Still Standing (Canadian TV series)

Still Standing is a Canadian television series, which premiered on CBC in summer 2015.[1] The show's tagline slogan is "towns that are against the ropes but still hanging in there",[2] reflecting the show's premise to tell the "story of small towns in Canada and how they overcome struggles".[3]

Still Standing
Genre	Comedy/Reality
Directed by	Sebastian Cluer
Starring	Jonny Harris
Country of origin	Canada
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	65
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jeff Peeler, Catherine Legge, Jamie Brown
Producer(s)	Jonny Harris and Sebastian Cluer
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Frantic Films
Release
Original network	CBC Television
Original release	June 23, 2015 – present
External links
Website

A hybrid comedy/reality series, the program features actor and comedian Jonny Harris. In each episode, Harris travels to small Canadian communities which are financially struggling but "still standing" and spends time getting to know the residents and their lifestyles. At the end of the trip, Harris performs a stand-up comedy show for the town's residents, into which he integrates some of his newfound insights about life in their community.[1] In the television format, however, clips from the comedy show are interspersed throughout the episode rather than occurring specifically at the end. The show is produced by Frantic Films.[4]

The show premiered on June 23, 2015, with an episode set in Bamfield, British Columbia.[1] The producers are filming for season 6.[lower-alpha 1]

Filming

To be considered for a show, a community must submit a proposal to the show's producers, who then select a subset of those proposals for inclusion in that season's programming.[6] The order of filming is independent of the order of episode broadcasting.[lower-alpha 2] Filming occurs during the three hiatuses in the filming of Murdoch Mysteries, in which Harris is part of the main cast.[7]

A producer visits the town before the filming crew arrives to become familiar with the community.[7] The crew then spends five days in the community, the first four of which are spent filming scenery and conducting interviews.[8] Most of the segments are planned in advance, including Harris interviewing local individuals.[9] The filming schedule is flexible to allow the crew to film events "on the fly".[9] The crew consists of 10 to 16 members who are billeted during the filming.[10][8]

Comedy show

The visit culminates in a comedy performance by Harris at a local venue on the fifth day.[11][8] The event is free to attend on a first come, first served basis, and features performances by other stand-up comics.[11][10] In the show, Harris discusses the residents, and the community's difficulties and response to those difficulties.[1] Harris said he was "worried that they (local residents) might be apprehensive" about the show and its subject, but found that instead "they were laid back".[1] He stated that "people are not overly sensitive, and are just up for the laugh".[1]

The stand-up routine typically includes inside jokes that may not be included in the episode that is broadcast.[10]

Reception

Television critic John Doyle, writing in The Globe and Mail, stated that Harris is "extremely good at connecting with the local people".[2]

Awards

Canadian Screen Awards

Year	Category	Nominee	Result	Reference
2016	Best factual program or series	Still Standing	Won	[12]
	Best host in a lifestyle, talk or entertainment news program or series	Jonny Harris	Nominated
	Best editing in a factual program or series	Jorge Parra, Robert Kew and Tony Coleman (episode: Buxton)
	Best writing in a factual program or series	Jonny Harris, Chuck Byrn and Nile Séguin (episode: Buxton)
2017	Best factual program or series	Still Standing	Won	[13]
	Best host in a lifestyle, talk or entertainment news program or series	Jonny Harris
	Best direction in a documentary or factual series	Sebastian Cluer (episode: Vanastra)	Nominated
	Best writing in a factual program or series	Jonny Harris, Fraser Young and Steve Dylan (episode: Vanastra)	Won
2018	Best editing in a factual program or series	Jorge Parra (episode: Manitou Beach)	Nominated
	Best writing in a factual program or series	Jonny Harris, Fraser Young, Steve Dylan and Graham Chittenden (episode: Fort McMurray)	Won	[12]
2019	Best factual program or series	Still Standing	Nominated
	Best host in a program or series	Jonny Harris	Won
	Best editorial research	Maya Bilbao (episode: Carcross)	Nominated
	Best writing in a factual program or series	Jonny Harris, Fraser Young, Steve Dylan and Graham Chittenden (episode: Carcross)	Won

