Brent Butt Says the CORNER GAS ANIMATED Finale Folds Up the Franchise Fittingly, Aided by A-List Guest-Star Ryan Reynolds

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Given the occasion and the history, Brent Butt was asked a blunt question: Is the series finale of CORNER GAS ANIMATED, airing Monday. Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV Comedy Channel, really the end of the road for the enduring and beloved CORNER GAS franchise? First came the live-action sitcom CORNER GAS, which wrapped up in 2009. Then came CORNER GAS: THE MOVIE in 2014. And now CORNER GAS ANIMATED is closing its doors after four successful seasons. “You know, I’ve learned to never say never with this franchise, or this show – it’s the zombie show, right?” Butt said. “But let’s put it this way: I fully expect that this will be the final incarnation. Because you don’t want to go to the well too many times.” But what a deep and funny well it has been! Butt, of course, is the creator of all things CORNER GAS. He starred as Brent Leroy in the live-action series and the movie, alongside Gabrielle Miller (Lacey), Fred Ewanuick (Hank), Eric Peterson (Oscar), Nancy Robertson (Wanda), Lorne Cardinal (Davis), Tara Spencer-Nairn (Karen), and Janet Wright (Emma). The same cast returned to do voice work on CORNER GAS ANIMATED when it debuted in 2018, with the exception of Wright, who passed away in 2016 (Corrine Koslo took over the Emma role). Butt said that when it was determined Season 4 would be the final season for CORNER GAS ANIMATED, production was already well under way. “So we lobbied them to let us do one extra episode, because we already had the whole season kind of written, and we said, if this is going to be the end, let us do an episode where we write a proper goodbye,” he explained. “At the same time, I didn’t want anything maudlin. I always wanted the show to end in a way that feels like things just go on – I did that with the live-action version, too. I didn’t want, you know, a meteor to come and wipe out the town, or a giant mob hit that massacres everybody. I want it to feel like everything continues to go on in Dog River, but we’ve just stopped rolling the cameras.” But that’s not to say CORNER GAS ANIMATED isn’t going out with a bang. An eye-popping guest-star in the final episode is Canadian actor and Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds. “Yeah, I thought it was good that we were able to throw him a bone, and give this kid a break,” said Butt, tongue firmly in cheek. “Hopefully it will give him a leg up. He can put this on his resume and maybe it will open some doors for him.” Speaking more seriously about Reynolds, Butt added, “he was always on my list of ‘wants,’ the guest stars you’d like to get, but you don’t think you’re going to. We floated it out there, and he just said yes right away. You can tell he’s a get-things-done kind of guy. He said, ‘absolutely, I’ll record it right now.’ And then afterward he sent me a really nice little ‘DM’ (direct message) on Twitter, just saying he was honoured to take part, and he congratulated us on such an amazing run. So, really nice guy.” CORNER GAS devotees will recognize the connection when they see that the final episode of CORNER GAS ANIMATED is titled “Ruby Re-Burn.” The very first episode of CORNER GAS, way back in 2004, was titled “Ruby Reborn” (the Ruby, run by Lacey, is the coffee shop that’s attached to the gas station). “It just kind of comes full circle in a way,” Butt said. “I never really thought anybody was going to be all that interested in a show about a gas station in Saskatchewan, so for us to be sitting here 17 years later, it’s pretty amazing to me. And I think if you’re a fan of CORNER GAS, you’re going to really like how CORNER GAS ANIMATED wraps up.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv