New TV series a ‘love letter’ to Hamilton
Published January 14, 2021 at 11:12 am
A new TV series is launching in the spring of 2021 and it screams Hamilton louder than the pullover Tiger-Cats Starter jacket you’ve had since 1994.
Local comedians Mike Mitchell and Tim Ford star in the new series that takes place in a fictional Hamilton record store.
This is The Thing, or TITT, is about two employees, Mike and Tim, who are in their mid-30s and looking for fame—one as a comedian and the other as a Youtuber.
“It’s about these two guys chasing their dreams in Hamilton, and every episode features a musical or comedic performance,” said show creator, Mike Mitchell. “It’s pretty much a love letter to the city.”
The show’s first trailer establishes the setting rather quickly with gritty shots of the city and a song about former Toronto Argonaut, Pinball Clemons “coaching the wrong team.”
“I had been trying to figure out an idea I had to feature comedy and music in a show but wasn’t sure how or where to even pitch it, and who would be interested,” said Mitchell, who is Hamilton-born and bred.
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In the spring of 2020, Mitchell saw a post in a Facebook group called Lights, Camera, Hamilton saying Bell Media was accepting pitches for locally-focused shows.
“I emailed them immediately and started pre-production immediately just in case we got greenlit.”
Mitchell got the go-ahead in July 2020 and hit the ground running… when COVID restrictions didn’t get in the way.
The show features a plethora of local artists, including musicians The Dirty Nil, The Redhill Valleys, B.A. Johnston, Terra Lightfoot, and Sam Coffey and the Iron Lungs.
“One of the best things about Hamilton is that everyone in the arts communities is acutely aware of what everyone else is doing and want to be supportive of each other,” said Mitchell.
“With comedians, especially in Hamilton, there’s a lot of paying it forward and helping each other out. I wouldn’t have done half the things I’ve done in comedy if not for the help of some of the comics in the show, so when the opportunity came up to put them in a show, it was a no-brainer.”
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Even Ed The Sock makes an appearance.
“We also have some sweet partnerships with Makeupworx, Relay Coffee, Clifford Brewery, Levity Comedy Club, Sunrise Records, and Dine Alone Records that helped us budget-wise and allowed us to pay our friends real money for their time and expertise.”
The show will be available on television and online to Bell subscribers on Bell Fibe TV1.
Show-related content will also be released on YouTube.
“Hopefully, this thing picks up steam and we can do multiple seasons, sell it to Crave or Netflix or something, buy a condo in Burlington with the profits, get fake tans and Teslas, eventually fall back on our laurels and turn this thing into a cartoon,” concluded Mitchell.
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