‘One-season wonder’ Tyler Labine looks to stick with ‘Deadbeat’

Tyler Labine has made so many short-lived TV shows he’s lost count.

“Ten or 11,” he thinks.

The 36-year-old native of Brampton, Ont., is the unofficial king of one-season wonders. He’s just glad his latest series, and the one he’s most proud of, “Deadbeat,” is finally available in Canada.

The show’s second season premieres on Monday on the streaming service CraveTV.

Labine stars as Kevin Pacalioglu, a slacker who has a gift for communicating with spirits. Playing opposite Labine is “So You Think You Can Dance” host Cat Deeley as Camomile White, a rival medium and best-selling author who only pretends to speak with ghosts.

Guest stars in the show’s second season include Danny DeVito, James Franco, Michael Ian Black, Fred Armisen and Gilbert Gottfried.

“Season Two” is a phrase Labine has only been associated with once before. He reached that level with “Reaper,” a series which ran from 2007-09 on the CW.

On the other hand, Labine has enjoyed the variety of playing many different characters in both comedies and dramas. He’s never got tired of a series or stale in a role.

He’s willing, however, to try a longer run with a series, especially with “Deadbeat.”

“I feel like I can treat all the successes and failures leading up to this as boot camp,” he says.

He likes the creative freedom found on Hulu — which launched the show in the U.S. — and other digital platforms.

When approached by Hulu three years ago to do “Deadbeat,” the U.S. digital service was little more than a web-based jukebox filled with TV classics. Netflix, however, was already getting into original content.

“I’m friends with Jason Biggs and he was doing ‘Orange is the New Black,’” says Labine.

“I just knew that the wave was cresting and all signs were pointing to new media.”

He knows all too well how big networks’ notes and standards can water down a series, especially one struggling to survive. But things are different in the digital world.

“This is not the old school CBS or NBC way of doing things,” he says. “Everybody’s in the driver’s seat and we’re all around the wheel.”

Labine says he doesn’t have cable at the home he shares in L.A. with his actress-wife Carrie Ruscheinsky and their two children.

“My friends don’t have cable either,” he adds.

It was a frustration, however, that his parents back in B.C. and other Canadian family and friends could not access Hulu. That’s why he was thrilled when “Deadbeat” was picked up by CraveTV.

“It really sucks having a show that you are proud of being unavailable in your homeland. It made me feel like a liar!”

— Bill Brioux is a freelance TV columnist based in Brampton, Ont.