EXCLUSIVE: Anthony Q. Farrellwho was among the writers of the NBC sitcom Officewas cast as showrunner for season 2 of Radio Canada the comedy Run the Burbs.
Farrell, who recently received the Writers Guild of Canada’s 2022 Showrunner Award, will replace season one showrunner Shebli Zarghami on the show, which was officially renewed earlier this month as part of the 2022 slate/ 23 of CBC.
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Co-created by star Andrew Phung (Kim’s Convenience) and Scott Townend (The Secret Marathon), the film produced by Pier 21 Films Run the Burbs follows the Phams, a young Vietnamese-South Asian-Canadian family who challenge ideas about contemporary family values and suburban life.
“I’m really looking forward to immersing myself in the world that Andrew and Scott have created. The potential for cultural representation on Run the Burbs is amazing,” Farrell said. “They did a magnificent job setting up the Phams and their neighbors in season one, and we plan to build on that base in season two. They’re a family like no other on television and I’m very proud to help bring their stories to life.
Farrell recently presented the Super Channel sister sitcoms The Parkers Andersons and Amelie Parker and sci-fi comedy Overlord and the Undergrowth, which was for the CBC Gem streaming service and will soon be available on Hulu. It follows a typical North American family whose lives change drastically when Overlord, a distant relative, arrives from another galaxy.
Last week it was announced that Farrell had created a single-camera workplace comedy shelved for CTV, centered on the lives of employees and patrons of the Jameson Public Library in Parkdale.
He has been a strong advocate for various writers and started a funded Showrunner bootcamp for mid-level writers in Canada through BIPOC TV & Film, while working on two other projects.
Farrell also worked on the CBBC series The secret life of the boys, which he also created. He wrote several episodes of Officeand wrote on CBC Little mosque on the prairie and Nickelodeon The Thundermans.
Run the Burbs CBC Commissioner this week at the Banff World Media Festival separately unveiled the Catalyst CBC-BIPOC TV & Film Showrunner to help writers who identify as Indigenous, Black or People of Color advance in their careers. Over the weekend, CBC CEO Catherine Tait spoke about the public broadcaster’s approach to diverse content in an exclusive meeting with Deadline.
Farrell is represented by Sheree Guitar at SGE and Dave Ritchie at Ambition Talent.
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