In the past decades, we have seen plenty of mockumentaries emerging and becoming fan favourites with their show-like nature and almost realistic interaction with the audience that feels more personal than it is in actuality. ‘The Modern Family‘ is the best example of a well-celebrated mockumentary.
But way before this show, there was another show that had captured the eyes of the audiences who were looking for something funky, comical and least sophisticated in any sort. Trailer Park Boys is one of those shows which is actually a continuation of the 1999 movie of the same name. It is a Canadian Mockumentary or fake documentary sitcom that is created by Mike Clattenburg and produced by Mike Clattenburg, Barrie Dun, Michael Volpe, Jonathan Walker, Mike Smith, John Paul Tremblay and Robb Wells.
The movie was decided to continue in the form of a series which started airing in May 2001 and over the years they gained more and more popularity. The show has a total of twelve seasons and around 105 episodes along with 10 specials. Season twelve was aired in the year of 2018 after which the show has been proceeded to be turned into an animation.
The show initially aired on Showcase until season seven and the content rights were shared with Netflix which became its streaming partner from season eight onwards. The show stars a plethora of actors who played their characters but to name a few there were John Paul Tremblay, Robb Wells, Mike Smith, John Dunsworth, Patrick Roach, Michael Jackson, Barrie Dunn and Sarah E. Dunsworth.
A brief premise of the show
The story follows three lifelong best friends Ricky, Bubbles and Julian living in the Sunnyvale Trailer park who in order to earn more and more money use frivolous ways to get what they need and use petty crimes as their source of maintaining their lifestyle. It is described that Julian records his life because he was informed by a psychic that he will die soon and hence, he wishes to document the last moments of his life.
It shows us a premise of love, friendships, family and money and how all of these can create an impact on our lives. They are mostly in between some of the most uncommon legal troubles and regardless of that, they keep on creating legal scams along with working out schemes to keep them out of jail.
They all grew up on the trailer and hence most of the bad habits became a part of their lives. They were exposed to drinking, smoking, theft, scams and fighting and these were the traits that they carried forward in their life as well.
Their characters are created and portrayed in such ways that we get to see similarities in their stark personalities and the way they respond to situations. Julian is the so-called leader of the group and always is planning and scheming and devising plans. Ricky is known for his use of mistaken use of the wrong words in the wrong places creating a humorous effect on the show. Bubbles trademark is his hyper0-magnified glasses and gets an easy way out whenever caught in any crime.
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Why was Trevor’s character dropped from the show?
The character of Trevor was played by the Canadian actor Michael Jackson (not to be confused with the superstar singer). Trevor was one of the residents of the Trailer Park who was often set up by Julian to take the charge of his crimes.
His character was humourous and was well recognised for his comic timing. But people were shocked to see that the character of Trevor didn’t reprise in season eight after its last appearance in season seven. The story showcased that Trevor along with his friend Cory was sent to a psychiatrist’s facility at the end of season seven. But in the next season, only Cory returned making Trevor’s disappearance a part of the show.
The real reason as stated by Jackson for leaving the show was the improper and extremely difficult work conditions that only seemed to get worse with time. They weren’t given their proper pay for the amount of work they day and there were major inconsistencies in the payments. Even after the show became a hit, they were still underpaid. Along with that they also were made to work for longer hours and were extremely overworked.
He stated that he demanded a raise which was refused by the makers stating that all the other actors are making the same amount which was found to be a clever lie later on. They were mostly understaffed due to their low budget with Jackson holding two more responsibilities other than his daily acting.
The makers were reported to not pay respect to the cast members and the whole work itself by not coming to set on work days and expecting the cast to work on the days that they were not scheduled for. Even though Jackson was criticised by some fans for his decision and the reasons that he stated calling it greedy and overly demanding. They referred to him as a spoilt kid and asked about how can he expect hyper luxury on the sets of a show that is based on a low budget. Some even felt that the actor’s excuses were lame and many other supported his reasons and decision.
The worsening work conditions of the sets of Trailer Park Boys made Jackson finally take the decision to part ways with the show and find his own lane in terms of work. This was the reason why the character of Trevor was dropped under such mysterious circumstances.
