Ed the Sock channel

Ed the Sock just launched his own online TV network

Torontonians of a certain age may remember a time when MuchMusic was more than a looping marathon of South Park and The Simpsons.

Back in the 90s and 2000s, MUCH was the channel you'd run home from school to watch because Our Lady Peace had dropped a new video, or Christina Aguilera was in the studio, or one of your friends' older siblings made it onto Electric Circus and you obviously had to VHS that shick.

Over the Christmas holidays, one program reigned supreme — and likely helped shaped the sharp, biting sense of humour so many of us millennials are known for.

That program was Fromage featuring Ed The Sock; The most beloved Canadian TV personality of all time who also happens to be a surly, foul-mouthed, hilarious cigar-smoking sock puppet.

The man behind (er, inside) Ed is Steve Kerzner and, after taking a years-long hiatus from mocking the mockable,  he's now on a mission to bring back "the free-wheeling spirit of classic Muchmusic" with a network of his own.

Introducing the FU_Network (FUN): A new online channel curated by Ed the Sock (along with Kerzner and wife, writer and producer Liana K.)

"Ed the Sock has always been the one to call bullsh*t, fearlessly speaking truth to power, bringing celebrities down to our level, cutting through the spin and saying what we think, but out loud," reads an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for the network.

The campaign, which has already raised more than $15,000, promises "honest, unpredictable relevant and irreverent curated online content featuring current affairs/politics/comedy/music/movies — all with the sly, subversive spontaneity of classic Much and Ed the Sock's unique ability to say what we're all thinking."

And yes, that means the revival of Fromage, where Ed skewers cheesy music videos and celebrity culture in a way befitting of Comedy Central roasts. He'd be great for one of those.

Other programs that have already launched or will launch in the future include:

  • Speakers Bureau: an updated Speakers Corner
  • Shooting the Sh*t: The world's first celebrity talk show from a public bathroom
  • Brew Wizards Beer Quest: A mix of craft beer & comedy
  • Mensplaining: Men talking to men about being men with a strong dose of humour
  • Lady Bits: Video games meets women's issues
  • Is This Racist?: A look at modern race issues with a sharp satirical edge
  • FU_Politics: a pundit-free zone to talk about issues with humour & common sense
  • Hey Ladies: women talking to women the way women really talk, aided by a shared bottle of wine.

Kerzner says the network will also host "a new game show in the vein of the classic Test Pattern series" and feature "returning favourites and faces" like Rick Campanelli (aka Rick the Temp), Rainbow Sun Francks and George Stroumboulopoulos.

The campaign is getting a lot of traction online as fans show love for Ed and the idea of a channel with old-skool MuchMusic vibes.

There are also the Indiegogo donor perks, which are pretty intense. 

For $50, donors can get access to all of the classic Fromage episodes (which aren't available online), for $100 they get tickets to an exclusive party with Ed and, for $1,000, they can get one of five actual Ed the Sock puppets.

The FU_Network will exist regardless of how much money the "Indiegogo Telethon" raises, according to Kerzner, but more support means more "cameras and livestream equipment that doesn't constantly break down, microphones without duct tape holding them together, locations we can do our shoots from and some cash to keep our staff eating and Ed supplied with cheap cigars."

LOL.

"The FU_Network is more than an online channel, it's an attitude, an energy, a spirit that's been absent in Canadian media since the end of Muchmusic," writes Kerzner.

"We all miss it, we all need it back and we're going to join together to make it so."

Lead photo by

The FU Network


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