Cock'd Gunns

Last updated

Cock'd Gunns is a Canadian English language mockumentary television series originally produced for IFC and later broadcast on Showcase. The series documents the lives of members of the fictional rock band Cock'd Gunns, as they try to become the biggest band in the world. The show is a production of Tricon Films & Television, and it was directed by Samir Rehem.

Contents

Premise

Lead singer/songwriter Reggie Van Gunn and bassist Dick Van Gunn are brothers living together for the first time since they were kids. The Van Gunn brothers form the nucleus of Cock'd Gunns, while novice drummer Barry Ciccarelli tries to keep the beat and rookie manager Keith Horvak provides leadership. Together, these four form a rock band with no brains, no fans and no record deal, only high hopes as they try to become the biggest band in the world.

Cast

Cock'd Gunns also features the regular performers:

Awards

2008 Gemini Awards

2008 Canadian Comedy Awards

Director Samir Rehem won best TV direction for the episode, "On The Road, Part 1".

Background on Cock'd Gunns

Cock'd Gunns was an original creation by Morgan Waters, Andy King and Leo Scherman. Brooks Gray was brought in later as the fourth producer/writer/actor. Produced by Tricon Films & Television, IFC (Independent Film Channel) Canada ordered 13 episodes of the show and the show premiered on IFC Canada on December 1, 2007. Cock'd Gunns was also shown on Showcase.

Cock'd Gunns scripts consist of scene-by-scene outlines, but all of the dialogue and character confessionals to the camera are improvised.

Morgan Waters composed all of the original Cock'd Gunns songs and much of the other music and score for the show.

TV shows and films to which Cock'd Gunns is often compared: This is Spinal Tap!; Trailer Park Boys; The Office (UK); Fubar; Arrested Development; The Hills; Flight of the Conchords.

Background on the writer/producer/lead actors

Andy King, Leo Scherman and Brooks Gray met and became friends as first-year students at McGill University in 1993. The three have collaborated on several film and video projects since then and created (with two other friends, Daragh Sankey and Andrew Prior) a sketch comedy website, skitfaced.com, which features dozens of videos and enjoys a cult following.

King, Scherman and Gray came to know Waters when they were hired to write and produce episodes of Waters' Gemini Award-winning CBC comedy series, The Morgan Waters Show (2006). Morgan had been a host on the CBC's The X before creating The Morgan Waters Show.

Scherman and Waters later worked on MuchMusic hidden camera show, Screwed Over (also produced by Tricon Films and Television) with Scherman as writer/director of the series and Waters a featured performer and writer. King and Gray contributed as writers and actors on a few episodes of Screwed Over.

Morgan Waters is the bassist for EMI recording artists, Sweet Thing.

Prior to Cock'd Gunns, King and Gray worked in MuchMusic's Creative Services department, producing dozens of promos, station IDs, ads, show openings and public service announcements, claiming several industry awards including BDA/Promax recognition.

Related Research Articles

Andy Griffith American actor, television producer, Southern-gospel singer, and writer (1926-2012)

Andy Samuel Griffith was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy-friendly personality, and his gruff but friendly voice, Griffith was a Tony Award nominee for two roles, and gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's film A Face in the Crowd (1957) and No Time for Sergeants (1958) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead roles of Andy Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968) and Ben Matlock in the legal drama Matlock (1986–1995).

Dick Van Dyke American actor, dancer, and comedian

Richard Wayne Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, singer, and dancer, whose award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television and the theatre.

<i>The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin</i>

The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin is an American children's television series in the Western genre that aired from October 1954 to May 1959 on the ABC television network. In all, 164 episodes aired. The show starred Lee Aaker as Rusty, a boy orphaned in an Indian raid, who was being raised by the soldiers at a US Cavalry post known as Fort Apache. Rusty and his German shepherd dog, Rin Tin Tin, help the soldiers to establish order in the American West. James E. Brown appeared as Lieutenant Ripley "Rip" Masters. Co-stars included Joe Sawyer as Sergeant Biff O'Hara and Rand Brooks as Corporal Randy Boone.

<i>Muppets Tonight</i> 1990s sequel to the Muppet Show

Muppets Tonight is an American live-action/puppet family-oriented television series created by Jim Henson Productions and featuring The Muppets. Much like the "MuppeTelevision" segment of The Jim Henson Hour, the show was a continuation of The Muppet Show, set in a television studio rather than a theater.

