''Son of a Critch'' is a Canadian television comedy series, created by

Mark Critch Mark Critch (born May 14, 1974) is a Canadian comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his work on the comedy series ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'', initially as a writer and then as a regular cast member beginning in 2003. Career Critc ...

and

Tim McAuliffe Tim McAuliffe (born September 18) is a Canadian comedy writer, television producer and occasional actor from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, known for his work on ''The Last Man On Earth'', ''The Office'', ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'', '' Up All N ...

, that currently airs on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

. It premiered on January 4, 2022. Based on the memoir of the same name by Critch, the semi-autobiographical series follows an adolescent Mark as he grows up in the 1980s in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Premise

The series is a

coming of age story In genre studies, a coming-of-age story is a genre of literature, theatre, film, and video game that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from childhood to adulthood, or "coming of age". Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or internal ...

based on the childhood and adolescence of Canadian comedian Mark Critch. At the start of the series, 11-year-old Mark is growing up in 1980s Newfoundland, where he navigates starting junior high school, making friends, and connecting with the small collection of people in his limited world.

Cast

Main

Benjamin Evan Ainsworth Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (born 25 September 2008) is a British teenaged actor. He is known for portraying Miles in the Netflix series ''The Haunting of Bly Manor'' (2020), William in Disney’s '' Flora & Ulysses'' (2021), and the voice of Pinocch ...

as Mark Critch, a semi-fictionalized version of the comedian, entering

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

at the start of the series ** Mark Critch narrates the series as his adult self *

as Mike Critch, Mark's father and reporter for radio station VOCM *

Claire Rankin Claire Rankin is a Canadian actress. She was raised in Prince Edward Island. Career In the 1990s, Rankin performed in Shakespeare's plays '' Love's Labour's Lost'', '' Romeo and Juliet'' and '' The Tempest''. Rankin has appeared in over 50 fil ...

as Mary Critch, Mark's mother *

Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is a British actor, producer, and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Alex DeLarge in ''A Clockwork Orange.'' He was born in the Horsforth suburb of Leeds and raised in ...

as Patrick “Pop” Critch, Mark's grandfather * Colton Gobbo as Mike Critch Jr., Mark's older brother * Sophia Powers as Fox, a female student in the same grade as Mark, who is part of a family of bullies that share the "Fox" nickname. She appears to have a crush on Mark, but hides it by bullying him. * Mark Rivera as Ritche Perez, Mark's best friend, and also the only person of color at the entire school

Supporting

* Petrina Bromley as Sister Margaret, Mark's homeroom teacher * Nora McLellan as Sister Rose, the Principal at Mark's school * Daisy Harris as Tina, a female student in the same grade as Mark *

Richard Clarkin Richard Clarkin is a Canadian actor. He is most noted for his performance in the 2017 film ''The Drawer Boy'', for which he won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019.

Production and distribution

The series made its Canadian broadcast premiere on

on January 4, 2022, as well as CBC's streaming platform, CBC Gem. Production companies involved with the series include Project 10 Productions, and Take the Shot Productions.

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

distributes the series outside Canada. On February 28, 2022, CBC renewed the series for a second season. On March 23, 2023, CBC renewed the series for a third season which will be co-produced by

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Episodes

Season 1 (2022)

Season 2 (2023)

Reception

''Son of a Critch'' was watched by an average of 941,000 viewers on its January 4, 2022 Canadian debut, and was the 28th most-watched program in Canada that week.

International broadcast

Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

acquired streaming rights to the series in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

in 2022. In the United States, the series premiered on July 24, 2023, on

(although some US markets near the Canadian border who receive CBC Television are ahead in episodes). Season two premiered on October 26, 2023.

References

External links

* {{CBC Television Shows (current and upcoming) 2022 Canadian television series debuts 2020s Canadian sitcoms 2020s school television series CBC Television original programming Middle school television series Television shows filmed in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Television shows set in Newfoundland and Labrador Television shows based on non-fiction books Television series about children Television series set in the 1980s Television series by Lionsgate Television