By BILL HARRIS
Special to The Lede
There is much that binds together the six title superheroes in the new animated comedy series SUPER TEAM CANADA. They’re all proud Canadians, for one thing.
But their differences, their squabbling, their limitations, and their neuroses create an appropriately Canadian atmosphere, even as Breakaway (voiced by Will Arnett), Niagara Falls (Cobie Smulders), Poutine (Charles Demers), Sasquatchewan (Brian Drummond), Chinook (Ceara Morgana), and RCM-PC (Veena Sood) are tasked with saving the world.
Created by EMMY®-winning Canadian writers Robert Cohen (THE BIG BANG THEORY, SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE) and Joel H. Cohen (THE SIMPSONS), SUPER TEAM CANADA premieres Friday, May 16 on Crave, and images are available for download on The Lede. The basic setup of the show is that six decidedly mediocre superheroes – who lean heavily into Canadian stereotypes for comedic purposes – are suddenly thrust into frontline action on the global stage when all the more famous and competent superheroes are violently dispatched.
“We wanted to kind of pepper in superheroes from every corner of Canada – and, you know, we failed,” joked Joel H. Cohen, who was born and raised in Calgary, as was his brother Robert. “But as much as we could, we tried to find regions of Canada that offered us some sense of diversity and funny superpowers. Those were the things we gravitated to, but people who are in a certain province and feel like they are not offended yet, just know that we visit almost every province, and find a way to burn bridges in every corner of the country.”
Usually the spark for a series such as SUPER TEAM CANADA begins with one undeniable character. So who was that character for the Cohens?
“The first person was Breakaway, which was Will Arnett, because when Joel and I were first thinking about this, we have known Will and worked with Will, and we absolutely love him,” Robert Cohen said. “Will is one of the greatest comedic performers that we know. But there’s also his incredible sort of bluster when he’s playing this kind of character. It’s reminiscent of Adam West in BATMAN.”
That’s high praise, indeed. So with Arnett’s Breakaway installed as the starting point, the Cohens were asked if any of the other characters in SUPER TEAM CANADA developed a slightly different, or more enhanced, vibe than originally intended, presumably because of the skills of the voice actors who took on the roles.
“Well, I have two answers for that: I would say the first was definitely when we were lucky enough to get Kevin McDonald (THE KIDS IN THE HALL) to be the Prime Minister,” Robert Cohen said. “Because we had written the PM as this generic, nervous guy who has two jobs, and was always in the worst seats in the arena. But when we got Kevin, he just brought it so heavily. We just let him go. For the PM character, Kevin was beyond what we ever hoped. He really rounded it out.”
Robert Cohen continued, “and I would say the second main character that we got so lucky with was Niagara Falls. We had written her as a strong, smart female superhero that can control, you know, only ridiculously large portions of water. But when we got Cobie (Smulders), her instincts are so great. She’s an amazing improviser, and when we got her, and her voice, in the booth, she was making everybody laugh. She gets the tone, and she just goes for it. So those two, to me, were these giant lightbulb moments.”
But let’s put a different spin on it: if the Cohens could pick any of the SUPER TEAM CANADA superheroes to be their own personal bodyguards, who would they choose?
“For me, it’d be RCM-PC (a cyborg with the full name Robotic Crime Management Polite Computer), because they have everything: a hair dryer, a mini-bar, a Hibachi grill,” Joel H. Cohen said. “Just for the utility of it. I wouldn’t worry about the protection as much as the utility. I might get murdered, but I’d have a fresh-cooked steak as I did. I’d be so full and happy in heaven.”
Robert Cohen chimed in, “I would say Poutine, only because Poutine is such a jackass, and he does, in a weird way, have protective powers, by spraying cheese curds and gravy. But he’s also always sort of offended by things. So I think I’d be entertained by Poutine, just constantly being offended by things, but being equally arrogant. And if I got hungry … ”
Favourite foods aside, the Cohens have been working on these characters for quite a while, given the long lead times required for animation, so they’re very excited for Canadian viewers to finally meet SUPER TEAM CANADA.
“Of course, animation is incredibly difficult, and it’s a lot of work, but I would crank the needle towards fun,” Joel H. Cohen said. “It also offers a ton of flexibility, because you’re creating everything, visually as well as audibly. So anything you can think of, you can do. The budget is the same if you’re on the moon, or you’re in a warehouse. So I like the freedom of it. There’s fun in the freedom.”
@billharris_tv
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