Brick by brick: Local TV comedy helping build a stronger foundation in Sask.

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After a decade of neglect, Saskatchewan’s film and television community is slowly being rebuilt from the ground up.

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Brick by brick: Local TV comedy helping build a stronger foundation in Sask. Back to video

Regina’s Zarqa Nawaz is proud to support that initiative through her self-titled comedy series ZARQA, which concluded filming for Season 2 last week in the Queen City.

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“We have been really fortunate,” says Nawaz, who’s the creator and star. “Our show is (part of) a pilot program for training crew members because we need to rebuild the crew in Saskatchewan and they’re a vital part to diversify our economy. We’re seeing so much more production happening in Saskatchewan. I’m watching people get trained and employed and we’re bringing dollars into the province. It’s really heartening to see that.”

The groundswell began last year with a renewed financial commitment by the provincial government after it eliminated the original tax credit in 2012, a decision that helped turn Saskatchewan into a relative ghost town for film and television.

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The restoration of that investment came through the Creative Saskatchewan Feature Film and Television Production Grant Program, which received another $2 million injection this spring and is now worth $12 million annually. That doesn’t include a $7.5-million top-up that was added last year to meet growing demand.

It was also announced this spring that Saskatchewan would receive an additional $900,000 in federal funding to help train and mentor aspiring media production workers.

“I think it’s fantastic; I’m really happy that the government is reinvesting in the film and television business in Saskatchewan,” says Nawaz, who witnessed the benefits first-hand on the set of ZARQA.

“There’s so much excitement. Young people are joining our crews. They want to become members of the film and television community … and we need them so badly. So many young people are working for us and it was fantastic to be part of training them.”

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Nawaz, who’s also an author, public speaker and former journalist, is best known as the award-winning creator of Little Mosque on the Prairie, a groundbreaking sitcom that ran on CBC from 2007 to 2012 (before the tax credit was eliminated).

Not unlike Little Mosque, her new show promotes diversity in television and also creates more opportunities for women. ZARQA’s production team is comprised almost entirely of females, including Black, Indigenous and People of Colour.

“It’s a female-led project,” says Nawaz, who is Muslim. “We had four writers and we were all BIPOC and two of the three directors come from the BIPOC community so that’s really important to me.

“The more diversity we have on television the better it is.”

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Another reason for optimism is the positive feedback Nawaz received on Season 1 of ZARQA. The short-form series has already “surpassed my expectations,” she says, adding that it should be even better in Year 2.

“It’s a much more fun and hilarious season for sure because the first season established the characters. Now we can have a lot more fun with the storylines. We took it much farther and it’s much kookier and hilarious than even the first season. Viewers are in for a really amazing ride.”

With post-production now underway, the new six-episode season is expected to be available for streaming on CBC Gem later in 2023. Last year’s finale saw the lead character’s personal relationships come to a head as she prepared to make a choice between three suitors vying for her affection.

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“We see sort of a resolution in the second season where she makes a choice but a highly unusual choice; you see her creating chaos and mayhem in everyone’s lives going forward,” says Nawaz. “Because we ended on such a cliffhanger, people have been asking (about it). ‘Who will she pick? How could you have just left us like that?’

“I think it’s funny when you write about romance how much people become invested in the characters’ lives and what is going to happen next. I keep underestimating audiences and how much they care about what they watch and what an impact stories can make on people’s lives.”

There’s more to come from Nawaz, who recently released a new novel, Jameela Green Ruins Everything. She also has more TV projects in the works and is already discussing her ideas with various broadcast partners.

“I’m very happy to be able to tell them, ‘Yeah, we can shoot in Saskatchewan now,’” she adds. “Before, I was not able to do that. (Now) they’re taking us seriously as a place for production so I’m really happy about that.”

gharder@postmedia.com