From the Rock to Fraggle Rock: N.L. director takes on reboot of iconic TV show
CBC
Jordan Canning is still reeling after her dreams of working on a favourite childhood TV series came true.
The Toronto-based film and TV director, who is originally from St. John's, recently completed work on three episodes of Fraggle Rock, a hugely popular children's TV series that aired in the 1980s.
"Deep in my bones, I really wanted this job so bad," Canning said.
In a teaser released last week, it was announced that Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock will air on AppleTV+ starting in January 2022. A diehard fan of the show and of its creator, Jim Henson, Canning said getting the opportunity to work on the series was surreal.
"When I got the job, it was a big, big, exciting moment," she said. "Just to get to work with the Jim Henson Company was like a dream."
Fraggle Rock is the latest in a long list of director credits Canning has amassed in her 15-year career.
After a decade of directing shorts and feature films, including 2015's Space Riders: Division Earth, which earned her the Canadian Screen Award for Best Director, Canning forayed into TV, working on renowned series such as This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Schitt's Creek, and Baroness von Sketch Show.
After interviewing for Fraggle Rock, Canning said she felt a kinship with the folks who work behind the scenes.
"I felt like I was talking to my people," she said. "I think puppet people are my people."
Fraggle Rock's five lead characters—Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober and Red—inhabit their own miniature world beyond the one occupied by humans. Their distinct personalities (Mokey is artistic; Boober is superstitious; Red is adventurous, and so on) are an allegory for human diversity. Living together in Fraggle Rock, the characters must learn to cope with their differences, much as humans must do in the real world.
Canning said getting to peak inside their world was a fascinating experience.
"I got to work with Karen Powell, who was the original Red and she was the puppeteer doing Red on the reboot," she said. "She's a total firecracker. She's amazing."
Canning said witnessing the "epic" production of the series left her awestruck.
"The sets are enormous," she said. "I mean, the scale of this show is incredible."
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