Nirvanna the Band the Show

Nirvanna the Band the Show
Created by	Matt Johnson; Jay McCarrol
Written by	Andrew Appelle; Robert Hyland; Curt Lobb; Matthew Miller; Jay McCarrol; Jared Raab
Starring	Matt Johnson; Jay McCarrol
Opening theme	Various
Ending theme	"Army" by Ben Folds Five
Country of origin	Canada
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	16 (list of episodes)
Production
Production locations	Toronto, Ontario
Cinematography	Jared Raab; Andrew Appelle
Editors	Robert Hyland; Curt Lobb; Andrew Appelle
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	Zapruder Films ; Vice Studio Canada
Distributor	Vice Studio Canada
Release
Original network	Viceland (2017-18); City (2017); CBC (2019-present);
Picture format	1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Original release	February 2, 2017 –; present
External links
	Website

Nirvanna the Band the Show is a Canadian mockumentary television series based on the web series of the same name, created by and starring Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol. It premiered on February 2, 2017 on Viceland.[1]

The show has been renewed for a third season and there are plans for a fourth.

Premise

The show stars the duo as "Nirvanna the Band," two hapless lifelong best friends and roommates, who engage in a series of complex publicity stunts around their home city of Toronto in the hopes of landing a gig at The Rivoli, despite the fact that they have never actually written or recorded a single song, nor taken any other steps to get their band ready.[2]

Production

The show is a combination of scripted scenes, candid camera footage of people unaware the show is being filmed, and improvisation. Often the show is influenced by events that happen in reality. For example, in the fifth episode, "The Big Time", creators Johnson and McCarrol used the premiere of Johnson's real life movie Operation Avalanche at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival to film an episode around the concept of the character Matt sneaking a fictional movie of the same name into the festival. In the same episode, a woman unaware of the show being filmed intrudes on a scripted conversation between Johnson and Kevin Smith (appearing as himself), offering Johnson alcohol, which inspired Johnson and McCarrol to include the concept of the character of Matt discovering a love of alcohol in the episode. The show frequently blends the line between fiction and reality in ways like these, with actors breaking character and characters breaking the fourth wall.[3]

Originally created as web series between 2007 and 2009, it was later expanded into a full television series which premiered on Viceland on February 2, 2017.[4][5] Three episodes were also screened at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival as part of its Primetime program of television projects.[6] The series was originally announced in 2016 as slated to air on City, but was later shifted to Viceland with City airing only the first episode as a preview special. The second season has not been picked up for broadcast outside of Canada, however is available for streaming in Australia via SBS On Demand and in Britain via Channel 4 On Demand.

In August 2019, CBC Television officially acquired Nirvanna the Band the Show from Viceland and began airing the series, alongside streaming on CBC Gem.[7][8]

The main characters, Matt and Jay, are based on characters McCarrol and Johnson started developing in high school in Mississauga.[9]

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Originally aired
Season		Episodes	First aired	Last aired
	1	8	February 2, 2017 (2017-02-02)	March 23, 2017 (2017-03-23)
	2	8	October 27, 2017 (2017-10-27)	February 9, 2018 (2018-02-09)

Season 1 (2017)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
1	1	"The Banner"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	February 2, 2017 (2017-02-02)	0.063
In an effort to raise awareness about the band, Matt and Jay drop a huge banner across from The Rivoli. Opening Title: Original Web Series[10] (Music Used: "Pop Looks Bach" by Sam Fonteyn)
2	2	"The Booking"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	February 9, 2017 (2017-02-09)	0.053
Matt and Jay book their own gig by sneaking into the music listings page of Toronto's alt weekly newspaper. Opening Title: Growing Pains[10]
3	3	"The Bean"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	February 16, 2017 (2017-02-16)	0.038
The guys try to get a float into the annual Santa Claus parade; challenges abound, and they are left wondering if they will get their Christmas miracle. Opening Title: Home Alone[10]
4	4	"The Blindside"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	February 23, 2017 (2017-02-23)	0.042
Matt goes temporarily blind on opening day of The Force Awakens. Opening Title: Daredevil[10]
5	5	"The Big Time"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	March 2, 2017 (2017-03-02)	N/A
Matt spirals out of control after he sneaks his film into Sundance and becomes a pseudo-celebrity. Opening Title: Entourage[10]
6	6	"The Boy"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	March 9, 2017 (2017-03-09)	N/A
Matt and Jay befriend a sick kid to use his final wish to ask for Nirvanna the Band to play the Rivoli. They wind up showing him the time of his life. Opening Title: Crank[10]
7	7	"The Buffet"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	March 16, 2017 (2017-03-16)	N/A
Jay writes Matt a letter saying that he is leaving the band. Over a feast at an all you can eat Chinese buffet, Jay tries to work up the courage to read Matt the letter. Opening Title: My Dinner with Andre[10]
8	8	"The Bank"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	March 23, 2017 (2017-03-23)	N/A
Matt and Jay become unwitting players in a hostage situation. But Matt sees it as an opportunity to finally make it to the Rivoli. Opening Title: Dog Day Afternoon[10]

