What if HKO was founded in 1934?/HKO Animation Studios in 1985?/Canadian Dad!

Canadian Dad! is an American animated sitcom created by Joshy Massey for HKO@Nite. Produced by Polaris, Meme Class Productions, Please Don't Hurt Me Desu Productions, HKO Animation Studios, and The Skeld, the series follows the Bacon family: Mike, Janet, James, and Jamie. The show is set in the fictional town of Canadatown, Iowa and parodies American culture and society.

The show was conceived by Joshy Massey in 1993 following the controversy of the Simpsons episode "Whacking Day", which was praised by critics, but was criticized by parents who interpreted the episode as an example of promoting and implicitly satirizing use of clubbing snakes to death, causing the show to go on a hiatus, and got HKO Network too need to find a temporary replacement, leading to the creation of Canadian Dad!. Massey pitched a seven-minute pilot to HKO Network in May 1997, and the show was greenlit and began production.

The series was originally set to premiere in the fall of 1997 with the pilot they showed to HKO Network earlier that year but the episode was declined to be used by HKO Network (until it was finally preserved on the season 1 DVD in 2003). The producers of the show then decided to "go ahead" and air another first episode on HKO Network's late-night block HKO@Nite on February 7, 1998.

Since its debut on HKO@Nite on February 7, 1998, TBA episodes of Canadian Dad! have been broadcast. The series has been a ratings success for HKO@Nite and some episodes have attracted over three million viewers. The series is one of HKO@Nite's most popular series of all time and anchored HKO@Nite as the block's top-rated show. The show is also HKO@Nite's second longest-running animated series, behind Spy vs Spy.

A feature film, Canadian Dad!: The Movie in Beautiful, Beautiful 2D!, was released in theaters on September 27, 2002. In 2019, the series began airing its twenty-third season; it was renewed for a twenty-fourth season on November 17, 2019, which began airing on September 27, 2020. All prior seasons of the show are available on HBO Max and WHET Play.

Canadian Dad! has won many awards including: 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, three Annie Awards, and a Motion Picture Sound Editors Award. The series has also been nominated for three Critics' Choice Television Awards, two Annecy Festival Awards, a TCA Award, and a Sundance Film Festival Award, among others. Since the series' premiere, it has spawned various forms of licensed merchandise, including toys, video games and clothing.