TORONTO — Trey Richards was recently driving in Toronto when a commercial moving truck rolled up next to him.
“The driver honked their horn and gave me the peace sign,” says the comedian, who co-created and stars in Crave’s new half-hour comedy “The Office Movers” with his brother Jae.
“We’ve just been getting genuine love. It’s like people feel like, ‘My God, we’re being heard.’”
“They’re celebrating with us. It feels like it’s everybody’s show,” adds Jae Richards.
“The Office Movers,” which premiered earlier this month, follows Jae and Trey as brothers Everett and Eric, who begrudgingly step into their father’s shoes by running a chaotic office-moving company in Toronto. They work with a quirky, diverse crew of misfits, including their Cuban stepbrother Riccardo, played by Lucas Lopez. Everett’s goal is to build the business, sell it and leave heavy lifting behind for good.
In an interview ahead of the final two episodes of the season, which stream Thursday, the brothers said they have material for several more seasons, while also expressing some uncertainty about the show’s future given the tough TV landscape.
The series draws inspiration from the Brampton, Ont.-born brothers’ early days working at their father’s moving company before attracting an audience on their YouTube comedy channel Jae & Trey Vlogs.
Some of those real-life movers inspired the show’s characters.
“It’s such a spotty, random, whoever’s-free type of job,” Jae Richards says.
“It made for some of the most unlikely friendships, but also some of the funniest moments.”
“The Office Movers” frequently features Toronto’s multicultural slang — often with subtitles for comedic effect — and the brothers, who have Jamaican and Colombian roots, say it depicts a side of the city rarely seen on screen.
“Who else is saying ‘Bismillah’ on Crave? It’s so fun for me personally to just watch my people and my slang (on TV). That’s how all my friends talk in Toronto,” Trey says, referring to the Arabic phrase invoked by Muslims that’s also used in Toronto slang.
“To see all these cultures and a bunch of true, authentic identities on screen, it feels good.”
The brothers tease a chaotic finale in the last couple of episodes, setting the stage perfectly for a second season.
“The way episode six ends was intentionally set to leave us with an open (plot) where we can move forever now,” Jae Richards says, adding that no decision on the series’ renewal has been made yet.
“There’s so much more to explore.”
But the brothers acknowledge the harsh realities of the streaming business mean nothing is guaranteed.
In May, Bell Media cancelled Crave’s “Bria Mack Gets a Life” after just one season, announced weeks before the Black-led series claimed the best TV comedy trophy at the Canadian Screen Awards. The broadcaster said it pulled the plug because the show “could not find an audience.”
The year prior, CBC’s period drama “The Porter” wasn’t renewed for a second season after winning a record 12 Canadian Screen Awards.
In an op-ed for Refinery29 published earlier this month, “Bria Mack” creator Sasha Leigh Henry questioned why so many critically acclaimed Black-led shows, including comedies like HBO Max’s “Rap Sh!t” and “South Side,” and ABC’s “The Wonder Years,” get cancelled.
“It’s hard not to wonder why our shows don’t get the time to grow an audience,” she wrote.
Jae Richards says he felt “Bria Mack” deserved “more runway” at Bell Media.
“I guess to them, business is business, which is unfortunate. But I definitely think they learned, though. They definitely heard the people. They felt the frustration,” he adds, referring to the social media uproar that followed the cancellation of “Bria Mack.”
Media analyst Gregory Taylor says the recent spate of cancellations can be explained by the “ugly economics” of streaming, where companies have access to immediate audience data.
“If people start watching a series but they don’t quite finish it, the streamers have access to that knowledge and in a lot of cases it’s getting shows cancelled before they would usually be,” says the media and film professor at the University of Calgary.
“Crave and all of the streamers are showing very little tolerance for shows that don’t find an immediate audience…. This is a problem for the industry, which is likely missing out on some shows that would have had long-term relevance.”
Jae Richards says the future of “The Office Movers” is in the “universe’s hands” and he’s encouraged by the support fans have shown. The brothers benefit from having a built-in audience from their YouTube following.
But even if the series isn’t renewed, it already feels like a success to them.
“To see this on TV forever, it’s a part of Canadian history. There’s nothing you can do about it now,” Jae Richards says.
“Obviously, we definitely want more, but that’s a huge satisfaction to us.”
And if all else fails, office moving is always an option.
“Our dad is still in office moving and he even tried to get us to come back to work, like, literally last year,” Trey Richards says.
“He knows we would help him. That’s the funny part,” adds Jae Richards.
“We’d rather not, but bottom line, we’re there.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
