May 08, 2007 03:48 PM
Lee-Anne Goodman
canadian press
French broadcasting giant Canal Plus has inked a deal to distribute Canada's Little Mosque on the Prairie, attracted not so much by the show's comedy, but by its message of racial tolerance.
Canal Plus, a premium pay-TV channel, is so enthralled with the way the show breaks down cultural stereotypes that it plans to air it unscrambled to entice non-subscribers to watch it, Mary Darling of Westwind Pictures, the Toronto-based company that produces Little Mosque, said Tuesday.
"They really feel that, given all of the difficulties that France has had in the past year with diversity issues, that they want as many people to see the show as possible," she said.
The show, to be dubbed by French actors, will begin airing in July in France and in French-speaking regions in Switzerland and Africa.
Canal Plus also has an option to acquire future seasons of the show, which is currently in production for its second season. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
It's the first international distribution deal for the show, but Darling says more are in the works.
"All of the Nordic countries are hanging fruit right now; they're very interested and we're in the midst of negotiating with those countries. The U.S. is also in that same mode. I'm not sure what channel it's going to end up on yet, but we are talking to several channels," she said.
Little Mosque on the Prairie is the brainchild of Muslim filmmaker Zarqa Nawaz and tells the story of devout Muslims living on a small Canadian prairie town. The show's humour is derived mostly from the interactions of the Muslim characters with the occasionally ignorant townsfolk.
Little Mosque was a bona fide prime-time saviour for the CBC this year.
The show attracted an average 1.2 million viewers for its eight-episode season – quite an accomplishment given that Little Mosque was rushed to air in January after CBC brass decided to capitalize on the worldwide buzz about the sitcom and premiere it then instead of waiting until the fall.
The gamble paid off: the show's debut in early January pulled in almost 2.2 million viewers, a record for a series premiere for the CBC.
Darling says as she shopped the show at the annual MIPTV television trade show in April in Cannes, broadcasters were most intrigued by its message.
"When people came in the booth and sat down to talk to us, the first sentence wasn't: 'Hey, hilarious show, love the jokes, what a laugh,"' Darling recounted. "Instead, it was viewed as a show that's needed beyond comic relief. People are looking at it to break down barriers, build bridges, create understanding, and find a voice for people who are unheard or unrepresented."
Darling had high praise for the public broadcaster and its role in the success of the show.
"The CBC always takes a lot of crap for not promoting their shows, for not doing what people think they should be doing, but we've really had a great experience with them," Darling said. ``They promoted the heck out of the show, and they really kept us in the loop on the promotion so we were able to participate and give our own two cents' worth."
"It's a real Canadian success story."
Kirstine Layfield, executive director of network programming for CBC-TV, was instrumental in the promotion and success of the show, Darling added.
Layfield said Tuesday the international success of the show "is a testament to the quality of Canadian talent and how it is embraced around the world."
CBC Television's hit show ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'' is set to debut in France, Switzerland, and French-speaking African countries.

The show, which is owned by WestWind Pictures, is a comedy about a Muslim family living in Canada's Prairies, in a largely Muslim populated fictional town called Mercy, Saskatchewan. It deals with day-to-day life between the North American culture and Muslim culture and has been featured around the world with reviews from ''The New York Times'' to ''The Daily Telegraph.''

French television company Canal+ Group will distribute the show's first season in July to non-subscribers of Canal+, a channel which viewers must subscribe to watch. French voice-actors will dub the show in all three regions' local French dialect.

"Little Mosque On The Prairie's international success is a testament to the quality of Canadian talent and how it is embraced around the world," said Kirstine Layfield, executive director of network programming with CBC Television.

Mary Darling of Westwind Pictures said the show creates a good understanding between both cultures.

"When people came in the booth and sat down to talk to us, the first sentence wasn't: 'Hey, hilarious show, love the jokes, what a laugh.' Instead, it was viewed as a show that's needed beyond comic relief. People are looking at it to break down barriers, build bridges, create understanding, and find a voice for people who are unheard or unrepresented," Darling said.

The series premiere gained 2.1 million viewers; it gained an average of 1.2 million viewers for the first season. The second season is already in filming and is set to air this fall.