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.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2025.
