Mr. D is a Canadian television series starring comedian Gerry Dee. The series follows the misadventures of an under-qualified schoolteacher named Gerry Duncan, nicknamed Mr. D. It debuted on the CBC on January 9, 2012, and concluded after eight seasons on December 19, 2018.
On December 11, 2020, Mr. D became available for streaming in the United States on Amazon Prime Video.
Cast Gerry Dee as Gerry Duncan: an under-qualified high school social studies teacher who prefers to be called Mr. D by the children and is jealous when the school's actual Mr. D (Paul Dwyer) returns to Xavier Academy. During season 8, he is promoted to the role of principal of Xavier Academy. Jonathan Torrens as Robert Cheeley: Robert is the vice principal of the school but his bizarre character traits make it difficult for his colleagues to respect him. He becomes co-principal with Lisa in season 6 and sole principal at the end of season 6. In Season 8, he is co-vice-principal with Mr. Dwyer. Lauren Hammersley as Lisa Mason: a competent and responsible former teacher and principal, known for her traditional teaching style. She has a Masters in Education and a PhD in Medieval literature. In the seventh season, she is the school guidance counselor. Bette MacDonald as Trudy Walsh: the school secretary who runs much of the day-to-day business at Xavier Academy. Naomi Snieckus as Bobbi Galka: the confident and respected PE teacher at Xavier Academy. Darrin Rose as Bill Cogill: Gerry's roommate and a womanizing bachelor who works as the local bartender, until the bar closes in the final season. He then runs a smoothie bar at Xavier Academy. Mark Little as Simon Hunt: the science teacher of the school, he is weak and a typical science geek who is also assistant coach of the girls' basketball team. Wes Williams as Paul Dwyer: Paul is cool and loved by all the teachers, and was the original Mr. D to the children before he left. During the final season, he is the co-vice-principal of Xavier Academy with Robert Cheeley. Gerry is often jealous of Dwyer and feels that he is in competition with him. Suresh John as Malik: the mysterious school custodian with an unusual history. Kathleen Phillips as Emma Terdie: Emma is the librarian who runs a tight ship and demands that rules are followed and that things are always done by the book in her library. Bill Wood as Frank: the school's guidance counselor and assistant basketball coach to Mr. D. He uses crutches to walk. Emma Hunter as Nisha Corcoran, who is hired in season 5 to replace Mr. D when he's fired by Ms. Mason. She has a relationship with Mr. Hunt. Booth Savage as Principal Mike Callaghan from season 1 to season 4. He retires at the end of season 4 to be replaced by one of the teachers, Lisa Mason. Ahmad Harhash as Matthew: who cause trouble to teacher
Main characters Actor CharacterSeasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gerry Dee Gerry Duncan colspan="8" Jonathan Torrens Robert Cheeley colspan="8" Lauren Hammersley Lisa Mason colspan="8" Bette MacDonald Trudy Walsh colspan="8" Naomi Snieckus Bobbi Galka colspan="8" Darrin Rose Bill Cogill colspan="8" Mark Little Simon Hunt colspan="8" Wes Williams Paul Dwyer colspan="8" Suresh John Mr. Malik colspan="8" Mark Forward Wayne Leung colspan="3" colspan="5" Kathleen Phillips Emma Terdie colspan="3" colspan="5" Emma Hunter Nisha Corcoran colspan="4" colspan="4" Booth Savage Principal Mike Callaghan colspan="4" colspan="4" Bill Wood Frank colspan="4" Dave Merheje Dave Bechara colspan="6" colspan="2" Jordan PooleAlex colspan="8" Ahmad Harhash Matthewcolapan=“10”
Production Creator, writer, executive producer and star Gerry Dee based Mr. D on his ten years teaching physical education in high school before he left for a career in stand-up comedy in 2003. The pilot episode was directed by Steve Wright and produced by Gerry Dee and Michael Volpe. The show is filmed on location at Citadel High School in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
On April 3, 2013, Mr. D was renewed for a third season, and on April 4, 2014, the show was renewed for a fourth season.
