Reflection on Episode 151 of the Afternoon Pint Podcast - By Mike Tobin

(in picture from left to right - Mike Tobin, Bob Mann, Adam DeViller, Taylor Olsen, Matt Conrad)

There is something I admire about people who create where they live. They don’t sit around waiting for someone in Toronto, Los Angeles, or a flagship streaming executive to tell them they’re allowed to make something. They gather their friends, borrow the gear, and write the parts they wish someone else would give them. They shoot on weekends, after their 9-5 jobs, or use their vacation time to turn their burning passion into something meaningful.

That was the feeling I got sitting across from Taylor Olson, Bob Mann, and Adam DeViller. These three Halifax-based creators humbly prove that you can build a film and television body of work in your own backyard. Each of their wildly different projects showcases their love and belief in what they do—not just as a stepping stone or resume builder to make it big in the U.S.

The Importance of Local Creation

This matters more to me now than it did a few years ago. We live in a world where America’s new leader instructs citizens to look angrily inward. Tariffs, trade fights, and political turmoil encourage Canadians to rethink how much we should still fond over our largest neighbor.

As Canadians look inward, we fall into economic survival tropes. Steel, lumber, energy, mining—oh, and did we forget the houses? All the obvious things we should do to keep our country’s economic engine moving. Unfortunately, even as Canada starts to recognize itself better as an independent nation with its own identity, we fail to adjust our lens on the potential of creating and exporting Canadian entertainment.

If Canada is going to become more self-reliant, we can’t just do a better job of selling our resources. We need to tell more of our own stories. Film and television might be one of Canada’s greatest invisible exports. Not because we haven’t made great things, but because we still have this annoying habit of acting surprised when Canadian work is actually… good.

The Drive of Taylor Olson

Taylor Olson is one of those people who makes you feel both inspired and mildly lazy. He started as an actor. Realizing acting jobs weren’t exactly falling from the sky, he began writing roles for himself. Then he started directing. Short films followed, leading to Bone Cage and more features. He secured deals with Bell Fibe TV1 and created Hey Halifax, Hello! Today! Suddenly, you’re looking at a guy from here with films like the award-winning What We Dreamed of Then, which recently traveled quietly through theatres across Canada and into the United States!

That does not happen by accident. Bob Mann said something important about Taylor during the episode. He talked about Taylor’s ability to build relationships, bring people together, find gear, secure funding, and actually get things made. That might not sound as glamorous as a red carpet, but it is probably the most important skill in the whole damn business. Ideas are everywhere, but finished projects are rare.

The Unique Energy of Bob Mann

Bob Mann brings a different energy. He is a comedian, actor, and writer—one of those guys who has clearly spent enough time on stage to know exactly when a room is with him. Taylor called him a master of his craft, and I think that is right. Bob has that rare ability to be funny without seeming like he is begging you to laugh, which is an underrated skill.

Then there is Adam DeViller, who may be the man behind the curtain making sure the weird works. Adam wrote and directed, but he also edited Hey Halifax, Hello! Today!, and that matters. Comedy editing is brutal. One second too short, and the joke dies. One second too long, and the joke dies. Somehow, if you go even longer, sometimes the joke comes back from the dead. As a fan of comedy, it’s great and rare to see when the joke lands perfectly or the weirdness works. Hey Halifax has that recipe.

The Perfect Trio

The three of them together make sense. Taylor has the drive. Bob has the performance instincts. Adam has the dark comedy brain and the timing. Put these three locals together, and you get an authentic sweet spot where the art—whether it’s comedy or horror—starts to make itself.

This is where I think the bigger conversation starts. We talk a lot about Canadian culture as if it is something delicate that needs protection in a glass case. But maybe we should discuss it more like something that can compete. Something that can travel. Something that can make money, create jobs, attract people, and give this country a stronger identity in the world.

Beyond Local Content

The work being made here is not just “local content.” I don’t like the word local very much because, for whatever reason, we seem to associate it with amateurish or small. Local content is how most great and authentic things start. From accents to awkward references, the strange civic pride—that is the good stuff. That is what makes something feel alive. The more honestly a story comes from somewhere, the better chance it has of reaching someone somewhere else.

That was one of the best parts of the conversation with Taylor, Bob, and Adam. They weren’t pretending Halifax is easy. I don’t think either of them had a money counter at home for their efforts, but they looked happy, excited, and healthy. They were honest about the grind, the small budgets, the favours, the arts cuts, and the cost of living. Young creators today may have the hunger to make things, but they often lack the financial breathing room to spend every weekend working for free.

A Call for Change

And this is where Canada needs to smarten up. We cannot keep praising artists after they break through while making it nearly impossible for them to begin. We cannot complain that our culture is being swallowed by America while refusing to watch, fund, share, and champion the people building something different here. Taylor, Bob, and Adam are creating where they live. They are proving that friendship can become infrastructure, that our art can become our export, and that a city like Halifax can be more than a backdrop pretending to be somewhere else. It can be the place where the story actually happens.

In a time when Canada is being forced to rethink its relationship with the United States, maybe the patriotic act, instead of American booze banning, is Watching Canadian. Canadian film, television, and music might continue to be our most undervalued exports. Not unseen because they lack value, but unseen because we have not been looking hard enough.

Recommendations for Canadian Shows

Rant over! But please listen to the episode if you missed this one. Also, I want to recommend a few Canadian shows for you to check out before you go!

• Taylor Olson - Writer, Director, Actor in What We Dreamed of Then. According to IMDb, as I write this, it has won 4 various screen awards and been nominated for 10! Watch here

  
  

• Bob Mann - This guy has been in a ton of shows, but most recently, I saw him in a trailer for a new show with Brooke Shields. Check it out here. Also, if you’re in Halifax, see if he’s doing stand-up somewhere (he probably is).

  
  

• Adam DeViller - Director, Writer, and Editor of Hey Halifax, Hello! Today! Another award-nominated show that will be making its way to the Trailer Park Boys + network soon. Watch here