Georges St-Pierre, Jonathan Torrens, and Jared Keeso Play Bizarre Bush Brothers in I KILL THE BEAR

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Georges St-Pierre had a massive acting challenge in the new six-part Crave Original comedy series I KILL THE BEAR: he had to try to keep a straight face when surrounded by so many funny people, including Jonathan Torrens and Jared Keeso. I KILL THE BEAR was created by Keeso (LETTERKENNY, SHORESY), whose characters are known for remaining stoic in ridiculous situations. St-Pierre first came to fame as a Mixed Martial Arts champion, and subsequently has appeared in several action films, but this was new territory. “Because of my background in Mixed Martial Arts, normally when I get hired to play a character, they use me mostly for action scenes, and stuff like that,” St-Pierre said. “But this one was very, very different humour, and the hardest part for me was trying not to laugh during the scenes, because if you mess up, if you laugh, you have to start it all over again. I was trying to bite the inside of my mouth, it was hard for me. And hanging out with Jonathan (Torrens) and Jared, these guys are naturally funny. They’re not trying to be funny. They are funny. So I felt like I was going through training by hanging out with them. It was hilarious. I was sore at the end of it.” Premiering Friday, Nov. 6 on Crave, I KILL THE BEAR focuses on the Franco-Ontarian Thibuault family – brothers Gabby (Keeso), Cedric (Torrens), and Olivier (St-Pierre), along with sister Andrée (Sarah-Maude Beauchesne) – who make their living wrangling bears for film and TV productions. The eccentric Thibault clan goes back 100 years doing this unusual job, but the entertainment industry has become a very different place, and the Thibaults are less comfortable in it. When outside forces threaten to tear the family apart, they must ponder the previously unthinkable: is it time to quit bear wrangling forever, leave Hollywood behind, and focus exclusively on their “costume fishing” business? By the way, “costume fishing” has to be seen to be believed. Torrens has obviously appeared in some boundary-pushing TV series before, such as TRAILER PARK BOYS. But I KILL THE BEAR takes him to a different level. “I learned a lot from Jared about comedy,” Torrens said. “His choices for camera work are very still, his choices for the performers are very still. But it takes a certain amount of confidence to know that if the words are funny, and the performances are good, it will work. I probably am a little bigger as a performer, so I would default to overplaying things. This was an exercise in restraint. The thing that makes me laugh personally is the intersection of overconfident and underqualified, so most characters I played until now have been that. This was very different. This character is very qualified, and reasonably confident, but not overconfident.” Torrens continued, “Jared was telling me that he was walking by a couple of crew members, and one turned to the other and said, ‘I’ve been working on this show for weeks, and I still don’t know what it’s about.’ But it’s important to note that it’s not confounding for the wrong reasons. It’s layered and nuanced, and you have to strap in, because you’re not sure where the destination is. But it will take you there, and it is a satisfying conclusion. Heartwarming, even.” Indeed, there’s a great deal of contemporary social commentary in I KILL THE BEAR, which will be surprising to some viewers, given the rather blunt title of the series. “It’s very elevated storytelling,” Torrens observed. “You know, people who like LETTERKENNY and SHORESY will find familiar rhythms in the dialogue, and things like that. But here are these Franco-Ontarian innocents who live in the bush. They’re outside of the social media fray, and a rumour starts based on assumptions that people make about them that aren’t founded in fact. So they are sort of victims of this hype, but in fact, they haven’t really changed their methods. It’s that the world around them has changed so much, and they don’t know how to navigate it. But at their core, they have three messages: be kind, be respectful, and mind your own business. And that’s something all of us could stand to do a little more in this day and age.” St-Pierre believes that I KILL THE BEAR – which also stars Kristin Kreuk, Scott Thompson, Adrian Holmes, Dylan Playfair, Eliana Jones, Frederick Roy, and Megha Sandhu, with many famous guest stars popping up – takes a brave approach that is just what TV needs right now. “This show is going to make waves,” St-Pierre predicted. “I don’t know how to explain how crazy it is. But this is the type of comedy we want, because it makes fun of everybody. This is a very unique show that has not been done in Canada before, and I think people will love it.” For those who have now decided that they are ready and eager to watch the premiere of I KILL THE BEAR, Torrens has a direct message for you. “My advice is, stay with the tour,” Torrens said. “Promise yourselves you’ll stay with it, and see it through six episodes. Because if you don’t, that just means you’ve made the reservation, you sat down, you tried the ‘amuse-bouche,’ but you left before the delicious meal of absurdity. Don’t deny yourself that pleasure. You will think that you know where it’s headed at various stages throughout the show, but you have no idea.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv