Finding the comedy within cultural clash.
That’s the thesis statement of Normal Scotia, a show about two Indian immigrants working at a curling club in Halifax, living their lives while encountering the unique oddities of Canadian Maritime living.
Created by Charles Wahl and Amarpal Dhillon, this workplace sitcom follows the lives Shiv (Ishan Sandhu) and Manish (Akshay Shirke) as they attempt to comprehend the wacky ways of Nova Scotia. The first season saw the duo contend with several cultural differences, compared and contrasted: arranged marriages, diets, and even the way Maritimers give directions.
The second season, available now on Bell Fibe TV1, takes the premise even further.
A traditional Maritime kitchen party. Misunderstandings around hockey. A fishing trip. Cultural appropriation versus appreciation. Sexuality. Normal Scotia‘s second season dives deep into the unique situations presented by cultural differences, and with a pre-established world and characters, the show could push even further into the concept than before.
“With season two, we had the benefit of knowing the characters,” says Wahl in an interview with The Coast. “We knew the actors playing all the characters, too, right? So, we could write to their strengths and really find ways to, like, bring those strengths to life even more, and really focus on what we knew worked and avoid aspects of the show that we felt weren’t as strong in the first season.”
New ideas
In the writer’s room this season is Akshay Shirke, who won a Screen Nova Scotia award for his portrayal of Manish. Both Wahl and Shirke have immigration experiences—Wahl moved to Canada with his Moroccan mother and German father when he was two years old, and Shirke was born in India, living in Canada for the last 20 years. With Dhillon unable to work on the show this season, Shirke was asked to write for it. He also directed the second episode of season two.
“That was really exciting, and a little nerve-racking,” says Shirke. “It was sort of big shoes to fill, and the world was so clear and established.
“I’ve been a new immigrant from India to Canada, in the Maritimes, and that has been most of my adult life. The hard part was thinking of how to pare down ideas because when Charles and I sat down and talked about it, it was just like, for hours. We should do this, we should do this, we should do this. I think I remember, Charles was like, all right, you know, we have a budget on this one.”
Highlighting the unique differences and shared experiences between cultures continues in Normal Scotia, but the approach continues to shift as characters develop and new ideas emerge. It also evolves as they dive further into Maritimes eccentricities. The idea of a kitchen party in the last episode of the season is one that Wahl says focused heavily on the Canadiana of it all. The same could be said for episode two, which features Shiv confusing ice hockey with field hockey.
“It’s not something we ever need to force, because it’s inherent in the concept,” says Wahl about Normal Scotia‘s comedy. “We did really want to push a few more sensitive areas that we thought could be really funny.”
This reach into more sensitive topics comes around in two episodes in particular. Episode five deals with a white guy who is perhaps a little too into Indian culture, with the show commenting on the difference between appreciation and appropriation. Episode three deals with the sexuality of the character Deep (Misha Bakashi), whom the cast presume is gay until a certain instance suggests otherwise.
“They spend the entire episode trying to figure out if Deep is straight, and they’re all kind of disappointed if Deep is straight,” says Wahl. “The whole point of that episode is to show that you shouldn’t put labels on anybody. Let people be who they want to be; it shouldn’t matter who they are.”
Favourite moments
Shot at the new Mayflower Curling Club in Timberlea, this season featured several highlights for the cast and crew, including a watch party that both Wahl and Shirke say was one of their favourite moments of the entire season two experience.
“We watched the whole thing from start to finish,” says Shirke. “Seeing the reactions live in the room, it felt like a huge wave of relief. People seemed to really enjoy it.”
When asked about his favourite moments during production, Wahl mentioned being in the writer’s room, trying to crack the sequence leading up to the finale of episode six, as well as filming episode five. Shirke spoke on directing episode two in particular, which they filmed on his birthday.
“The best part of making this is just having everybody around and making art. That’s fun,” says Shirke.
Normal Scotia season two is now streaming on Bell Fibe TV1.