Series overview

Series		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired	Network
	1	13		23 June 2015 (2015-06-23)	29 September 2015 (2015-09-29)	CBC
	2	13		15 June 2016 (2016-06-15)	20 September 2016 (2016-09-20)
	3	13		27 June 2017 (2017-06-27)	12 September 2017 (2017-09-12)
	4	13		18 September 2018 (2018-09-18)	11 December 2018 (2018-12-11)
	5	13		17 September 2019 (2019-09-17)	10 December 2019 (2019-12-10)
	6	TBA		()	()

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

No. overall	No. in season	Location	Original air date
1	1	Bamfield, British Columbia	23 June 2015 (2015-06-23)
2	2	Coleman, Alberta	30 June 2015 (2015-06-30)
3	3	Souris, Prince Edward Island	7 July 2015 (2015-07-07)
4	4	Willow Bunch, Saskatchewan	28 July 2015 (2015-07-28)
5	5	Berwick, Nova Scotia	4 August 2015 (2015-08-04)
6	6	Oil Springs, Ontario	11 August 2015 (2015-08-11)
7	7	Lytton, British Columbia	18 August 2015 (2015-08-18)
8	8	Manitou, Manitoba	25 August 2015 (2015-08-25)
9	9	Wawa, Ontario	1 September 2015 (2015-09-01)
10	10	Teeswater, Ontario	8 September 2015 (2015-09-08)
11	11	Rowley, Alberta	15 September 2015 (2015-09-15)
12	12	North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario	22 September 2015 (2015-09-22)
13	13	Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador	29 September 2015 (2015-09-29)

Season 2 (2016)

No. overall	No. in season	Location	Original air date
14	1	Skidegate, British Columbia	15 June 2016 (2016-06-15)
15	2	Vanastra, Ontario	21 June 2016 (2016-06-21)
16	3	Georgetown, Prince Edward Island	28 June 2016 (2016-06-28)
17	4	Fort Coulonge, Quebec	5 July 2016 (2016-07-05)
18	5	Telkwa, British Columbia	12 June 2016 (2016-06-12)
19	6	Eganville, Ontario	19 July 2016 (2016-07-19)
20	7	McAdam, New Brunswick	26 July 2016 (2016-07-26)
21	8	Inuvik, Northwest Territories	2 August 2016 (2016-08-02)
22	9	Omemee, Ontario	24 August 2016 (2016-08-24)
23	10	Stanstead, Quebec	30 August 2016 (2016-08-30)
24	11	Mabou, Nova Scotia	8 September 2016 (2016-09-08)
25	12	Pilot Mound, Manitoba	13 September 2016 (2016-09-13)
26	13	Maple Creek, Saskatchewan	20 September 2016 (2016-09-20)

Season 3 (2017)

No. overall	No. in season	Location	Original air date
27	1	Fort McMurray, Alberta	27 June 2017 (2017-06-27)
28	2	Bell Island, Newfoundland and Labrador	27 June 2017 (2017-06-27)
29	3	Manitou Beach, Saskatchewan	4 July 2017 (2017-07-04)
30	4	Mattawa, Ontario	11 July 2017 (2017-07-11)
31	5	Edgerton, Alberta	18 July 2017 (2017-07-18)
32	6	Avondale, Newfoundland and Labrador	25 July 2017 (2017-07-25)
33	7	Lake Cowichan, British Columbia	1 August 2017 (2017-08-01)
34	8	Reston, Manitoba	8 August 2017 (2017-08-08)
35	9	Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia	15 August 2017 (2017-08-15)
36	10	Norwood, Ontario	22 August 2017 (2017-08-22)
37	11	Vulcan, Alberta	29 August 2017 (2017-08-29)
38	12	Gilbert Plains, Manitoba	5 September 2017 (2017-09-05)
39	13	South River, Ontario	12 September 2017 (2017-09-12)

Season 4 (2018)

