Exclusive Interview: Zaib Shaikh

Little Mosque on the Prairie, now in its 5th season on CBC, is possibly Canada's best-known sitcom at the moment. It's leading man is Zaib Shaikh, a charming multi-hyphenate dedicated to the Canadian performing arts landscape. 

The actor-producer-writer-director got his start in the theatre before being cast as Amaar, a forward-thinking Imam who trades his Toronto life as a lawyer for religious life in small town Saskatchewan. 

Taking a page out of Amaar's passion and generosity philosophy, Zaib is spending his time off-set working with his production company Governor Films to develop new Canadian content and create jobs for dedicated artists getting their start in the industry. 

He took some time off from guest hosting Q on CBC Radio to speak with me about the new season of Little Mosque, his award-winning Othello, Governor Films and why Canada is so important to him.

Click Here to read the full interview

Some Quick Notes on Recent TV

- How I Met Your Mother this week: do the showrunners not know that their characters can't afford the negative connotation smoking brings? The only character who survived this week without me losing a bit of love for them was Robin (who, let's face it, always seemed like a bit of a smoker anyway).

- Accidentally on Purpose: a really pretty terrible episode that I didn't mind so much because Zack is just so darned sweet.

- I'm catching up on this season of Survivor this week. So far, with the blindsides of Erik and Kelly one after the other, it's a pretty entertaining season.

- Little Mosque offers up a highly-quotable if incredibly cheesy half hour that makes me wish they'd return to a good old fashioned Amaar/Rayyann matchup episode, bring back the good natured Rev. Magee and send the pompous (and not that funny) new guy packing.

- Being Erica wraps up with the perfect conclusion to the season. The brilliant Kai story was given a satisfyingly bittersweet ending and Erica finally broke up with Ethan, a long time coming. I've been meaning to post more on this episode so hopefully there'll be a follow up in the coming days.

- The season 4 finale of Dexter got spoiled by a Facebook status update that showed up in my Newsfeed. Could not be more annoyed by this fact.

and

- Golden Globe nominations are out! Three cheers for Big Love,which got a couple of choice nominations (including one for the remarkable Chloe Sevigny), and for Neil Patrick Harris who's still holding out for a supporting actor trophy. That said, gross omissions abound and I've decided that I hate award shows.

Little Mosque: "A Hard Day's Fight"

There was nothing I didn’t like about the latest episode of Little Mosque on the Prairie.

Let’s start with the small stuff:

The B story involving Baber teaching at Layla’s school was both funny and sweet. Baber becoming the cool teacher was an inspired writing choice. It would have been so easy to have the students make fun of him and Leila be forced to take sides, but by pulling a reversal like they did the writers managed to surprise me and the story was all the better for it.

As for the A story, let me preface this by saying that “guy time” Amaar, JJ and Duncan style is priceless! As for the episode’s main action of Rayyan and JJ fighting, I think it was sort of inspired. Playing on a common real-life relationship issue, Rayyan and JJ’s fight was painfully and hilariously relatable. Unable to get on the same page and figure out what they really want, the couple is left on a cliffhanger: will they go through with the wedding or go on a permanent “break”? And with Amaar waiting quietly in the wings, it really is hard to say where Rayyan’s true affections lie. 

Also, I'd like to point out that Little Mosque's Eid episode is another fantastic Christmas episode that didn't make Rachael's Christmas list. This is entirely due to the fact that the poor girl's nationality has kept her away from the underrated Canadian gem, something that will soon change (her Little Mosque experience, not her nationality). 

Obsessions: Oct 9-15

Yes I love So You Think You Can Dance Canada and I am partial to NBC's new show My Own Worst Enemy and a big shout out to James Ehnes is required as his Tchaikovsky violin concerto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra last Saturday made my month, but there is one winner for this week's obsessions...

Little Mosque on the Prairie season 3. 

One of very few Canadian shows I actually watch, Little Mosque is absolutely adorable and consistently funny. I watched the first 3 episodes of the season on iTunes tonight and they were lovely. Centering around the Rayyan/Amaar dynamic, the episodes had a bittersweet melancholy to them that undercut the prairie sweetness perfectly. 

Quote of the season so far:

Rayyan: ... otherwise there'll be a 500 pound elephant in the room

Sarah: Wouldn't that be a pretty small elephant?

Rayyan: Well, it has to fit in the room. 

Little Gem on the Prairie

"Little Mosque on the Prairie" may be a little show but it's got a ton of heart and serves up a ton of laughs. This clever CBC sitcom features some of the greatest sitcom characters on TV (and because it's Canadian, its second season wasn't at all affected by the WGA strike).

The show follows the story of a small Muslim community living in Mercy, a small town in the Canadian prairies. When the entrepreneurial contractor Yasir convinces the local Anglican priest to rent them the church hall, the community finally has a mosque that they can call their own. When their new Imam, the beardless and liberal Amar, arrives from Toronto, local extremist Babar is thrown into hysterics while the devout yet feminist doctor Rayann quickly forms a close friendship with him. Featuring a host of other hilarious characters (Sarah the earnest convert, Fatima the spunky Islamic authority and Cafe owner, Fred the prejudiced radio host and Layla the rebellious teenager among others), side splitting and socially relevant plot lines and whip smart dialogue, "Little Mosque" is one show in the Canadian landscape that you do NOT want to miss.

You'll find a new hero in Rayann, a new comedy icon in Yasir, and a new sweetheart to crush on in Amar... not to mention that watching the show will help fight the ignorance that we all are ashamed to admit we have (though learning something IS just a side effect of enjoying yourself)