Prolonged laughter is often the cause of HICCUPS. This isn’t news for HICCUPS creator and writer Brent Butt: his latest brainchild, and CTV’s newest original series, premieres Monday, March 1 at 8 p.m. ET (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times). The 13-part, half-hour comedy series stars Nancy Robertson as Millie Upton, a successful children’s author who’s prone to flying off the handle, and features Brent Butt as Stan Dirko, Millie’s less-than-qualified life-coach. Together, they work through Millie’s…err…unpredictable spasms, and lead the laughs on CTV’s two-hour Monday night comedy block.
(L to R) Nancy Robertson, Paula Rivera, Laura Soltis, David Ingram,
Emily Perkins and Brett Butt star in HICCUPS
HICCUPS is followed by CTV Original Comedy series DAN FOR MAYOR at 8:30 p.m. and the blockbuster Top 10 hits TWO AND A HALF MEN and THE BIG BANG THEORY at 9 and 9:30 p.m. Following the television broadcasts of HICCUPS, new episodes are available on demand on The CTV Video Player at CTV.ca, thecomedynetwork.ca and on the go at popular internet download stores. Viewers can also enjoy encore broadcasts of HICCUPS on Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The Comedy Network.
“From Canada’s most respected and successful comedy comedic mind, Brent Butt is back with a rollicking urban comedy in HICCUPS,” said Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc. “In Millie Upton, he’s created a character that could be played by no other than the incomparable Nancy Robertson.”
“I am thrilled return to Canadian television in the role of Millie Upton,” said Robertson. “It’s a blast playing her. I hope the audience has just as much fun watching her and the rest of this talented ensemble.”
“I’m so excited to get HICCUPS on the air,” said Butt. “I may be a smidge biased, but it truly is my new favourite show. Nancy as Millie just kills me …she’s nuts! And the rest of the cast is fantastic. Every day in every scene, someone would bust me up.”
In HICCUPS, it’s a case of the lost leading the lost, with the best of intentions and very little chance of success. Millie’s motley crew of colleagues and supporters includes Laura Soltis (THE GUARD) as Joyce, David Ingram (SMALLVILLE) as Taylor Rymes, Emily Perkins (Ginger Snaps) as Crystal, and Paula Rivera (FLASHPOINT) as Anna.
Though wildly successful in her career, Millie is socially unpredictable. She is prone to sudden outbursts of laughter, sadness and rage. All traits that life coach Stan tries to subdue, her publisher Joyce (Soltis) fails to keep under wraps and her slick but useless agent (Ingram) is too self-centred to notice. Meanwhile Crystal (Perkins), a highly opinionated young slacker receptionist at Millie’s publishing company, Haddison House, doesn’t do much for the company’s image. Stan finds life-support in his wide-eyed and slightly bewildered wife, Anna (Rivera), who does her best to support his impractical dream of becoming a life coach.
In the premiere episode, “Millie, Meet Stan” (Monday, March 1 at 8 p.m. ET), Millie seeks help from Stan after causing a public disturbance at a coffee shop. In spite of his ineptitude Stan manages to gain Millie’s trust as a client. Meanwhile Joyce threatens to cancel an important event unless Millie finds the help she needs.
Filmed in Vancouver, HICCUPS is produced by Sparrow Media in association with CTV and The Comedy Network.
