Corner Gas is a Canadian television sitcom created by Brent Butt. The series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009. Re-runs still air on CTV, CTV2, CTV Comedy Channel, Much, MTV, E! and are streaming on Crave and Amazon Prime. The series was followed by a feature film titled Corner Gas: The Movie, with the entire cast reprising their roles. The film was released for a limited theatrical run in December 2014.
Deriving its name from the roadside gas station in the fictional town of Dog River, Saskatchewan, Corner Gas is the only gas station for in any direction. Brent Leroy (Brent Butt) is the proprietor of the station and Wanda Dollard (Nancy Robertson) works at the station's convenience store as a retail assistant. An adjoining coffee shop, The Ruby, is owned by Lacey Burrows (Gabrielle Miller), who inherited it from her Aunt Ruby.
The series completed its run following broadcast of its sixth season on April 13, 2009, with a total of 107 episodes. The show averaged one million viewers per episode. Corner Gas received six Gemini Awards, and was nominated almost 70 times for various awards.
On April 6, 2009, Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall signed a proclamation that declared April 13, 2009, "Corner Gas Day" in Saskatchewan.
Production of an animated adaptation, Corner Gas Animated, was announced in December 2016, and premiered on The Comedy Network on April 2, 2018, featuring the complete original cast voicing their original characters, save for Janet Wright, who died in November 2016, the month prior to announcement. The role of Emma is voiced in the animated version by actress Corrine Koslo.
Production
Concept
The series was created by Canadian comedian Brent Butt, who imagined what his life might be like had he remained in a small Saskatchewan town rather than pursuing stand-up comedy. He originally developed the storyline for CTV and The Comedy Network.
Corner Gas references many tropes about Canadian identity, often ironically. The show focuses on the lifestyle of small-town folk; though set in a small town in Saskatchewan, its stories are not chiefly about Saskatchewan or Canada, but rather the day-to-day interactions of the residents of Dog River.
Executive producers, directors, and co-producers
Corner Gas was produced by CTV and Prairie Pants Production. Prairie Pants Production is a company assembled by Brent Butt, Virginia Thompson and 335 Productions. 335 Productions is a partnership between Brent Butt and David Storey. (The name of the production company is derived from the fact that Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Butt's home town, lies at the junction of Saskatchewan Highways 3 and 35.) At The Comedy Network, Michelle Daly is Director of Content and Ed Robinson is the President and General Manager. At CTV Inc., Susanne Boyce is President, Creative, Content and Channels and again Ed Robinson is Executive Vice-President, Programming. Brent Butt was a driving force as creator, writer, showrunner executive producer, actor and, occasionally, director of the show. Paul Mather, Mark Farrell, Brent Butt, Andrew Carr, Kevin White, Robert Sheridan, Norm Hiscock, Dylan "Worts" Wertz and Gary Pearson all contributed to writing the series. David Storey, Mark Farrell, Robert de Lint, Jeff Beesley and Brent Butt provided direction in the program.
Corner Gas was promoted by CTV as the network's "first original narrative comedy series." While it is not, in fact, the first Canadian-produced sitcom ever aired on CTV, having been preceded by The Trouble with Tracy, George, Snow Job, Excuse My French, and Check It Out!, it is the first CTV sitcom in which the network itself has held a primary production role, rather than acting solely as a holder of broadcast rights, and the first to postdate the network's late-1990s corporate restructuring from a cooperative of its affiliated stations into a conventional corporation. Corner Gas can also be verifiably called the most successful of these shows.
Filming locations
Corner Gas was filmed entirely in Saskatchewan. The interior shots (Ruby Café interior, Police Department, Oscar and Emma's house, etc.) were filmed at Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios in Regina. All the outdoor scenes and all scenes that take place in the gas station were filmed on location in Rouleau, a small town on Highway 39 between Moose Jaw and Weyburn. The grain elevator was repainted to read "Dog River" instead of "Rouleau"; however, the water tower still reads "Rouleau"with post production effects used to repaint it to read "Dog River" in the first season episode "Grad 68". Regina is known as the "city" in Corner Gas.