Celebrity Profile

By Jay Bobbin TV Media

Spending much of the summer in Canada filming a television series suits Malcolm McDowell well.

The veteran of such movies as “A Clockwork Orange,” “O Lucky Man!” and “Time After Time” currently is in Newfoundland making the third season of “Son of a Critch” … which starts a U.S. run of its initial episodes Monday, July 24, on The CW. The autobiographical sitcom casts McDowell as the very candid grandfather of central character Mark Critch, a comedian whose experiences as a youth inspired the show. Interestingly, Critch plays his own father Mike in the show, while Mark is portrayed by young Benjamin Evan Ainsworth.

“I think it’s beautifully written,” the friendly McDowell says, “and it’s a fantastic cast, people I hadn’t really known before. This young man they found (Ainsworth) is such a good actor, and we’re so lucky to have him. We all rise or fall on his performance, and I think he’s fantastic. It’s been really nice to see his progression as an actor and his young adult, and he’s just lovely, which you can tell by his work.”

McDowell earned a Canadian Screen Awards nomination for his Season 1 work as Patrick Critch, or “Pop,” in “Son of a Critch.” He maintains he’s quite comfortable in his surroundings while doing the role: “I hadn’t been to Newfoundland before, though I had been to Nova Scotia, and what a wonderful place it’s turned out to be. Of course, we’re only there in the summer, so I don’t know how it is in the winter. I think those can be pretty brutal.”

“Son of a Critch” is one of a number of Canadian series that have been picked up by The CW, particularly with the network’s newly revised economic model.