Canusa Street

CANUSA STREET is a TV pilot making its premiere at the Dances with Films film festival in Hollywood in July 2023. Directed by Zack Morrison, this comedy pilot takes place in an interesting location with a real-world inspiration, a small town with a street that straddles both the United States and Canadian borders. With that location in mind, the plot of the pilot focuses on two sets of characters, the small-town local cops based on the US side, and a contingent of Canadian Mounties. Providing a constant source of comic relief are two identical twin sisters who each occupy a position on each police force (played by real-life twin sisters Lauren and Sierra Tothero).

This workplace comedy has some similarities to other successful crime comedy series like Brooklyn 99, but then slightly delving into some more serious fare akin to Weeds, or perhaps even Breaking Bad in tone (not necessarily content).

CANUSA STREET has all the earmarks of a professional television program. The score, cinematography, and overall audio quality are top notch. The writing is decent, with several jokes lending chuckles when they hit, but not every time. The plot and pacing of the pilot t within your standard TV or streaming general timeslot, but there are a few areas that feel a bit meandering. When you consider that director/writer Morrison accomplished this pilot solo, when generally speaking most shows are written by a team of writers, this is an impressive endeavor that is successful in what it’s trying to accomplish and will make a great addition to Morrison’s resume as he pursues getting this made into a full series in the future.