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Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cobie Smulders on 'Super Team Canada': 'Cool to be part of something that is made by Canadians, for Canadians'
Cobie Smulders has expanded her superhero experience, going from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to voicing the superhero Niagara Falls in the animated Crave series Super Team Canada. In the show Niagara Falls, described as the "mighty maiden of moisture," stops bad guys by controlling water. The 10-episode show, created by Emmy-winning brothers Robert Cohen (The Big Bang Theory) and Joel H. Cohen (The Simpsons), is about a team of six Canadian superheroes. Unlike what we see in the MCU, these superheroes are definitely not famous, but they still come together to save the world from evil threats. Other stars voicing superheroes include Will Arnett as Breakaway, Charles Demers as Poutine, Brian Drummond as Sasquatchewan, Veena Sood as RCM-PC (Robotic Crime Management Polite Computer), Ceara Morgana as Chinook, and Kevin McDonald as the voice Canada's Prime Minister, who oversees the work of the superheroes. Smulders highlighted that she agreed to participate in this show "pretty much immediately." "I just loved it from the get go. I think it's such a great group of characters. It's such a funny concept, and I was excited to jump on board," Smulders told Yahoo Canada. Instead of this being a show with Canadianisms, as Smulders described, the entire "landscape" of the series is Canadian. "It's cool to be part of something that is made by Canadians, for Canadians," Smulders said. "The references in the show, ... they hit me pretty hard, because there are jokes and references from my youth that I thought only I knew." One thing that had to be sorted out is exactly how Canadian each character should sound, with some superheroes having a more aggressive Canadian accent than others. "We had discussions about, how hard do you want to push it as Niagara Falls. Because I feel like Breakaway, ... that accent is strong," Smulders said. "And I think we decided somewhere in between, which is maybe my voice, the way I talk after I've had like two beers, and really just kind of letting the accent be a little loose. And maybe there will be a word or two that sounds different, but not trying to make it sound too comically Canadian. But just having a little colour to it." What's interesting about working in animation is that Smulders gets to see the final product almost like an audience member herself. While the script isn't completely new to her, she gets to see how similar, or different, the show looks, compared to what she imagined in her head. "It is truly so fun to see the finished project product on a project like this, because it's just all existing in your mind," Smulders said. "You're going through the scenes and you're kind of imagining what it looks like, but when you really get to see the amount of art and talent and creativity that goes into the drawing of this, it's really quite magical." Notably, Super Team Canada is being released during a particularly tense time between Canada and the U.S., from the existing tariffs to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to tariff movies produced outside the U.S.. That has caused some Canadians to think local a little bit more, and that can extend to entertainment. While Smulders found great success in American productions, including How I Met Your Mother and recently appearing in the Apple TV+ hit Shrinking, the Vancouver-born actor still loves working in Canada, and hopes there are more Canadian projects made in the future. "I have always been a very proud Canadian," Smulders said. "I've always wanted to work up here and love working with the crews up here, and love the content that comes out of Canada." "So I hope that when the show comes out, which is the first original animated series that's been on Crave, I hope that just means that there's more coming."
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Marvel star Cobie Smulders is finally a superhero with powers in ‘Super Team Canada'
Cobie Smulders is photographed in Toronto as she promotes the animated television series "Super Team Canada" on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young TORONTO — When Cobie Smulders began working on 'Super Team Canada' two years ago, she didn't expect the goofy cartoon to align so perfectly with the current political landscape. Billed as Crave's first adult animated series, the half-hour comedy follows six overlooked Canadian superheroes who are called into action after the world's top heroes are taken out. In the premiere, the U.S. president and other global leaders laugh at the Canadian prime minister's claim that his country has caped crusaders of its own. The plot now plays like a cheeky metaphor for Canada pushing back against U.S. economic attacks and '51st state' jabs from U.S. President Donald Trump. 'It is funny timing,' Vancouver-born Smulders says while in Toronto last week. 'For me, I've always had a very strong sense of Canadian pride in my life. I live in the United States right now, but my heart is still in Vancouver,' adds the L.A.-based actor. '(The show) is sort of like this love letter to Canadiana and our culture and poking fun at our culture. It's really just there to entertain and to make people laugh, which I think we could all use right now.' The series is stacked with Canadian talent, including Calgary screenwriters Joel H. Cohen of 'The Simpsons' and Robert Cohen of 'The Ben Stiller Show,' with Toronto film and TV star Will Arnett starring and producing. Smulders voices a hydro-powered superhero called Niagara Falls. She cracks that it's a new experience for her, alluding to her decade-long stint as the mortal S.H.I.E.L.D agent Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 'I'm finally a superhero with superpowers, which is exciting,' says Smulders, whose Marvel character largely works behind the scenes to co-ordinate the Avengers' missions. Arnett plays puck-slinging ex-hockey player Breakaway, comedian Charles Demers is Quebecois crimefighter Poutine and Kids in the Hall member Kevin McDonald is the Prime Minister of Canada. Together, they take on various foes, including giant evil robots, 'geriatric aliens and a trash pile,' says Smulders, who shot to stardom in the mid-aughts as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom 'How I Met Your Mother.' The actor says it's 'wonderful' to see Canadians feeling more patriotic amid tense relations with the United States. 'Our country has so much to offer and I'm grateful that I grew up here. It has shaped and moulded me as a person, so I have only ever felt pride for my country,' she says. 'I guess the good thing that's coming out of this time is that other people are too. They're feeling that even more now.' Smulders says her national pride is why she gravitates towards Canadian projects, including Nova Scotia director Jason Buxton's thriller 'Sharp Corner,' currently in theatres. She stars as a therapist whose life unravels as her husband, played by Ben Foster, becomes obsessed with the frequent car accidents at a tight turn near their home. Smulders wants to see 'more content that is just for Canadians.' 'You'd still enjoy watching ('Super Team Canada') if you didn't grow up in Canada, but I think if you grew up in Canada, you would really love it,' she says. Smulders 'almost fell over' when she read the script for an episode inspired by the classic Canadian book series 'Anne of Green Gables,' noting she grew up watching the CBC miniseries. 'At some point, I would love to play Marilla Cuthbert,' she says, referring to Anne's stern but loving guardian. Screen production has suddenly become politicized with Trump vowing last week to slap a '100 per cent tariff' on all films produced outside of the U.S. But Smulders sidestepped the issue. 'I don't think I'm going to go down a tariff conversation because honestly, it changes every day,' says Smulders. 'I don't know what's real. I don't know what's going to happen but I just hope that we can keep making content that's good and funny and makes people laugh and feel things.' As much as Smulders is proud of her Canadian roots, she's also found a strong community in Los Angeles, where she says neighbours rallied after wildfires devastated the area in January. She says her home was among those destroyed. 'It was pretty rough,' she says, 'but I have seen the city come together in a really beautiful way.' Smulders has been doing her part, partnering with charity Save the Children to support families affected by the fires and volunteering weekly at a soup kitchen in Venice. She credits her Canadian upbringing for an inclination to help others. 'I think the way our country is set up, there is always an energy of giving back, of taking care of the planet, of looking outside yourself,' she says. 'That probably rubbed off in a good way on me.' 'Super Team Canada' premieres Friday on Crave. Crave, CTV News and CP24 are owned by Bell Media, which is a division of BCE. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2025. Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
