The History of the CORNER GAS Franchise

With an illustrious 17-year history, the iconic CORNER GAS franchise is one of Canada’s highest-rated comedy brands of all-time. A Canadian cultural phenomenon, the CORNER GAS franchise spawned a live action series, a movie, an animated series, two chart-topping books, sold-out comedy tours, a successful line of merchandise, a top-selling series of DVDs, a theme song, a holiday single, and a thriving tourist industry in Rouleau, Saskatchewan, where the live-action sitcom and movie were filmed on location. CORNER GAS, the sitcom, premiered on CTV on January 22, 2004, and became an immediate runaway hit. During the majority of its six-season run, which features dozens of notable guest stars including two Canadian Prime Ministers (Paul Martin, Stephen Harper), CORNER GAS was the #1 primetime sitcom (Canadian or American) in Canada, maintaining an impressive average audience of 1.4 million viewers over its 107-episode run. The series finale made television history when a record-breaking 3.02 million viewers tuned in on April 13, 2009. It remains the largest audience on record for a Canadian scripted television series. The sitcom received a 2004 International Emmy nomination, surviving three rounds of preliminary judging from over 500 judges in 38 countries. It went on to win seven Gemini Awards including Best Comedy and Best Comedy Ensemble, nine Canadian Comedy Awards, four Writers Guild of Canada Awards, three Directors Guild of Canada Awards and 12 Leos. It made its US debut, during the 2007-2009 television seasons, on WGN America, airing in over two dozen countries world-wide. The 90-minute feature film CORNER GAS: THE MOVIE rolled out in December 2014 as a multi-platform event, beginning with a theatrical release in over 100 cinemas across Canada. The film sold-out theatres during its eight-day, event-based run and was immediately followed by a broadcast debut on Bell Media platforms – CTV, CTV Two, CTV Comedy Channel, Crave, on-demand, premium pay networks, and Crave – where it attracted more than 7 million Canadian TV viewers. A special collector’s edition DVD/Blue-ray was released for the holiday season and became an instant best-seller. CORNER GAS: THE MOVIE won the coveted 2016 Golden Screen Award for the most-watched scripted program of the year. In 2018, all 107 episode of the sitcom CORNER GAS and CORNER GAS: THE MOVIE debuted on Amazon Prime Video through Prime Video Direct, in the U.S., the U.K., and over 60 countries worldwide, becoming a fan favorite on the service. In 2019, CORNER GAS and CORNER GAS: THE MOVIE launched on IMDb TV in the U.S. Season 1 of CORNER GAS ANIMATED debuted in April 2018 and became a ratings hit. The premiere episode was the most-watched series premiere in the history of CTV Comedy Channel, with the first season concluding as the most-watched series of the broadcast year for the channel among total viewers and all key demos. It garnered a 2019 Canadian Screen Award for Best Writing, Animation, awarded to series creator, executive producer and star Brent Butt and a 2019 Leo Award for Best Animated Program or Series. Season 2 of CORNER GAS ANIMATED premiered in July 2019 and continued to build on the success of its premiere season with audiences climbing 41%. It garnered three 2020 Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Animated Program or Series; a Best Performance, Animation award for Brent Butt, and Best Writing, Animation awarded to Diana Frances, a member of the writing team. Brent Butt received a 2020 Leo Award for Best Writing, Animation Season 3 debuted in October 2020 and featured the animated series’ first holiday episode “Tinsel-itis.” It also marked the debut of an original holiday single, “Everyone Can Sing at Christmas,” written and performed by Brent Butt and musician-composer Craig Northey, who co-wrote the CORNER GAS theme song. The series won two 2021 Canadian Screen Awards – Lorne Cardinal took home the award for Best Performance, Animation, while the series was won Best Animated Program or Series. The series also picked up five 2021 Leo nominations, one for best program, two for screenwriting and two for voice performance. By the time CORNER GAS ANIMATED airs its final episode, it will have featured 23 celebrity guests, including Michael J. Fox, Andrea Martin, Jason Priestley, Russell Peters, Jann Arden, Sarah McLachlan, Win Butler of Arcade Fire, Chris Hadfield, Bret Hart, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to name a few. CORNER GAS ANIMATED made its U.S. debut in October 2019 with Seasons 1 & 2, on the streaming service IMDb TV as an IMDb Original series. For the first time, the award-winning animated series was available in the U.S. Season 3 premiered on IMDb TV on December 4, 2020. The entire franchise is currently available for free in the U.S., exclusively via the IMDb TV app on Fire TV, the Prime Video app, IMDb.com and the IMDb mobile apps.