UTM alumna mines rural roots in new comedy series
University of Toronto Mississauga alumna Lindsey Middleton is bringing small-town stories to the screen with Cows Come Home, a new comedy series premiering June 11 on Bell Fibe TV1.
Co-created with Katie Uhlmann, the six-episode series draws from Middleton’s roots in rural Ontario, where she grew up showing calves at county fairs.
A graduate of UTM’s Theatre and Drama Studies program with Sheridan College, Middleton stars as a 29-year-old who returns to her hometown after a breakup and unexpectedly finds herself back in the world of competitive calf showing.
The series was shot in Middleton’s hometown of Fort Erie, Ont., where she says locals were eager to support the production — offering meals, filming locations and even accommodations for out-of-town cast and crew.
A Dora Award winner and Canadian Screen Award nominee, Middleton got her start on stage at Hart House Theatre, where she now works as a marketing assistant. She calls it a formative place to grow as an artist and credits its community for helping her build the confidence and skills to pursue her own creative projects.
Middleton hopes that U of T students see that “a country girl, who moved to a big city to study, work hard and undertake many things can actually achieve an ‘impossible dream.’”
