It doesn’t take much for Mark Critch to reminisce about his junior high years.
“The more doors you open, the more doors open up on their own,” the creator of “Son of a Critch” explains. “It makes you reflect on things a bit more.”
One anecdote, in essence, leads to another. He could be talking with the show’s writers about a nun he remembers and that could lead to a story about his brother working at a radio station. “There’s a little epiphany….and something will happen.”
Critch’s nostalgia journey began when he wrote the memoir, “Son of a Critch.” It hit the bestseller list in 2018, then prompted a Canadian TV adaptation. Last year, The CW bought the show for U.S. audiences. Now, it’s in its third year in both countries.
Mark Critch plays Mike Critch in "Son of a Critch." The Canadian series is based on his life growing up in Newfoundland.
Because cable and streaming services have opened the world, “people are more willing to escape into a different place and not get every other word,” the 49-year-old comedian says. “In the ‘80s, all television shows had to be set in New York. You had no choice.”
Now, “Son of a Critch” is like a peek into Newfoundland, Canada, a world most U.S. viewers didn’t know existed. “They seem to be getting it and understanding it and enjoying it,” Critch says. “Those who don’t, you don’t hear from them because they stopped watching.”
In the series, which chronicles Canadian teen life in the ‘80s, Critch plays his father, Mike. The casting wasn’t a huge leap. Critch did an impression of his dad during his standup years and found it quite easy to slip into dad's blazer for the show.
In an upcoming episode, dad catches him doing the impression at a bar. “Standing there playing my dad yelling at me for doing an impression of my dad was a bit weird,” Critch says. “But what a great gift. You remember things the way you want to remember them. It’s really brought me a lot closer to him and made me realize more of the truth of the memory.”
While both parents died before the book was released, Critch’s brother, Mike, has witnessed the evolution.
“For the love of God, it’s the last thing anybody wants,” Mike told his brother when he heard about the book. But fans have more than proven him wrong.
“We’ve all felt like outsiders at some time,” Mark Critch says. “We’ve all been afraid to tell someone we love them. There’s this mixture of specificity and oddness but also this thing that we all share.”
Critch first felt that connection when he saw “A Christmas Story.” While that took place decades before he was born, “I remember feeling like Ralphie. The family reminded me a lot of my family. Then, ‘The Wonder Years’ was on when I was a kid and I watched that show. I remember the feelings I got from that show.”
“Critch,” he says, is one of those shows the whole family can watch. “They have conversations…and that’s a great gift …you can spur a conversation in the house.”
Benjamin Evan Ainsworth stars as a teenager trying to get through junior high in "Son of a Critch."
In the third season, the teenage Mark Critch gets glasses, tries to flex his seniority in junior high and tests the standup comedy waters.
While some of the references aren’t immediately relatable (test grades, for example, aren’t the same), there’s enough context to bring understanding.
Among a Canadian quirk: broadcast channels that included nudity. Critch laughs at the thought. “That was the French channel. You could turn over to the channel and people were just smoking cigarettes and making love all day. You always had your hand on the knob just in case the parents came in.”
A future episode? As Critch says, one door always opens another.
“Son of a Critch” airs on The CW.
Claire Rankin and Mark Critch play the parents in "Son of a Critch."
