Jay Baruchel, who stars in the FXX series Man Seeking Woman, is seen at Massey Hall in Toronto in August, 2014.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail
He's a famously proud Montrealer, but actor Jay Baruchel moved to Toronto to star in Man Seeking Woman, a quirky new American sitcom that premiered this week on FXX Canada. We spoke to Baruchel about the project, based on a book of short stories by comedy wunderkind Simon Rich.
Not your average rom-com
"It's hard to describe this show in a synopsis. I get dumped by my long-time girlfriend, and in the first episode I go on my first date since being single. Everyone knows that's the worst experience in the world, so we've taken that to an extreme extent, which is me having a drink with an actual troll. Later, I go to a party where I see my ex and her new boyfriend, and it's a 150-year-old Adolf Hitler in a wheelchair. So, it's a cartoon come to life."
On the similarities between his character, Josh (a naive romantic on a quest for love), and himself
"Maybe I'm not naive, but I'm definitely a romantic. I'm a jaded old bastard, but I'm a feeler, not a thinker, I suppose. I inherited that from my mother."
Filming in Toronto
"The producers told me they don't shoot half-hour comedies north of the border. I said, 'Let's try it.' People have been making movies and television shows in Toronto as long as they've been making them anywhere, and I told them that Toronto has a pretty amazing comedy scene. I mean, [the show is produced by] Broadway Video and Lorne Michaels – he knows better than anyone. So, Mark McKinney plays my step-dad, and the show will employ a bunch of Toronto people for 10 episodes. I'm really proud of that."
Brad Wheeler