While many Americans believe the world’s best movies and shows come from Hollywood, they might be surprised to learn that many of their favorite shows are actually from Canada. From Trailer Park Boys (2001-2018) to You Can’t Do That on Television (1979-2004) to Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020), these are some of the best Canadian TV series ever made.
1 – Corner Gas (2004-2009)
This hilarious small-town sitcom chronicles the lives of those who live in the rural town of Dog River, like the local gas station owner. The show explores wacky scenarios that anyone who lives in a small prairie town can relate to.
2 – Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020)
A disgraced businessman, his melodramatic wife, and their two entitled adult children move into a shabby motel in the middle of nowhere after they lose their vast wealth. Forced to rebuild their lives from the ground up, the family struggles to fit in with the small-town locals and their customs.
3 – Kim’s Convenience (2016-2021)
Kim’s Convenience is a heartwarming sitcom that centers around the lives of a Korean-Canadian family who own a convenience store in Toronto. The mother of the family desperately wants to rekindle the relationship between her estranged son and his stubborn father while the family’s daughter pursues her passion for photography.
4 – Being Erica (2009-2011)
When a woman struggling to move on from her past mistakes decides to see a therapist to work through her problems, he offers her the chance of a lifetime. When she shares her regrets with the counselor, he grants her the ability to travel back in time to remedy her mistakes and change her future.
5 – Workin’ Moms (2017-2023)
This honest and insightful Canadian sitcom is about four women with vastly different personalities and lifestyles who all bond over their one shared task: motherhood. The four friends meet in a mother’s support group, discussing the challenges of raising kids as a modern, working woman in the city.
6 – Trailer Park Boys (2001-2018)
Trailer Park Boys is a hilarious mockumentary-style sitcom about three men who live in the same trailer park and put their limited wits together to concoct wacky get-rich-quick schemes that land them in trouble with the law. As they engage in wild antics, they must evade the watchful eye of their vengeful ex-trailer park manager and his sidekick.
7 – Kids in The Hall (1988-2021)
This vibrant sketch comedy series features five prominent male Canadian comedians as they put on zany sketches for their belly-laughing audience. The show features many strange and hysterical recurring characters, like the flirtatious human-chicken hybrid named Chicken Lady and a cranky man who gained pity from women because his hair was made of cabbage.
8 – Anne With an E (2017-2019)
Based on the Anne of Green Gables book series by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne with an E is a reimagining of this bright, classic tale. When a vibrant young orphan gets adopted by an aging couple to help out with farmwork, she’s disappointed to learn that the couple asked for a male child. But soon, the couple grows fond of the girl’s fiery personality and welcomes her into the family.
9 – Kenny vs Spenny (2002-2010)
This outlandish competition reality series puts two life-long best friends against each other in insane challenges to see who will emerge victorious and who will have to humiliate themselves as punishment. The two men compete in pointless, ridiculous, and comical competitions like “Who Can Wear a Dead Octopus on Their Head the Longest” and “Who Can Blow the Biggest Fart?”
10 – The Littlest Hobo (1975-1985)
The Littlest Hobo is a children’s show about a dog without an owner who wanders through different Canadian towns and assists the townspeople with various tasks, sometimes even saving lives. While many try to adopt the German Shepherd, the dog always goes off on his own at the end of each episode.
11 – 19-2 (2014-2017)
19-2 is a Canadian police procedural that begins when two officers are shot on the job, leaving one in the hospital with severe brain damage. A new cop joins the police force, where the officers contend with criminals and their own personal struggles.
12 – Son of a Critch! (2022-)
Son of a Critch! is a comedy series based on the childhood of beloved Canadian comedian Mark Critch. As the eleven-year-old comes to terms with growing up with sarcastic wit in his toolbelt, he attempts to win over his classmates and discover himself in the terrors of junior high in the ’80s.
13 – You Can’t Do That on Television (1979-2004)
This iconic sketch comedy series is what brought that goopy green slime to Nickelodeon. Teenage actors and comedians come together in each episode to poke fun at pop culture and each other.
14 – Departures (2008-2010)
Departures is an adventure travel reality series about two friends who travel the world and share their experiences abroad with their viewers. In their first episode, the men rent an RV and travel from coast to coast in Canada. Later, they travel to destinations in India, Japan, Ethiopia, Chile, and many more.
15 – Letterkenny (2016-)
Letterkenny is another small-town Canadian sitcom, but this one takes place in a farm town and centers on one family farmstand. The show explores the family’s interactions with other locals, like the other farmers and the out-of-towners who play on the local hockey team.
16 – The Red Green Show (1991-2006)
The Red Green Show is a unique crossover between a sketch comedy and a sitcom. It’s about a bumbling handyman who takes every shortcut imaginable in his work. The show also features zany characters that live in the fictional town of Possum Lake.
17 – Royal Canadian Air Farce (1993-2008)
This sketch comedy series showcases the best work of the Royal Canadian Air Farce sketch comedy troupe. Their comedy typically focused on satirizing the Canadian political scene. Some popular characters include the brain-damaged hockey player and a police officer, plus the cast often satirized political figures like the Prime Minister at the time.
18 – Rookie Blue (2010-2015)
Rookie Blue is a police procedural that follows an over-achieving cop whose father used to be a top detective until the job became too much for him to handle. With her teammates by her side, the cop works with all her might to solve crimes and separate her personal and work lives.
19 – Orphan Black (2013-2017)
This twisted drama series begins when a woman desperate for a new life stumbles upon a woman who looks exactly like her just after the woman takes her own life. The first woman steals the dead one’s identity but soon discovers that stepping into another person’s life doesn’t solve all her problems. Instead, it only introduced many more new ones.
20 – Slasher (2016-)
Thirty years after a terrifying serial killer murdered her parents, a woman moves her family back to her hometown. But the past comes back to haunt her when a series of brutal murders breaks out, and the crimes are quite similar to the past killer’s. But her parents’ murderer is in prison. So who is the killer on the loose, and how many people will die before their identity is revealed?
21 – Murdoch Mysteries (2008-)
This crime mystery series centers on the life and work of one Toronto detective who works during the 1890s and early 1900s to solve a series of murders. The detective’s unconventional methods make the more traditional officers wary, but his tenacity and intellect always persevere.
22 – Fraggle Rock (1983-1987)
Fraggle Rock is a children’s puppet series about creatures known as Fraggles who live in underground caves filled with magic. The Fraggles spend their time playing, eating, dancing, singing, and seeking advice from Marjory of the Trash Heap.
23 – Slings & Arrows (2003-2006)
This hilarious comedy series is set in a traveling Shakespearean festival that’s lost numbers in attendance over the years. As the cast and staff attempt to keep the festival in business, the big boss dies in an accident. When his replacement steps in, the staff is displeased with his efforts to turn the festival into a commercialized theme park.
24 – Due South (1994-1999)
Due South is a police procedural comedy show that follows a soft-spoken police officer from the mountains in Canada who travels south with his pet wolf to solve his father’s murder. There, he teams up with a no-nonsense cop who helps him uncover the truth about his father’s demise.
Source: Reddit
Maya (she/they) is a queer entertainment and culture journalist. They cover interviews, reviews, roundups, news, and more. She loves horror, history, and creativity. They hope their writing both entertains readers and inspires them to think critically. Her favorite pastimes include needle felting, gaming, and drawing.
