''Call Me Fitz'' is a Canadian television series produced by

E1 Entertainment E1, E01, E.I or E-1 may refer to: Transportation Aircraft * Azcárate O-E-1, Azcárate E-1, a Mexican sesquiplane trainer * Fokker E.I, a German fighter aircraft * Grumman E-1 Tracer, an American airborne early warning aircraft * Hydra Technolog ...

, Amaze Film & Television, and Big Motion Pictures. The half-hour comedy stars Jason Priestley as Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick, a

morally bankrupt Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

used-car salesman whose consequence-free life is complicated by the arrival of do-gooder Larry (

Ernie Grunwald Ernie Grunwald (born 1970) is a Canadian actor who has made guest appearances in a number of notable television series. Career Grunwald has had recurring roles on '' One on One'', ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' (as Mr. Forgess), and '' Two ...

), another salesman who claims he is Fitz's conscience. The series is co-produced by

Movie Central Movie Central (occasionally abbreviated as "MC", mostly in program guides) was a Canadian English language Category A premium cable and satellite television channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment. Movie Central was designated to operate ...

(western Canada) and The Movie Network (central/eastern Canada), for airing on those two channels and their jointly owned channel HBO Canada (Canada wide). The first thirteen-episode season of the show premiered on HBO Canada in September 2010, with subsequent seasons premiering in September 2011, 2012, and October 2013. The series was filmed in

New Minas New Minas is a village located in the eastern part of Kings County in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. As of 2011, the population was 5,135. Geography New Minas borders the town of Kentville to the west and the unincorporated community of Greenwi ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Synopsis

The show stars Priestley as Richard Fitzpatrick, a used-car salesman walking a fine line of acceptable behaviour on the lot alongside a new salesman, do-gooder Larry, who claims to be the embodiment of his conscience. Fitz's idealisation of

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

and his dysfunctional family have shaped him into the cocksure anti-hero he is proud to be. Fitz's ambition is to get out of 'slinging tin' at his family's used car dealership and open his own lounge, the Summerwind. In the meantime, he is content to make the Duncan Underwood Inn his watering hole. Fitz does not like the Ruptal cousins, whom he refers to as "9" and "11", and their used-car dealership across the street from Fitzpatrick Motors. Fitz hits rock bottom when he crashes a GT while on a test drive and the customer ends up in a coma. Fitz meets Ali while in jail and at first believes her to be his lawyer until she says "mom", referring to Fitz's customer in the coma. In an attempt to avoid a pending attempted vehicular manslaughter charge Fitz decides to marry Babs, who comes out of her coma just in time to get married. Ali admits her attraction to Fitz after her mother tells him she wants a divorce and while they are making out in her car Ali accidentally steps on the accelerator and drives into and kills her mother. In season two Fitz's attempts to open the Summerwind are thwarted by city council and Fitz is the prime suspect in the disappearance and suspected homicide of Sonja. Fitz decides to run for city council in season three. The news that Ali is pregnant with his baby does little to inspire Fitz to change his ways. Through an unfortunate series of mishaps Fitz ends up as mayor of Coverton. Fitz's rampant promiscuity is matched only by his corruption, which eventually lands him in prison. Fitz breaks out of prison just as Ali goes into labour. With Ali having abandoned their son Fitz is left struggling with the challenges of being a single father in season four. In an interview with

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

Jason Priestley described the show as "booze, blow and broads or Sunday night at

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...

's house."

Cast

* Jason Priestley as Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick *

as Larry *

Peter MacNeill Peter MacNeill is a Canadian film and television actor and voice-over artist who has starred in numerous television series and films. His film credits have included '' The Hanging Garden'' (for which MacNeill won a Genie Award for Best Support ...

as Ken Fitzpatrick * Joanna Cassidy as Elaine Fitzpatrick (recurring seasons 1–3, regular season 4) *

Kathleen Munroe Kathleen Munroe (born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actress and wig maker. Munroe was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and currently resides in Los Angeles. She studied cinema at the University of Toronto. She won the 2010 ACTRA Award for Outstanding F ...

as Ali Devon *

Tracy Dawson Tracy Dawson is a Canadian actress, comedian and writer. She is best known for her role as Meghan Fitzpatrick in ''Call Me Fitz'', for which she won the Gemini Award for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series or Program at the 2011 Gemini Awards. Sh ...

as Meghan Fitzpatrick * Donavon Stinson as Josh McTaggart *

Brooke Nevin Brooke Candice Nevin (born December 22, 1982) is a Canadian actress, best known for portraying Rachel on the science fiction series ''Animorphs'' (1998–1999) and as Julianne "Jules" Simms (2011–2012) on '' Breakout Kings''. She also played S ...

as Sonja Lester * Huse Madhavji as Ruptal 1 *Shaun Shetty as Ruptal 2 *

Jonathan Torrens Jonathan Ormond Torrens (born October 2, 1972) is a Canadian actor and television personality best known for his co-hosting of '' Street Cents'', his talk show ''Jonovision'', and his role as "J-Roc" in the popular Canadian mockumentary ''Trailer ...

as Chester Vince *

Amy Sloan Amy Kathleen Sloan is a Canadian-American actress. She was born in Gladstone, Manitoba, raised in Whitehorse, Yukon and graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale d ...

as Dot Foxley *

Anne Openshaw Anne Openshaw is a Canadian actress from Surrey, British Columbia. She is most noted for her recurring role as Alice Fitzpatrick in the television series ''Call Me Fitz'', for which she was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Supporting Actr ...

as Alice Fitzpatrick

Production

It was announced in November 2009 that principal photography had begun on the first season of ''Call Me Fitz'' and that filming would continue in the Annapolis Valley until mid-January 2010. Subsequent seasons continued production in the Annapolis Valley, primarily in the town of New Minas, Nova Scotia. Season 4 was primarily shot in the Dartmouth area In order to achieve the feel of the

Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business frie ...

era to which Fitz relates the soundtrack is primarily performed by Canadian jazz singer

Matt Dusk Matthew-Aaron Dusk (born November 19, 1978) is a Canadian jazz vocalist. He has four certified gold albums: ''Two Shots'', '' Good News'', ''Old School Yule!'' and ''JetSetJazz'', and two certified platinum albums; ''My Funny Valentine: The Chet ...

