Mocumentary about getting Oshawa off ‘Worst Cities in Canada’ list airs

Hannah, the star of mocumentary-style comedy workplace ensemble series ‘Destination Oshawa, had one job when her boss dropped dead and she was appointed director of the (fictional) Oshawa Tourism Board: get the city – the butt of many a joke in the real world – off the ‘Worst Cities of Canada’ list by the end of the year.

The 14-minute first episode, directed by Jon Riera and Dave Luca and starring stand-up comedian and actor Hannah Veldhoen, debuted Thursday and sees Hannah try and inspire her crack team of misfits to fulfill her promise of putting Oshawa on the map “in a good way.”

After hearing the mostly pejorative ‘Dirty Shwa’ nickname a few times, Hannah declared “it’s obvious we’re in need of a rebrand.”

Her solution? “Assemble an elite tourism task force, made up of highly skilled individuals with one mission: reintroduce Oshawa on the global stage, boost tourism and make millions in the process.”

What follows is shots of her motley crew and their shenanigans at Oshawa landmarks like Midtown Mall, the Bandshell at Memorial Park and Parkwood Estate, as well as parks and local neighbourhoods around town.

The campaign does meets with some passive resistance. “We’re trying to give Oshawa a good name,” shouts a member of the team. “That can’t be accurate,” was the dry response from one resident.

Hannah, however, is keeping the faith.

“I AM Oshawa,” she proclaimed. “And I will not let me down.”

Reaction has been overwhelmingly positive on social media, especially Instagram.

• “We’re in a Canadian media Renaissance and I could never be happier” – jakeadamson
• “Parks and Rec meets Portlandia?” – brettcorrell
• “The Shwa is shining bright” – nicmcfarlane
• “Proof it’s still the golden age of tv” cyborgcleo
• “Funny as f**k” – Will

Production on the series happened last October, with filming in Oshawa and in Richmond Hill. Episode 1 (‘You’re hired! You’re hired!’) is now streaming on Bell Fibe TV1.

As they say in the promo, “Local tourism has never gone this hard.”