‘The Office’ Writer Anthony Q. Farrell To Showrun Second Season Of CBC Comedy ‘Run The Burbs’

Jesse Whittock
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Anthony Q. Farrell, who was among the writers of NBC sitcom The Office, has been tapped as showrunner for season two of CBC comedy Run the Burbs.

Farrell, who was recently handed the 2022 Showrunner Award by the Writers Guild of Canada, will replace season one showrunner Shebli Zarghami on the show, which was officially renewed earlier this month as part of CBC’s 2022/23 slate.

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Co-created by star Andrew Phung (Kim’s Convenience) and Scott Townend (The Secret Marathon), the Pier 21 Films-produced Run the Burbs follows the Phams, a young Vietnamese-South Asian-Canadian family who upend ideas about contemporary family values and life in the suburbs.

“I’m really looking forward to delving into the world that Andrew and Scott have created. The potential for cultural representation on Run the Burbs is incredible,” said Farrell. “They did a beautiful job setting up the Phams and their neighbors in season one, and we plan to expand upon that foundation in season two. This is a family like no other on television and I’m very proud to help bring their stories to life.”

Farrell has recently showrun Super Channel’s sister sitcoms The Parker Andersons and Amelia Parker and sci-fi comedy Overlord & The Underwoods, which was for streaming service CBC Gem and will soon be available on Hulu. It follows a typical North American family whose lives change drastically when Overlord, a distant relative, moves in from another galaxy.

Last week, it was announced Farrell had created single-cam workplace comedy Shelved for CTV, centered around the lives of the employees and patrons at the Jameson Public Library in Parkdale.

He has been an outspoken advocate for diverse writers and launched a funded a Showrunner bootcamp for mid-level writers in Canada through BIPOC TV & Film, while working on two other projects.

Farrell has also worked on CBBC series Secret Life of Boys, which he also created. He wrote several episodes of The Office, and wrote on CBC’s Little Mosque on the Prairie and Nickelodeon’s The Thundermans.

Run the Burbs commissioner CBC this week at the Banff World Media Festival separately unveiled the CBC-BIPOC TV & Film Showrunner Catalyst to help writers who identify as Indigenous, Black or People of Colour to advance in their careers. Over the weekend, CBC CEO Catherine Tait talked through the public broadcaster’s approach to diverse content in an exclusive sit-down with Deadline.

Farrell is represented by Sheree Guitar at SGE and Dave Ritchie at Ambition Talent.

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