. Prior to season four Priestley was critical of the promotion of the show, saying in response to people learning of the show via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, "Traditional advertising is also still get a great way to get the word out, and I think that our broadcasters have not done a good job with traditional means for our show. I'm going to be totally frank with you about that: I don't think they've done a good job at all. I don't understand, we're the most awarded comedy in Canadian television history and half the people in this country don't even know we exist, and I can't fathom that.". Priestley later added, "It's frustrating when you feel like you're not being successful in getting the word out there, but I think a lot of that has to do with budget and money, and money being allocated to other places.".

Broadcast

''Call Me Fitz'' is co-produced by

(western Canada) and The Movie Network (central/eastern Canada), for airing on those two channels after premiering on their jointly owned channel HBO Canada (Canada wide). The first thirteen-episode season premiered on HBO Canada in September 2010, the thirteen-episode second season premiered in September 2011, and the twelve-episode third season premiered on HBO Canada in September 2012. The ten-episode fourth season premiered in October 2013. All four seasons also have regular runs and reruns on Movie Central, The Movie Network and HBO Canada. The series has been sold in over 60 foreign markets, including its American debut on the

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...

exclusive The 101 Network (since renamed

Audience Network Audience Network (also known as Audience from 2016 until 2020) was an American pay television channel that was owned by AT&T. It featured a mix of original and acquired series, specials, and feature films. The network operated as a commercial-fre ...

) on April 21, 2011, with two back-to-back episodes, and was shown Thursdays at 9 pm ET/PT. Season 2 started on Audience on November 3 in the 9:30 pm time slot.

Awards

The first season of ''Call Me Fitz'' was nominated for 16

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

s and won seven, including Best Actress (Comedy) for Tracy Dawson, Best Supporting Actor (Comedy) for Ernie Grunwald, and Best Guest Actress (Comedy) for Rachel Blanchard. The show also swept other comedy categories including Best Directing, Best Writing, Best Picture Editing, and Best Sound. Jason Priestley took home the award for Best TV Performance (Male) at the Canadian Comedy Awards. The show was also nominated for Best TV Show and Best Writing. At the Monte Carlo Television Festival, the show received Best International Producing and Best Acting nominations for Jason Priestley, Ernie Grunwald, Brooke Nevin, and Kathleen Munroe. Additional nominations include Best TV Show and Best Production Design at the DGC Awards and Best Sitcom at the Banff World Media Festival. In 2010, Jason Priestley received the Best Actor Award at the Roma Fiction Festival. The show won Best Comedy at the Canadian Screen Awards in both 2014 and 2015 and was crowned Best Comedy at the Directors Guild Awards for all four seasons.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called the series "A refreshingly original concept... It deftly draws a world in which sin and sexual charisma come at full new-model cost... ITZis King of Front-Wheel Drive and Back-Seat Romps." Orange County, CA Film Commission President Paul Ruffino said about the series "A satirical demonic view of the menagerie of mediocrity called mankind. Bawdy and expertly written Call Me Fitz is TV platinum. HBO Canada? What about the lower 48...come on...we deserve genuine entertainment down here. A hit for sure!" ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' wrote "The snappy, obscenity-filled dialogue was laugh-out-loud funny without being over the top. I call this one a hit."

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1

Season 2

Season 2 premiered on HBO Canada on September 25, 2011.

Season 3

Season 3 premiered on HBO Canada on September 23, 2012,

Season 4

Michael Gross joins the cast for season 4. Season 4 premiered on October 7, 2013, on

(western Canada) and The Movie Network (eastern Canada).

Home video releases

Entertainment One Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...

released the first season of ''Call Me Fitz'' on DVD in Region 1 on September 27, 2011. It was released on Blu-ray in Region B (The Netherlands) on October 26, 2011. There was also a German Region B blu-ray of Season 1 released in 2015, as well as on DVD, though no other seasons were released in that country. Though not officially released in other regions, the Blu-ray for the season one release is available via import. Season 2 has been released in region 1 on DVD on March 13, 2012. Entertainment One Benelux, the distributor of the season 1 Blu-ray, has indicated on July 9, 2012 that there are no plans to release season 2 on Blu-ray as well. Season 3 was released in region 1 on DVD on August 27, 2013. Season 4 has not been released on DVD in any territory so far (2018). All four seasons are available as digital downloads from such sites as Amazon and

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

in both SD and HD, but only in the USA.

References

DIRECTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...

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''Call Me Fitz''
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{{ACCT Best Comedy Series 2010s Canadian sitcoms 2010s Canadian workplace comedy television series 2010 Canadian television series debuts 2013 Canadian television series endings Television shows set in Nova Scotia Television shows filmed in Nova Scotia Television series by Entertainment One Television series by Bell Media Television series by Corus Entertainment Crave original programming Gemini and Canadian Screen Award for Best Comedy Series winners Audience (TV network) original programming