Christine Whelan FEO, June 20, 2024, VOL. 5 ISSUE 21
Cows Come Home, directed by Katie Uhlmann, is a TV series that will star Lindsey Middleton.
Chaotic and broken Sam Acres moves back to her small town and tries to put her life back together through the world of competitive cow-showing.
After months of working away and patiently waiting, Middleton and Uhlmann are excited to see the shooting of the show’s beginning in sight. Its “small town” location is the Greater Fort Erie area, and they want everyone to know.
For Middleton herself, it’s a homecoming.
Lindsey was born and raised in Ridgeway, attending Ridgeway Public, Bertie Senior Public, and Ridgeway Crystal Beach High School, while her heart was on the farm.
“I did 4-H at an old dairy farm, Walnutknoll Farm, owned by dairy farmer Austin Miller. It’s one of the few dairy farms left. This is both where I grew up working with dairy calves and where we will be returning to film the series.”
She shared, “He’s a long-time family friend of ours. So, it’s pretty special to bring this to the farm.” Adding, “It’s going to be a labour of love, like a love letter to the place where I grew up.”
Lindsey competed in 4-H dairy competitions, following in the footsteps of her mother and great-grandmother. She qualified for the Royal Winter Fair at the youngest age possible. Tragically, her award-winning calf contracted ringworm, and she was disqualified, bringing an end to her promising cow-showing career.
At age 18, she left Ridgeway to attend the University of Toronto and Sheridan College, completing a double degree in Theatre and Drama Specialist.
Staying in Toronto, Lindsey began working in all components of the entertainment industry. She was one of the leads and producers on the award-winning show Out With Dad and is the co-creator and producer of the Roku Channel show Just Hysterics. She’s a Canadian Screen Award and Dora Award nominee.
Katie Uhlmann grew up in Trenton. She competed in regional horse fairs with an Arabian horse named Foxy for a while.
Katie is best known for her recurring role on Global/NBC’s hit medical drama Nurses. She also co-wrote, produced, and directed two seasons of the award-winning comedy series My Roommate’s and Escort.
The Birth of a Show
When asked how the idea for the project came about, Lindsey recalled, “I watched a movie, Best In Show, during the pandemic. It’s about dog competition.” She was reminded of the days, years ago when she was with 4-H.
“The competition is such a different world than portrayed in the media. One day, it would be cool if the stars all aligned, because they do have to align in this industry, I could make a show about 4-H.”
She paused. “And then, on October 4, 2022, the stars did align.”
Lyndsey explained, “It was my brother’s birthday party. Katie was there. She and I were talking. She mentioned a potential production fund that needed to have a rural connection. I had this rough idea of something around 4-H.” This ignited a conversation about collaboration.
Lindsey and Katie bonded over their small-town upbringings and their love of the authenticity of rural communities.
“We applied for the fund together.” It took a year before they got word from Bell that they would be getting the production funding.
“In the interim, the project was selected by the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) as part of their Television Accelerator Program. It was quite an honour. We were one of eight creative teams from across Canada that were selected.”
For the last year and a half, they’ve been meeting weekly, writing scripts, finishing ideas, and meeting with potential people who could either work on the show or help with financing or production.
Bringing It Together
The two women co-created and co-wrote the series.
Katie shared, “We brought on a writer as an executive producer consultant who works in television, Keri Ferencz. She’s been instrumental in helping us structure the episodes. She’s been an asset.” Keri is also from the Niagara Region.
Other team members so far include Executive Producer David Carruthers (Handmaids Tale, Workin’ Moms), Editor Hari Ramesh (Sort Of, The Porter), Location and Sound David Moffat (Degrassi, The Next Generation), and Cinematographer Mitchell Benjamin Gall (Slasher). The cast beyond Lindsey is to be determined.
Ready, Set, Shoot
As they now start getting ready to shoot, Lindsey says they want to let people know. “We’ll be starting in Fort Erie in late September and early October. We’re excited to bring a show that was born out of Fort Erie to Fort Erie.”
Anyone interested is invited to come out to the shooting.
“We’re going to be shooting on several different farms. We’ve met with 4-H Canada over the past year, and they’ve given us their blessing to go ahead and make the show. We’ve been in touch with the Town of Fort Erie, and they have been very supportive of the project.
“We’ve received some financial assistance from some local businesses,” Middleton says. They are grateful for the help as, even though they’ve received assistance from Bell, it far from covers the expenses of the production.
Lindsey and Katie are so thankful for the sponsors: Holmes Agro, Peninsula Plastics, Circle P Paving, Lynx Equity, Castle Autochem Products LTD, Peacock School of Dance, and Erie Indian Bistro.
To find out how to support the shooting in Fort Erie or for questions in general, email cowscomehomeshow@gmail.com
Both Lindsey and Katie know what it feels like to rebuild your life, and cling to a dream to pull you through the toughest moments. They created this show to bring the zany world of 4-H competitions to the mainstream media while also giving viewers something to laugh at while they convalesce their hearts, chase their dreams, and remember their roots.
Cows Come Home, a heartfelt comedy coming in spring 2025 to BellFibeTV1.
And Fort Erie, you are invited to witness the show in the making.
To begin following the series’ progress, search on Instagram: @cowscomehomeshow
Photos provided by Lindsey Middleton