Network: CTV Television Network
Broadcast Run: 1976 to 1977
Broadcast Medium: Television
Comedian David Steinberg, an alumnus of Chicago’s Second City Comedy team had become well-known to Canadian viewers back in 1968, when his ‘sermonettes’ in the politically charged Smothers Brothers Show on CBS and CTV had contributed to the elements which drew criticism from both listeners and CBS, and eventually lost the Smothers their show. Despite this, CBS gave Steinberg his own one-hour summer replacement show in 1972.
Then, in 1976, Steinberg was invited to Canada to do a half-hour series for CTV. The Canadian/US ensemble cast included John Candy, Bill Saluga, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, Martin Short and Trudy Young, and there were celebrity guests. Each show had a vague plot, centering on the theatre where the show was ostensibly being shot, and a deli across the street.
Despite the promising array of talent, the David Steinberg Show only lasted one season. Produced at CFTO-TV Toronto, the show debuted on CTV on Fridays at 7:30pm in the fall of 1976, moving later in the season to Tuesdays at 9:30pm, before being cancelled in September 1977.