Season 2 (2017–18)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
9	1	"The Burger"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	December 8, 2017 (2017-12-08)	N/A[11]
Matt and Jay try to stick to one plan for the entire season. Opening Title: Wahlburgers
10	2	"The Boost"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	November 10, 2017 (2017-11-10)	N/A[11]
Matt wants to use Jay's Goldeneye 64 skills to win a show at the Rivoli, but Jay comes across some medical problems. Opening Title: GoldenEye 007
11	3	"The Buddy"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	November 3, 2017 (2017-11-03)	N/A[11]
Matt comes up with a new plan after watching Mrs. Doubtfire and brings the plan to life in two very different ways. Opening Title: Mrs. Doubtfire
12	4	"The Book"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	October 27, 2017 (2017-10-27)	N/A[11]
In a non-canon Halloween special, Matt goes trick-or-treating while Jay stays home and plays music from a haunted book, which shrinks him. Opening Title: Treehouse of Horror
13	5	"The B-Day"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	November 17, 2017 (2017-11-17)	N/A[11]
Matt forgets Jay's birthday and tries to make it up to him. Jay gets lost at Toronto's 4/20 festival. Opening Title: The Walking Dead
14	6	"The Banned"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	November 24, 2017 (2017-11-24)	N/A[11]
Matt and Jay convince a computer store employee to try to hack into the Rivoli's computer. Opening Title: Hackers
15	7	"The Band List"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	February 9, 2018 (2018-02-09)	N/A[11]
Matt and Jay sneak into Toronto's tunnels to get under the Rivoli. Opening Title: Indiana Jones
16	8	"The Banned List 2" "The Betrayal"	Matt Johnson	Andrew Appelle, Robert Hyland, Curt Lobb, Jay McCarrol, Matthew Miller, Jared Raab	January 12, 2018 (2018-01-12)	N/A[11]
After Matt and Jay's previous plan fails, they find themselves stuck on the Rivoli's roof.

Critical reception

The show has received mostly positive reviews.

Jake Howell of The Globe and Mail praised the show, commenting "Bickering like a married couple, Matt and Jay's constant back-and-forth enabling, backstabbing and belittling of each other has thus far made for great television."[12]

Notes

References

"'Can-con bad boy' Matt Johnson: Meet the enemy inside TIFF's gates". The Globe and Mail. September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
"Nirvanna the Band the Show is back – but this time it's bigger and on proper TV". Now Magazine. June 6, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
"Thoughts on Nirvanna the Band the Show". Youtube.
"nirvanna the band the show". Exclaim!. September 11, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
"Viceland's original comedy 'Nirvanna the Band the Show' arrives February 2". Cartt.ca. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
"Nirvanna the Band the Show to premiere at TIFF". Now Magazine. August 3, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
@NTBTHESHOW (June 13, 2019). "As if the @Raptors being in the finals wasn't enough, Canadians can now stream Season 1 of NTBTS for free right now on the @CBC GEM player!" (Tweet). Retrieved September 22, 2019 – via Twitter.
@NTBTHESHOW (August 13, 2019). "Catch Season 2 on @CBC at 11:30pm all week! Nirvanna The Band week! @CBCComedy" (Tweet). Retrieved September 22, 2019 – via Twitter.
"Nirvanna the Band the Show puts Toronto front and centre in hilarious new show for VICELAND". Now Magazine. February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
Taylor, Noah R. (March 29, 2017). "Nirvanna the Band the Show (2017) – Art of the Title". The Art of the Title. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
Howell, Jake (October 31, 2017). "Why aren't people watching Nirvanna the Band the Show?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
"Why aren't people watching Nirvanna the Band the Show?". The Globe and Mail. October 31, 2017.

External links

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[1] "'Can-con bad boy' Matt Johnson: Meet the enemy inside TIFF's gates". The Globe and Mail. September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.

[2] "Nirvanna the Band the Show is back – but this time it's bigger and on proper TV". Now Magazine. June 6, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.

[3] "Thoughts on Nirvanna the Band the Show". Youtube.

[4] "nirvanna the band the show". Exclaim!. September 11, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.

[5] "Viceland's original comedy 'Nirvanna the Band the Show' arrives February 2". Cartt.ca. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017.

[6] "Nirvanna the Band the Show to premiere at TIFF". Now Magazine. August 3, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.

[7] @NTBTHESHOW (June 13, 2019). "As if the @Raptors being in the finals wasn't enough, Canadians can now stream Season 1 of NTBTS for free right now on the @CBC GEM player!" (Tweet). Retrieved September 22, 2019 – via Twitter.

[8] @NTBTHESHOW (August 13, 2019). "Catch Season 2 on @CBC at 11:30pm all week! Nirvanna The Band week! @CBCComedy" (Tweet). Retrieved September 22, 2019 – via Twitter.

[9] "Nirvanna the Band the Show puts Toronto front and centre in hilarious new show for VICELAND". Now Magazine. February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.

[titles-10] Taylor, Noah R. (March 29, 2017). "Nirvanna the Band the Show (2017) – Art of the Title". The Art of the Title. Retrieved December 4, 2017.

[views-11] Howell, Jake (October 31, 2017). "Why aren't people watching Nirvanna the Band the Show?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 6, 2017.

[12] "Why aren't people watching Nirvanna the Band the Show?". The Globe and Mail. October 31, 2017.