RIDERVILLE RADIO DEBUTS SATURDAY

Each half-hour episode of the sitcom takes place during a famous game in the Roughriders’ history, from 1956 to 2007. Stories will centre on a group of fans at each game, being forced to deal with any variety of commotion around them.

“Think of it as Corner Gas meeting Bull Durham,” says Toronto-based series creator, Jarrett Rusnak of Dacian Productions. “Rider fans are known around the CFL for their passion, and that passion makes for great comedy – so basically, we’re taking real life, and cranking it up a few notches.”

The series will debut on Saturday, September 12, at 1pm CST on CKRM, a half-hour before the pre-game broadcast of the Banjo Bowl.

“Rider Nation has always been about more than just what takes place on the field,” said CKRM Program Director, Grant Biebrick, “It’s a culture in and of itself. It’s fantastic that Saskatchewan’s creative community has been able to capture, in a lighthearted and humourous way, a glimpse of that passion through this project.”

Each episode is a slight nod to a different cinematic genre. “With episode titles like, ‘Whack to the Future’, ‘Three Brothers and a Funeral’, ‘My Big Fat Green Wedding’ and ‘The Spy Who Yelled at Me’,” said Rusnak, “We think our audience will find something both familiar and novel about these stories.”

Indeed, fans across the CFL should all find something to like about the series. “Nearly every team and city in the league makes a cameo,” continued Rusnak, “Names like Russ Jackson, Jackie Parker, and Milt Stegall are dropped liberally throughout the episodes. Even the Hamilton/Toronto rivalry plays a prominent role in one episode.”

While each episode is a self-contained story, with its own unique set of characters, there remain certain themes that reoccur throughout the series. “It’s sort of a rule to crap on Calgary, and the Stampeders in every episode,” said Rusnak. “The east side men’s room urinal trough in Mosaic Stadium turns up in three episodes, and Mossbank, Saskatchewan also comes up regularly.”

The remote Town of Mossbank, not only appears in three episodes, but will host the series’ launch event on Friday, September 18 at 7pm. “I learned that their town hall needs a fundraiser.” said Rusnak. “With this in mind, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate location to celebrate the debut of our show.”

Fans can learn more about the series’ at ridervilleradiositcom.com<http://ridervilleradiositcom.com>