Son of a Critch: The CW Acquires Hit Canadian Comedy for Summer Run

The CW‘s latest acquisition (and its fourth in two weeks) is Son of a Critch, the hit comedy from Canada’s CBC and Lionsgate Television.

Created by Mark Critch and Tim McAuliffe and based on Critch’s award-winning memoir of the same name, Son of a Critch tells “the hilarious and very real story of a young Mark coming of age in the 1980s.”

The series is said to offer “a heartfelt window in the life of a child — who is much older inside than his 11 years — using comedy and self-deprecation to win friends and connect with the small collection of people in his limited world.”

The cast includes Critch as his father Mike, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (The Haunting of Bly Manor) as Young Mark, Claire Rankin (Stargate: Atlantis) as Mark’s mother Mary, Sophia Powers and Mark Rivera (as classmates of Mark), Colton Gobbo (Ginny & Georgia) as Mark’s older brother, Mike Jr., and Golden Globe nominee Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) as Patrick “Pop” Critch.

A summertime Stateside premiere on The CW is being eyed.

“When I was a young kid watching American TV in the ‘80s, I never dreamed that one day my own story would be beamed back over the border,” Critch said in a statement. “Having enjoyed so many CW shows with my own family, I’m excited to invite our American friends over to ‘my house.’ Onwards!”

Son of a Critch’s premiere season, which aired in Canada over a year ago, ranked as the No. 1 scripted program on CBC in key audience demos, and since its premiere it has ranked as one of the Top 5 most-watched Canadian comedies overall. Season 2 recently finished airing up north, and the third season (ordered in late March) will be produced in association with The CW.

The CW of course is no stranger to low-cost international acquisitions, having given a U.S. home in past years to fare such as Coroner, Professionals, Leonardo, Devils and Family Law. And already this spring the network under new ownership has acquired the Canadian drama Sullivan’s Crossing, starring Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill) and Scott Patterson (Gilmore Girls); the UK supernatural thriller The Rising; the 1970s-set Aussie surf sudser Barons; and the discarded HBO Max dating show FBoy Island (for Season 3, plus an FGirl Island offshoot).