CBC comedy Little Mosque on the Prairie will soon be airing in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Dubai, Finland and Turkey.
Producers of the comedy about a Muslim community in the fictional prairie town of Mercy have been pursuing international deals since the show first began to create buzz in Canada eight months ago.
Yasir, played by Carlo Rota, and his wife Sarah, played by Sheila McCarthy, listening intently at a mosque meeting.
(CBC)
"If it can keep on keeping on and create dialogue, then it's serving the purpose of why we wanted to do the show beyond just doing a funny show about Muslims because we felt it hadn't been done yet," said Mary Darling of Westwind Pictures.
Westwind Pictures has interest in distribution rights to the show from countries around the world, said Darling, executive producer of Little Mosque.
"It's been busy, but it's been great. We're so excited by all the interest it's received internationally."
Israeli pay satellite channel Stars 3 will begin airing the first season of the show Oct. 23 in English with Hebrew subtitles.
"It's so gratifying to know we'll be airing in Israel, and my biggest hope is that people watch the show and just feel that they are transported into a place of laughter and positive vibe," Darling said.
Finland's YLE Teema will begin airing Little Mosque next year, and Turkey's Kanal 7 has picked up the first season and five additional shows.
A deal with French network Canal Plus was announced earlier but no U.S. network has yet picked up the lighthearted series.
Its second season begins Oct. 3 on CBC-TV.
Dubai's pay channel Pyramedia will begin airing Little Mosque early next year.
Travelling musical planned
Darling said it will be fascinating to see how Muslims from different traditions greet the show.
"I hope the comedy travels well and people understand that we're not making fun of the faith. We're making fun of the characters — it's something we're very watchful of because we know how sensitive it can be," she said.
Westwind also is planning a travelling musical and comedy show called Little Mosque Presents Islamapalooza.
Cast members including Sheila McCarthy and Neil Crone will participate in the show, which will travel to Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary and possibly Ottawa.
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