed how the characters would leave their igloos every morning, hop in their dog sleds, and go trap beavers to support their families.

abbyk said...

I'm from Vermont, where pancakes and maple syrup would be the local meal, but not for lunch or at a bar (dinner/pub). Granted that cable systems in the northern half of the state do carry the CBC and some businesses accept Canadian currency at par, the Green Mountain State is definitely not part of Canada. You're all welcome to join us for pancakes any time.

As far as that too nice thing goes, there's always Justin Bieber. ;D

Unknown said...

Thought "Cheese Curds & Gravy" was oh so Canadian. Totally yummie by the way. Not sure a Canadian Version is necessary.... But who knows it might be fun...

Bal said...

Why do we need one when we already have access to a fantastic show!!! Waste of time and money. Nothing beats the real thing!

Anonymous said...

Good on ya, Flaming Nora; you certainly got the polite Canadians stepping up to the opinion table! I love Canadians!

Anonymous said...

The Mirror says ITV is looking into creating a Canadian soap set in Toronto (oh yay what a suprise), not a remake of Coronation Street, but a 'domestic soap' for Canadians.
If they had to do this, why not, as was mentioned, set it in the East Coast?
Or is it the diversity of Toronto that they think will be of interest to the majority?
Regardless, because they say such things take time to come together, maybe it will just fizzle out before it begins.

Anonymous said...

Thanks anyway Corrie but we already have a soap and it's called the have The Senate.

Dubcek said...

If they want a Canadian soap maybe they should reboot the Plouffe family, that seemed to have been fairly popular even in English Canada.

Rebecca said...

I bet it never gets off the ground. Most of us don't relate to Toronto, but you can set a show in the Prairies or the Maritimes and people across the country can relate. I bet a small blue collar town in central Canada would work too. Canadians just don't care about Toronto type problems unless they're from there.

ChiaGwen said...

No need for a new show in Canada, we already have a SOAP in the form of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and the equally moronic Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper. One reason most Canadians tune into Brit shows is that even their worst ones are superior in every way to Canadian and American TV.

Newfy Pearl said...

St. John's, Newfoundland already has a tv show based here calle d 'Republic of Doyle'. It is a great show!
And although we do have a street called Coronation Street downtown...I would say a strong no to a Coronation Street spinoff here!
I spoke to a fellow fan at work today about the notion...she was disgusted that anyone would think Pancakes and Maple Syrup would be taken seriously as pub food.
Anyway....I am finished my rant. Wow this news really put a bee in my bonnet today. lol

Just Say No said...

Well, looks like I'll have to retract my previous comment. It's clear now that Canada has enough jackasses; the nastiest of whom hide behind anonymous posts on public forums delivered in OCD-inspired lists. Well done, you must feel much better about yourself now.

PamelaKatt said...

Hmmmm ... How about Nick decides to move back to Canada and takes Gail, Leanne, Stella, Gloria, and David with him? Gets them off Corrie en masse. The spin off likely won't take but if we are lucky none of them will come back!

Anonymous said...

Riverdale was soooo boring! And it aired right after Corrie on the weekend, so the drop in quality between the two shows was really noticeable. The problem is, for a show to catch on like Corrie, it would have to air year round, like Corrie does. Here in Canada, it would get a 3 or 4 month season, and then no new episodes till the next year. You can't do a good soap like that, that's just a typical drama. And then there's the cost to factor in, which is why so many Canadian shows have short seasons with huge hiatus' between them.

Defrost Indoors said...

How about setting it in northern Ontario, the most ignored part of the country? (and also very distinct from the rest of the province) Toronto is boring, the Maritimes have been done to death (sorry guys but it's true, and besides, you all pretend to be Irish or Scottish which is also boring -- the pretending is, that is) and anyway, Canada does NOT do scripted shows well at all. Comedy, yes, Documentaries, absolutely. The rest is terrible dreck like Murdoch Mysteries which is so smug and self-consciously Canadian it makes me want to destroy my TV. Due South and Corner Gas were good, mind you.

Anonymous said...

There are already a few series based in the North; "Hard Rock Medical", "Arctic Air", and there was "North of 60".
I agree that Canada does comedy well, and documentaries. "Murdoch Mysteries" to me is cringe-worthy.
Please ITV,don't attempt to emulate Coronation Street's proven and unrivalled success in Canada.

GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!

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