What happens when Canada’s top oil companies pledge to become a part of the climate solution? Not very much.
TORONTO, April 22, 2024 /CNW/ – ARCA Productions has launched a new satirical web series that can be streamed on YouTube, just in time for Earth Day.
The premise of the 12 part web series is the top five oil companies in Canada come together to take on the existential threat of climate change. They hire optimistic Chief Sustainability Officer, Amanda Green, played by Workin’ Moms actor Sarah McVie, to inspire the CEOs of Suncorpse, Rancor Oil, Smegoil, Imperius and Novopus to help them to change their ways while staying exactly the same.
Boardroom scheming, satirical sit-down interviews with the CEOs, one of whom is a vampire, an anti-wind commercial and a parody crisis line for beleaguered oil execs make up the series, directed by the award-winning Lisa Robertson (SmokeBreak) and written by Jeanie Calleja, Megan Flynn, Robin McCullogh, Gord Rand, Rick Roberts, Liisa Repo-Martell.
“Comedy is a great way to start a conversation in these polarized times because it creates an instant bond between creator and audience. If you can laugh together, you have something in common, no matter what your politics are,” writer and producer, Liisa Repo-Martell explains.
Inspired by real messaging from Canada’s oil and gas industry, the series pokes fun at the absurdity of big oil rebranding themselves as heroes that will solve the climate crisis.
“We want Canadians to be sceptical about any solutions from oil and gas. In other words, maybe plans to tackle climate change shouldn’t come from the people causing climate change.”
The first web series from ARCA Productions also stars Anand Rajaram (I Like Movies), Rick Roberts (This Life), Gord Rand (Transplant), Elizabeth Saunders (From) and Cliff Saunders (Murdoch Mysteries), with a guest appearance by Nicola Correia-Damude (The Boys).
ARCA (Artists for Real Climate Action) formed prior to the 2019 Canadian election after a UN IPPC Report warned that we had 12 years to make massive changes or face irreversible climate chaos. Shocked that climate change was not being debated, ARCA gathered 100+ Canadian celebrities to create content, mostly comedy, that urged Canadians to demand a plan to address climate change.
Find them at: https://www.youtube.com/@ARCAproductions911
SOURCE Artists for Real Climate Action
Featured image: DepositPhotos © Hugolacasse
