Trailer Park Boys

History

In 1998, director Mike Clattenburg wrote and directed One Last Shot, a short film shot in black-and-white. The film followed the exploits of two friends, Robb (Robb Wells) and Gary William or GW (John Paul Tremblay), although it is not based in the same setting as Trailer Park Boys. It was the first time Robb, John Paul and John Dunsworth worked together. In the 1999 feature film Trailer Park Boys, the character Julian states to the camera that he wanted his life to be documented after receiving a telephone psychic's prediction that he would die soon. He hoped that the film would deter others from the life of crime he had chosen.

The feature film was shown at the Atlantic Film Festival in 1999, and it caught the attention of producer Barrie Dunn, who saw the potential for a television series. Clattenburg and Dunn, along with Wells and Tremblay, worked on a proposal for a 13-episode season of the show and traveled to Toronto to pitch the show to The Comedy Network. After being turned down, they suddenly decided to pitch the show to Showcase before returning home to Nova Scotia. Tremblay recalled: "We showed Showcase the pilot and they really liked the characters and the mockumentary feel of it. It was very low budget. It was the right time, right place to pitch it." They found that the network was receptive. A former programmer at Showcase recalled: "It was original, bold, and outrageous. They were swearing, smoking and drinking. It felt new. Within a week we were talking about what a series would look like." The network sent them back with a commitment to a first season, with the provision that a second experienced producer (which ended up being Michael Volpe) be brought on board to assist the team. The first six 30-minute episodes were then written and filmed. Some modifications were made to the characters and storyline for the series, and more humor was added to the series in comparison to the film. The show debuted on Showcase on April 22, 2001, airing at 9:30pm. For season 2, the show began airing at 9:00pm.

The biggest change from film to series was the addition of Mike Smith's "Bubbles" character, who was originally developed for the earlier short film The Cart Boy, a film that Smith, Wells, Tremblay, and Clattenburg worked on together in 1995. Smith's character soon grew from a recurring character to one of the show's primary protagonists (although in the earlier film, "Bubbles" was the name of Smith's character's cat). Trailer Park Boys resided with Showcase for its first seven seasons. Beginning with the eighth season, the series was released through Netflix.

Premise

Setting and characters

Mike Smith, who portrayed Bubbles, said the series "was really like The Waltons, with guns and drugs and liquor."

The series follows Sunnyvale Trailer Park residents Ricky, Julian and Bubbles, whose attempts to make money frequently involve petty crime and schemes that end in failure. They repeatedly come into conflict with Sunnyvale's alcoholic trailer park supervisor, Jim Lahey, and his assistant Randy, who is later revealed to be Lahey's romantic partner.

Imprisonment and release form a recurring element of the series' narrative. In the original seasons, the characters' schemes frequently culminate in Ricky and Julian being sent to jail, with subsequent seasons beginning after their release and introducing new attempts to make money. Sutherland and Swan have described the series as addressing the cyclical relationship between poverty, crime and incarceration.

Each character has his or her own trademark mannerism or trait. Julian often takes a leadership role and devises schemes, all while holding a Cuba Libre on the rocks in his hand. Ricky believes himself to be dumb, and his speech is often laced with malapropisms that fans call "Rickyisms"; he lives in a dilapidated 1975 Chrysler New Yorker (nicknamed "the Shitmobile"), and grows cannabis. Bubbles wears spectacles that magnify his eyes to a hyperbolic extent, drives a go-kart, and lives in a shed with many cats; he is the least willing to face any repercussions for the trio's illegal activities. Alcoholic trailer park supervisor and disgraced ex-cop Jim Lahey usually attempts to derail the Boys' schemes, and nearly always shoehorns the word "shit" into his cautionary metaphors that fans call "Shitisms". Randy is Lahey's assistant and lover; he never wears a shirt unless he absolutely has to and is often taunted for his large gut and addiction to cheeseburgers.