No. overall	No. in season	Location	Original air date
40	1	Tignish, Prince Edward Island	18 September 2018 (2018-09-18)
41	2	Carcross, Yukon	25 September 2018 (2018-09-25)
42	3	Rogersville, New Brunswick	2 October 2018 (2018-10-02)
43	4	Fraser Lake, British Columbia	9 September 2018 (2018-09-09)
44	5	Cobalt, Ontario	16 October 2018 (2018-10-16)
45	6	New Denmark, New Brunswick	23 October 2018 (2018-10-23)
46	7	Wilberforce, Ontario	30 October 2018 (2018-10-30)
47	8	Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Ontario	6 November 2018 (2018-11-06)
48	9	Huntingdon, Quebec	13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)
49	10	Radisson, Saskatchewan	20 November 2018 (2018-11-20)
50	11	Canso, Nova Scotia	27 November 2018 (2018-11-27)
51	12	Minto, Manitoba	4 December 2018 (2018-12-04)
52	13	Wells, British Columbia	11 December 2018 (2018-12-11)

Season 5 (2019)

No. overall	No. in season	Location	Original air date
53	1	Campobello Island, New Brunswick	17 September 2019 (2019-09-17)
54	2	Schreiber, Ontario	24 September 2019 (2019-09-24)
55	3	Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia	1 October 2019 (2019-10-01)
56	4	East Preston, Nova Scotia	8 September 2019 (2019-09-08)
57	5	Churchill, Manitoba	15 October 2019 (2019-10-15)
58	6	Fortune, Newfoundland and Labrador	22 October 2019 (2019-10-22)
59	7	Nipigon, Ontario	29 October 2019 (2019-10-29)
60	8	Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador	5 November 2019 (2019-11-05)
61	9	Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan	12 November 2019 (2019-11-12)
62	10	Bristol, Quebec	19 November 2019 (2019-11-19)
63	11	Lumby, British Columbia	26 November 2019 (2019-11-26)
64	12	Calabogie, Ontario	3 December 2019 (2019-12-03)
65	13	Siksika Nation, Alberta	10 December 2019 (2019-12-10)

Season 6 (2020)

No. overall	No. in season	Location	Original air date
TBA	TBA	Rankin Inlet, Nunavut[5]	TBA
TBA	TBA	Vittoria, Ontario[14]	TBA
TBA	TBA	Lillooet, British Columbia[8]	TBA

References

1. Hank, Melissa (2015-07-22). "Murdoch Mysteries' Jonny Harris hosts new show Still Standing". Postmedia News. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
2. Doyle, John (2015-07-07). "CBC's Still Standing gets laughs in small-town Canada". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
3. "CBC showcasing Tignish Tuesday". The Journal Pioneer. 2018-09-15. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
4. Grignon, Denis (2015-09-28). "Jonny Harris juggles acting and standup in CBC shows". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
5. Harris, Jonny (2019-09-17). "5 true things about Canada that Jonny Harris has learned from making Still Standing". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
6. Law, Melanie (2018-12-06). "Wells, B.C. features in CBC series Still Standing". Quesnel Observer. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
7. Arsenault, Tim (2018-09-17). "Comedy show Still Standing visits Tignish P.E.I. and Canso". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
8. "Still Standing coming to Lillooet". Bridge River Lillooet News. 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
9. "Lumby featured on CBC show Still Standing". 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
10. "Radisson 'still standing' as CBC film crew rolls into town". Clark's Crossing Gazette. 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
11. Smith, Jennifer (2019-01-14). "CBC filming in Lumby this week". Vernon Morningstar. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
12. Jackson, Lura (2018-08-22). "Award-Winning CBC comedy show to film in Campobello". The Calais Advertiser. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
13. Furdyk, Brent (2017-03-12). "2017 Canadian Screen Awards: And the winners are..." ET Canada. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
14. "CBC's Still Standing to be filmed in Vittoria". Norfolk Today. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2019-11-15.

Notes

1. In an article published by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Harris states that an episode featuring Rankin Inlet, Nunavut will be broadcast as part of Season 6 in 2020.[5]
2. For example, the town of Wells, British Columbia was the first community filmed for Season 4, but was the last broadcast of that season.[6]

External links

• Official website