Jay Baruchel on ‘Man Seeking Woman,’ shooting in Toronto

This week, the Canadian film and television industries will celebrate outstanding achievements at the annual Canadian Screen Awards (airing Sunday night on CBC).

Many TV shows shot in Canada, despite their merits, are not eligible. These are the so-called “service” shows, programs made by American networks and studios and shot in cities such as Vancouver (where “Supernatural” and “The Flash” are produced for the CW), Calgary (FX’s “Fargo”) and Toronto (FX’s “The Strain”).

Toronto is also home to “Man Seeking Woman,” which airs on FXX Canada. The outrageous comedy stars Jay Baruchel as hopeless nerd Josh who has no luck with the ladies. In recent weeks, Josh has been competing with his cool roommate Mike (Eric Andre) for the affections of perky office mate Rosa (Rosa Salazar). It all comes to an explosive head Wednesday on the second season finale.

Born in Ottawa and raised in Montreal, Baruchel is an exception to the rule. He’s a Canadian starring in an American series shooting in Canada.

The 33-year-old says the past year has been “the greatest year of my life.” Speaking with reporters at the TV networks’ press tour in Pasadena, Calif., in January, Baruchel described balancing “Man Seeking Women” with his own big-screen pet project, “Goon: Last of the Enforcers.” The sequel to 2012’s hockey comedy “Goon” will be released in the fall.

Besides starring in the movie, Baruchel also wrote and directed.

“It really beat me up,” he says of the workload, “but I’m just so bloody excited to show the world this movie.”

Seann William Scott and Liev Schreiber return from the first “Goon,” while a Canadian-born actress who broke into TV with Baruchel nearly 20 years ago — Elisha Cuthbert, in the series “Popular Mechanics for Kids” — is also in the movie.

Cuthbert is married in real life to former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf. He’s not in the movie; “I am a Habs fan, after all,” says Baruchel.

Several NHLers past and present get in on the action — including Georges Laraque, Tyler Seguin and Colton Orr — as does “Schitt’s Creek” star Eugene Levy.

While “Man Seeking Woman” was created by and is executive produced by an American, Simon Rich, the show boasts a largely Canadian crew as well as many Canadian actors in supporting roles.

“I always beat the drum to hire as many locals as we can but I don’t need to tell them that,” says Baruchel, “they know.”

Besides the great crews and low Canadian dollar, Rich says there are two other important reasons to shoot his show in Toronto.

“From a casting perspective,” he says, “you can find a lot of talented people but also it’s very important that there are so many ethnicities represented in Toronto,” he says. “You can actually cast a wide net, and it looks like the real world.”

The second thing, says Simon, is “we’re excited by the esthetic of the city.”

“Man Seeking Woman” sometimes borders on being a live-action cartoon — or as Simon says: “Our show is very strange. Sometimes we need a cabin in the woods, or to be at the top of Mount Olympus. Sometimes we need to be in downtown Chicago, sometimes we need to be in the suburbs. Toronto is one of the few places where we can pull all that off within a 40-mile radius.”

Simon, 31, grew up a fan of“The Simpsons” and the CBC sketch series “The Kids in the Hall.” He fulfilled a dream by becoming a writer on “The Simpsons” while in his early twenties and, so far, he’s managed to bring “60 per cent” of the “Kids” comedy troupe into his series.

Mark McKinney (also on NBC’s “Superstore”) plays Josh’s step-dad opposite Robin Duke. The former “Saturday Night Live” player was pulled into the “Man Seeking Women” writers’ room last year and found it “one of the smartest rooms ever.” Among the writers is revered former “Simpsons” scribe Ian Maxtone Graham.

In season 2, McKinney’s sketchmates Scott Thompson and Kevin McDonald both make guest starring appearances.

“All we need now,” says Simon, “are Dave Foley and Bruce McCulloch.”

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