Hello, thanks for reading and responding. Yes, I’m aware that Dan Levy has claimed the show takes place in Canada. However, there are continuous remarks in the show about “going back” to New York and LA, implying a prolonged history of living in those places, if not that the characters are actually from there. I absolutely do not condone any American media critic presuming that all media is/should be catered to American interests, but the reality is the following is true:

1. This show contains multiple storylines and references that are very specifically based in America and American culture, thus inextricably tying it to American culture and standards
2. The show was written, casted and produced in Hollywood. It is in this sense as much an American show as it is a Canadian show, even if the majority of the actors are Canadian and they filmed it predominantly in Canada.
3. The writers of the show have dual citizenship in Canada and California; Dan Levy lives predominantly in Los Angeles and his writing and worldview, which are directly reflected in this content, are clearly affected by both. Just because he says he/it’s Canadian, doesn’t negate his own family’s long history of being involved in American media and residing in and around American cultural hubs.
4. The show, while initially funded by CBC, ultimately was picked up and brought to its current status by Netflix, which yes does promote international content, but this is not marketed or differentiated in any meaningful way as such. For all intents and purposes, unless a person was to dig for information about Levy and CBC et al, the average viewer would simply hear the repeated allusions of “returning” to LA and New York and assume that the rustic scene they landed in was somewhere in America.
5. Even if the show was completely centered around Canadian cities and culture and had no connection whatsoever to Hollywood, Canada is also plagued by equally horrific racism against Black and Indigenous people as the United States (as well as corresponding nefarious classism, even if to the extent that there is better access to healthcare and education they do generally better than America). By this measure, Canadian media has an equal responsibility not to exploit or ignore the plight of people of color that are represented within it, nor to neglect the way that classism exploits and marginalizes working class people. There’s a lot of oil money and a lot of bigotry in Canada.

Generally my point is that whether or not we bill the show as Canadian is irrelevant in this case. There are enough overt connections inside and outside of the show that necessitate scrupulous attention to details around racism and classism, and even if it was entirely from a Canadian lens, each of these points would still stand.

Thanks again for reading and take care.