An array of minor characters includes:

Ricky's father Ray, who uses a wheelchair, is a former trucker and self-declared Calvinist who is secretly committing disability fraud, in addition to being an alcoholic and gambling addict. It was revealed in Season 11 that Ray was not Ricky’s biological father.

Format

The series is shot in a mockumentary style (including the use of long takes), featuring handheld camera work. Clattenburg stated that he was initially inspired by the filming techniques used on documentary series such as Cops, which Zanandi Botes of Cracked.com described as "focused on immersion and observation." Characters often speak directly to crew members, who occasionally become involved in the plot. In one episode, a crewman is shot; in another, one is tased by Jim Lahey. The show is loosely scripted, with much of the dialogue ad-libbed from basic plot points. These aspects are intended to evoke a sense of actualism war/realism, found footage, screenlife and very fast/shaky camera. The trio have stated that many of the show's most popular moments were not in the script. To support the "lore" that the show is nonfiction and real viral cinematic, many of the actors often make public appearances in character. Mike Smith said: "Now, it turns into a bit of a circus. When we’re walking around the street, the guys who play Ricky and Julian look just like Ricky and Julian in real life, so they get spotted 100 yards away. I don’t really look like Bubbles, but if I’m with them, people put two and two together."

According to Tamara Jude of Screen Rant, the series' mockumentary format led some viewers to initially perceive it as some sort of "forced reality show" rather than a work of fiction, and also believed that the characters were real people.

The creators have stated that the series is largely episodic in structure for the benefit of accessibility.

The series incorporates character-driven humor.

Opening sequence

The series' opening theme, “Breeze,” was composed by Blain Morris, who was attempting to emulate “I Left My Heart In San Francisco" by Tony Bennett. According to JD Roberson of Cracked.com, "The gentle song is the perfect juxtaposition to the chaos that will inevitably follow."

Films and specials

Trailer Park Boys

The initial Trailer Park Boys movie was shown in 1999. It was directed, produced, and written by Mike Clattenburg. The film was shot in black-and-white, and it followed the criminal exploits of Robb Wells as Ricky LaFleur and John Paul Tremblay as Julian. The plot centered on Julian as he wished to document his life of crime after a psychic reading over the phone predicted his death. The movie was initially shown on the Showcase network prior to the TV show's airing. It featured various other cast members who would later appear in the TV series: Lucy DeCoutere as Ricky's fiancée Lucy, Jeanna Harrison-Steinhart as Ricky and Lucy's daughter Trinity, Sam Tarasco as Ricky and Julian's associate Sam, and Cory Bowles and Michael Jackson as two dim-witted friends Cory and Trevor respectively. A few other cast members who later appeared in the TV show also portrayed different characters in the film, such as Patrick Roach as the alcoholic dog owner Patrick (instead of the TV show's character Randy) and Mike Smith as the location sound recordist (instead of the TV show's character Bubbles). A short clip of the film's climax was shown during the pilot episode of season 1 which connected the film to the TV show.

Trailer Park Boys: The Movie

A movie based on the television series (and the second film in the franchise to be produced overall), titled Trailer Park Boys: The Movie (also known as The Big Dirty) was released on October 6, 2006, and distributed by Alliance Atlantis. Ivan Reitman produced the movie, Mike Clattenburg directed it, and Clattenburg and Robb Wells co-wrote it. It was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Motion Picture, but did not win.

Countdown to Liquor Day

The second film based on the series, Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day, was released in Canada on September 25, 2009. The movie serves as a continuation to the show's original seven season run.

Don't Legalize It

In May 2012, Mike Clattenburg announced on his Twitter page that a third film was in development. Principal photography was scheduled to begin in October 2012, but was pushed back to March 2013; filming began on March 17, 2013. On April 20, 2013, the production moved to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, where filming took place at Parliament Hill during the 4/20 weekend. Entertainment One announced that the third and final film, Trailer Park Boys 3: Don't Legalize It, would be released in Canada on April 18, 2014.

The plot centers on Ricky's concerns that if the Canadian government legalized and controlled cannabis sale, it would put his grow-op out of business.