For the fourth season, the CBC included the series in a production deal with City."Calgary-shot Young Drunk Punk to get second run on CBC this fall in innovative deal between networks". Calgary Herald, January 9, 2015. Under the deal, Mr. D and City's new sitcom Young Drunk Punk will each air on their own originating network in the winter of the 2014–15 television season, then swap networks for a second run in the fall of the 2015–16 season.
On March 4, 2015, the CBC announced that Mr. D had been renewed for a fifth season. On February 16, 2016, the CBC announced that Mr. D had been renewed for a sixth season.
On April 6, 2017, Dee confirmed the show had been renewed for a seventh season.
On March 11, 2018, the show was renewed for an eighth season. Dee confirmed this would be the show's last.
In 2018, the Canadian Media Producers Association reported that Mr. D had generated $126.5 million and created 1,425 jobs over its eight seasons.
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2012)
Season 2 (2013)
Season 3 (2014)
Season 4 (2015)
Season 5 (2016)
Season 6 (2016)
Season 7 (2017)
Season 8 (2018)
Reception The first episode of the show was watched by 1.23 million viewers, which was the biggest midseason debut for the CBC 2011–12 season.
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Winner/nominee Result 2013 ACTRA Awards ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance - Female Naomi Snieckus 2015 Outstanding Male Actor in a Supporting Role Jonathan Torrens Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role Bette MacDonald 2014 Banff Rockie Awards Bell Media National Fellowship Award of Distinction Jessie Gabe 2012 Canadian Comedy Awards Best Performance by a Male - Television Darrin Rose Best Performance by a Female - Television Naomi Snieckus 2013 Best TV Show Mr. D 2013 Canadian Screen Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role Gerry Dee Best Comedy Program or Series Mr. D 2014 2015 Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role or Guest Role in a Comedic Series Naomi Snieckus Lauren Hammersley Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role or Guest Role in a Comedic Series Jonathan Torrens Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role Gerry Dee Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series Steve Wright Best Achievement in Casting Tina Gerussi & Sheila Lane Best Writing in a Comedy Program or Series Gerry Dee Jessie Gabe Best Picture Editing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series Patricia Brown & Dean Soltys Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role or Guest Role in a Comedic Series Bette MacDonald 2016Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role or Guest Role in a Comedic SeriesDarrin Rose 2017 Best Comedy Series Michael Volpe, Gerry Dee Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role Gerry Dee Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role or Guest Role in a Comedic Series Jonathan Torrens Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role or Guest Role in a Comedic Series Naomi Snieckus Kathleen Phillips Best Photography in a Comedy Program or Series Ian Bibby Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Series - Recurring Teen Actor Jordan Poole Best Performance in a TV Series -Supporting Young Actress Alyce Donoghue Faith Donoghue
Proposed U.S. version
On October 31, 2015, Gerry Dee and Mr. D co-creator Michael Volpe announced an agreement had been signed with Will Arnett's newly formed TV production company, Electric Avenue, to develop an American version of the show for American network CBS.
Dee revealed the initial contact with Will Arnett came from a friend of a friend who went to school with Arnett. He stated that there had been small interest from American television in the past, but this was the first serious proposal to get an American version of the show up.
Dee and Volpe originally pitched the show as an American reboot with Dee reprising his role. However, CBS was looking to use the show as a vehicle for an American star with Dee and Volpe getting executive producer credits. Veteran comedic actor Tom Arnold had been signed to the title role. CBS also mentioned hiring Tom Hertz as showrunner. Hertz was previously executive producer of popular American sitcoms Spin City and The King of Queens.
While Dee understands a show about his life as a teacher before he became a comedian will be adapted to suit American audiences, with changes including a multi-camera American sitcom system rather than the single camera Canadian system, he hopes the American version will retain Mr. D's mix of character humour, physical comedy and authenticity, along with its use of talented young actors for students instead of 25-year-olds playing teenagers.
References
External links