Bears on broadway: The series

A press release from Global Television

DYLAN FERGUSON

Global is proud to announce the jewel of its fall 2007 lineup, Bears on Broadway: the Series!

Based on the beloved array of CancerCare Manitoba Foundation-inspired concrete bears which have graced Winnipeg’s streets since 2005, the series will be adapted from the smash hit book Bears on Broadway: a Love Affair in Concrete.

Produced in collaboration with the city of Winnipeg Arts Council, Bears on Broadway: the Series (BoB) will be the most expensive original program Global TV has produced to date.

Arts Council executive director Gail Mathvichuk explains why allocating one half of the city’s arts fund budget to the new series was an obvious decision:

“The ‘Bears on Broadway’ represent the pinnacle of Winnipeg’s achievements artistically. Our city is famous for all the amazing, lasting contributions it has made to the Canadian art scene; from Guy Maddin to The Weakerthans, to Guy Maddin, the list just goes on and on. We believe that the drop-dead gorgeous artistry of ‘The Bears,’ which have put our city, aesthetically, on a par with Venice, should be pushed even further into the spotlight to highlight just how cutting-edge and mind-blowing Winnipeg culture really is. The TV series is a logical extension of the BoB book, as well as the recently unveiled ‘Bears’ mural on Main Street, the Inward Eye single “Bear With Me Now (Cancer’s Rough),” the spin-off concrete statue series Wolves at the Forks, and the forthcoming Pandas on Portage and Cuttlefish on Corydon.”

Using state-of-the-art computer technology, animated versions of all your favourite bears will come to life in glorious 3-D in the new series, which premiers on Sept. 29.

The bears, each with a personality as colourful and unique as its appearance, will partake in different wacky, Winnipeg-themed adventures every week. Much-loved comic Colin Mochrie will provide the voice of the tart and smarmy Loony Bear, while Canadian cinema mainstay Gordon Pinsent has been signed to play the crusty but good-hearted Bear Witness to the Changes in Our World. Other notable cast-members include Don McKellar as the untamable furry rebel Motorcycle Bear, and, making her television-series debut, local hero Anna Paquin will voice all 12 of the bears that are painted like the northern lights.

“Using arts funding money, mostly earned by raping small punk shows with the entertainment tax, we and Global have managed to assemble a truly memorable lineup of actors,” says Mathvichuk. “Later in the year, listen for cameos by Brett Butt as B. Beary Safe and Avril Lavigne as Amelia Bearheart. It’s all part of our long-term plan to increase the exposure of these ‘bear-y’ endearing characters. In the coming years, we hope to release a serial comic book adventure, Bear Squad, as well as a musical theatre production, Bears on Broadway on Broadway.”

The storyline of Bears on Broadway: the Series, which will air on all Global affiliates across Manitoba, begins with the troupe of wise-cracking ursine buddies landing on Earth from a distant star, and getting an apartment on Osborne Street. The fur flies when the unlikely roomies are forced to get along with one another, and are confronted with a dead, dreary city, which is witheringly uninspiring and plagued by a depressing, artless, disconnected small-town outlook. The bears eventually decide to set aside their differences, and work together to cheer up the disconsolate, uncultured, winter-ravaged citizens with their frozen souls and their infuriating tendency to photograph any publicly displayed eyesore over six feet tall. By the combined light of their inspiring creativity, the bears spread across Winnipeg and brighten up the city, making it a better place for everyone to live.

The plot of BoB may sound slightly familiar to many Winnipeggers — especially those who have lived here during the past two miraculous years. Is Bears on Broadway: the Series, just maybe, based on a true story? Could a group of eclectically painted concrete bears liven up a dreary city? Series produce Lyle Kewatkin had this to say:

“No. That’s the stupidest fucking thing I have ever heard.”