Standing on the Shoulders of Kitties: The Bubbles and the Shitrockers Story

It was announced on October 15, 2024 Via the shows official Instagram account that a fourth film with Mike Smith, Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay, and Patrick Roach reprising their roles from the television show, as well as various actors new to the series, is coming out. Titled, Standing on the Shoulders of Kitties, the film was released to North American theatres on December 6, 2024.

Live in Fuckin' Dublin

A new 80-minute special titled Trailer Park Boys: Live In Fuckin' Dublin debuted on June 1, 2014, exclusively on Netflix. Footage from the trio's May 9, 2013, performance at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, the Ricky, Julian and Bubbles Community Service Variety Show, was collected for a concert film. The live show contains an introduction and epilogue shot in the format of a Trailer Park Boys episode, with the premise that the boys are arrested in Dublin and forced to serve community service by staging a puppet show discouraging drug and alcohol use. Some elements from the television series return in Live in Fuckin' Dublin, such as Alex Lifeson's (from the band Rush) feud with Ricky, Ricky's inadvertently gluing objects to his nose, and Conky's many resurrections. The film was released on June 1, 2014. The season 8 episode "Community Service and a Boner Made with Love" contains a similar premise.

Drunk, High & Unemployed Live from Austin Texas

A new live special titled Trailer Park Boys: Drunk, High & Unemployed Live from Austin, Texas debuted in 2016, exclusively on Netflix.

DVD releases

Entertainment One (formerly Alliance Home Entertainment) has released all twelve seasons of Trailer Park Boys on DVD in Region 1. The Say Goodnight to The Bad Guys special was also released on Blu-ray.

Other media

Comics

On February 17, 2021, it was announced that the Trailer Park Boys Incorporated have collaborated with Devil's Due Publishing to make a comic book adaptation of the series which will only consist of one-shots and miniseries.

Reception

The show became very successful in many countries. The show's lead trio formerly toured with Our Lady Peace, with whom Bubbles sings his trademark song "Liquor and Whores".

On January 13, 2017, Trailer Park Boys and Bubbles finally released "Liquor & Whores" as an EDM track produced by Canadian Multi-Platinum producer, Marc Mysterio on Sony Music. The Trailer Park Boys have also appeared in music videos with Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, and Bubbles has appeared with George Canyon and Snow, and they have been presenters at numerous award shows — always in character. Several famous artists appear on the show, such as Alex Lifeson from Rush in "Closer to the Heart," singer Rita MacNeil in the season four finale "Working Man," country singer-songwriter George Canyon in season seven's penultimate episode "Going Off the Rails On the Swayzie Train", Brian Vollmer from Helix, Sebastian Bach from Skid Row, the late singer-songwriter Denny Doherty of The Mamas and the Papas in the season seven finale "A Shitriver Runs Through It", and rapper Snoop Dogg, actor Tom Arnold, and comedian Doug Benson in several episodes in season ten starting with "Up In Smoke We Go". Canadian NHL superstar Nathan MacKinnon also appears in season eleven's episode "I Look Like A Fucking Dick!!".

The show was a success for the cable network Showcase, where it was the network's highest-rated Canadian original series. Internationally it aired in Australia on The Comedy Channel, the United Kingdom and Spain on Paramount Comedy, the Republic of Ireland on 3e, Iceland on SkjárEinn, New Zealand on TV 2, Israel on Xtra Hot, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland on respective local versions of Comedy Central for these three European countries, Denmark on DR2, Portugal on SIC Radical, Finland on Nelonen and Bulgaria on Nova Television. BBC America once aired a censored version of the series in the US. On February 5, 2009, satellite provider DirecTV began airing the series in the country on its channel The 101 Network uncensored at the rate of two episodes per week. DirecTV aired the entire seven-season run of Trailer Park Boys, plus both specials. All episodes aired on DirecTV are in 16:9 widescreen format (although not in High Definition resolution), as opposed to the standard definition 4:3 aspect DVD releases of the first five seasons. It is also available on Netflix.