TORONTO — Tom Green says he isn’t big on political statements — but in his own way, he’s taking a stand.
By returning to Canada after decades in Los Angeles to make homegrown content with a Canadian company, the Ottawa-born comedian says he's throwing his "elbows up" by showing what makes his home country great.
"I got out (of the United States) just in the nick of time," cracks Green, who moved to a farm in Central Frontenac, Ont., during the pandemic.
Green says he was in the middle of a U.S. tour in January when President Donald Trump first began musing on annexing Canada.
"I'd talk about it on stage. I'd say, 'Well, I'm from Canada, the 51st state' and the crowd of Americans would cheer, thinking that I thought that was a good thing," recalls Green, sitting in a Toronto hotel room Thursday accompanied by his dog Charlie.
"And I'd be like, it is going to be the only state in the union where nobody in it wants to be American, except for Wayne Gretzky, Jordan Peterson and the guy from 'Shark Tank.'"
Green says his newly announced Crave interview series, "Tom Green's Funny Farm," aims to clear up misconceptions about Canada and show off the country's beauty.
Each hourlong episode sees Green host a variety of guests — including comedians, celebrities and "country-folk neighbours" — at his rural Ontario property. He'll also explore historic sites and local communities to learn more about Canada's rural heritage.
"It's sort of sad to hear the kind of divisive talk happening from the president of the United States. ...I don't like to dive into the political debate head-on, but I think just showing the positive aspects of living in Canada is my way of saying something," says Green, who rose to fame in the late '90s with his MTV series “The Tom Green Show."
"(When I'm) just riding my mule through the beautiful Canadian wilderness, on my social media, people all over America will say, 'What state are you in?' And I'm saying, 'I'm in Canada, man. This is Canada.' People don't even realize what Canada is all about, so it's fun for me to show that to everyone."
Green was in town Thursday for Bell Media's presentation of its 2025/26 programming slate.
It includes Crave's “Heated Rivalry,” an hourlong drama series based on the bestselling queer hockey romance novel by Nova Scotia author Rachel Reid. "Letterkenny" director Jacob Tierney wrote and is helming the adaptation.
"Tom Green's Funny Farm" is the first from a co-development deal between Bell and Green’s production company, Tom Green Productions Canada, announced in February — just a month after the comedian released a standup special, a documentary and an unscripted series about his farm life on Prime Video.
Green says his Prime Video series, "Tom Green Country," was a "one-off show" that wasn't up for renewal, and that he's happy to now be working with a Canadian media company.
"I've had good success in the United States. I worked with MTV for years. I just did a show for Prime Video here in Canada, but Amazon is an American company. I'm now very proud to working with Bell Media, absolutely. Elbows up!"
Bell’s upcoming slate includes “Slo Pitch,” a comedy about a scrappy queer softball team chasing beer league glory, coming to Crave and CTV. A remake of the 2020 OutTV web series, it marks the first project from Elliot Page’s Pageboy Productions under a new co-development deal with Bell.
Also coming to CTV is “Match Game,” a revival of the U.S. game show, this time hosted by Martin Short and filming in Montreal this summer.
Crave will be home to a new, still-untitled comedy from "Letterkenny" creator Jared Keeso, set to begin production this fall and premiere next year. The series is part of Keeso’s multi-year content deal with Crave, signed in 2023, to develop "Letterkenny" spinoffs and original projects.
Other Crave greenlights include "Make Yourself Over," a half-hour beauty competition series from Scott Brothers Entertainment, and "Sigil," an hourlong fantasy-horror show executive produced by Devery Jacobs, Lilly Wachowski and Chris Lavis.
Crave's hourlong drama "Seoul Palace," meanwhile, tells the story of an exiled Korean rockstar who runs the first Asian nightclub in Toronto, inspired by the history of the city's storied venue Lee's Palace.
A Bell spokesperson said the limited series "Bad Trips," Sasha Leigh Henry's drug-trafficking drama announced last year for Crave, will not move forward due to international financing for the project not lining up.
Bell cancelled Henry's Canadian Screen Award-winning comedy "Bria Mack Gets a Life" after one season last year.
Returning Crave series include “Late Bloomer,” “Super Team Canada,” “The Trades” and “The Office Movers,” while “Sullivan’s Crossing,” “The Traitors Canada” and "The Amazing Race Canada” come back to CTV.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