Big Bite was an Australian sketch comedy television series which ran on the Seven Network from 8 May 2003 to 4 March 2004 in a prime time timeslot on Thursdays. Since the end of the series, episodes have been repeated on the Foxtel cable channel, The Comedy Channel and 7Two.

Stuart Erwin American actor

Stuart Erwin was an American actor of stage, film, and television.

<i>Dinner for Five</i>

Dinner for Five is a television program in which actor and film director Jon Favreau and a revolving guest list of celebrities eat, drink and talk. The program aired on the Independent Film Channel with Favreau the co-executive producer with Peter Billingsley.

Andy Daly American actor, comedian and writer

Andrew J. Daly is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred as Forrest MacNeil on the Comedy Central series Review, and had a supporting role in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down as Terrence Cutler. He has also made recurring appearances on television programs such as Silicon Valley, Veep, Modern Family, Black-ish, Trial & Error, the Netflix series The Who Was? Show, Reno 911!, and Comedy Bang! Bang! as well as animated shows such as Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites, Bob's Burgers, Adventure Time, and Harley Quinn.

Alan Spencer is an American television writer and producer, known for creating the 1980s satirical police series Sledge Hammer!. He was one of the youngest people ever to join the Writers Guild of America, writing for television at the age of fifteen. He is a "script doctor" for feature films.

Morgan Waters is a Canadian actor, comedian and musician.

Der Musikladen was a West German music television programme that ran from 13 December 1972 to 29 November 1984. The show continued the 1960s Beat-Club under a new name, and in turn was replaced by Extratour.

Leo Scherman Canadian film director

Leo Edmund Scherman is a Canadian director, writer and producer. He is best known as the co-writer and director of the feature film Trench 11 (2017) and co-creator of the television series Cock'd Gunns (2007)

The 23rd Gemini Awards were held on 28 November 2008 to honour achievements in Canadian television. The ceremony was broadcast on Showcase and E!. It was hosted by Jason Priestley.

Andrew Gunn is a British television director. He was born in Staffordshire and later grew up on Tyneside before attending film school in Surrey and Dorset. He has written and directed several award-winning short films in addition to work in popular television drama.

Sweet Thing was a Canadian alternative rock band based in Toronto who have been signed to EMI Music Canada since 2008. They are best known for their singles "Dance Mother" and "Change of Seasons".

Live from Studio 6H 19th episode of the sixth season of 30 Rock

"Live from Studio 6H" is the nineteenth episode of the sixth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 122nd episode overall. It features a return to live broadcasting from the season five episode "Live Show", both of which were directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller, and co-written by series creator Tina Fey. The episode originally aired live on the NBC television network in the United States on April 26, 2012, with separate tapings for the East Coast and West Coast audiences. "Live from Studio 6H" featured guest appearances by comedian Amy Poehler, musician Paul McCartney, and several actors associated with 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live.

<i>Maron</i> (TV series)

Maron is an American sitcom created by and starring Marc Maron as a fictionalized version of himself. The series premiered on the American cable television network IFC on May 3, 2013. Maron, Denis Leary, Jim Serpico, Olivia Wingate, Sivert Glarum, Michael Jamin and Duncan Birmingham serve as the show's executive producers. Glarum and Jamin are the showrunners. Maron's second season premiered on May 8, 2014, and its thirteen-episode third season premiered on May 14, 2015. In November 2015, the series was renewed for a thirteen-episode fourth season. In 2016 the show was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Comedy. On July 11, 2016, Maron announced on his WTF podcast that the series will not have a fifth season, with the season four finale serving as the series finale. The series finale aired on July 13, 2016.

The Amazing Gayl Pile is a Canadian web series created by Morgan Waters and Brooks Gray, which follows one man's misguided quest to conquer the world of home shopping, and become king of the TV pitchman game. First created in 2014, the show stars Morgan Waters, Brooks Gray, Inessa Frantowski, Andy King, Leo Scherman, Daniel Stolfi and Natasha Bromfield. The series has received numerous awards and has screened at festivals around the world; in 2017, it won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Directing and Best Original Program or Series produced for Digital Media - Fiction. Also in 2017, the series broke the record for most nominations at the Indie Series Awards in Los Angeles.

Brooks Gray is a Canadian writer, actor and producer.

Samir Rehem is a Canadian film and television director. He is most noted for his 2007 short film The Answer Key, which was a Genie Award nominee for Best Live Action Short Drama at the 29th Genie Awards in 2009.