| Liocracy | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Written by | [various] |
| Directed by | Ron Murphy Alan Resnick |
| Starring | Leslie Nielsen |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Greg Jones, Janice Evans |
| Production locations | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | The Comedy Network |
| Release | 21 April 2001 – 1 February 2003 |
Liocracy was a Canadian mockumentary comedy television series, which aired on The Comedy Network in 2001 and 2002.[1]
The show, a spoof of biographical documentary series such as Biography or Life and Times, starred Leslie Nielsen as host Terrence Brynne McKennie.[2] Each episode presented a Biography-type profile of a fictional person loosely based on a real-life personality.
The first episode centred on Friendly Giant, a Friendly Giant–like children's television host with a penchant for sadomasochism who became a pariah after being caught having sex with his rooster sidekick Rudy.[3] Later episodes focused on Anne Surly, a serial killer indirectly based on Lucy Maud Montgomery and her Anne of Green Gables novels; Simon Duke, a horror novelist who was a spoof of Stephen King; Rachel Lange, a soap opera diva; Boyz 'r Us, a pop music boy band; and the on-again off-again romance of Hollywood acting icons Richard Button and Elizabeth Paladoro.[4]
Filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the show was created by Ian Johnston and Peter Hays, two former journalists for the Halifax Daily News.[5]
The show was titled Liography in its first season, but was changed to Liocracy in the second season after the A&E Network, the producers of the original Biography series, threatened a copyright infringement lawsuit.[6] The second season premiered in November 2002, and ran for 13 episodes into early 2003. The series was not renewed for a third season.
References
- ↑ "Leslie Nielsen spoofs TV's biography series: Actor says genre is perfect for parody". The Province, December 3, 2000.
- ↑ "Nielsen's down-home humour keeps faux bio series upbeat". Halifax Chronicle-Herald, November 10, 2002.
- ↑ "Nielsen spoofs TV bio phenom". Windsor Star, April 18, 2001.
- ↑ "Biography gets a Nielsen raking: The Comedy Network is launching a parody of the popular TV genre. Bruce Deachman interviews the host". Ottawa Citizen, April 21, 2001.
- ↑ "Lies, lies and Damn funny lies: Leslie Nielsen yucks it up in the Halifax show Liography". Halifax Daily News, April 20, 2001.
- ↑ "The word from Leslie Nielsen". Halifax Chronicle-Herald, October 19, 2001.