When 0–60 Driving Academy premiered on Bell Fibe TV1 in May 2025, it marked a first that largely flew under the national radar: the arrival of Atlantic Canada’s first Black family sitcom.
The series follows a fictionalized version of Steve Lawrence, a Dartmouth driving instructor ready to retire and pass the family business to his children — only to discover neither of them wants the wheel. What unfolds is a mix of generational tension, workplace absurdity, and the kind of humour that comes from real-life driving lessons gone sideways.
Co-created, co-written, and starring Alexandra MacLean in her first lead role, 0–60 Driving Academy draws heavily from Black Scotian life and East Coast culture — from speech patterns to donair egg rolls — without overexplaining itself. Produced by Jonathan Torrens and Jenna MacMillan, the show foregrounds local talent on both sides of the camera and offers something still rare in Canadian television: Black families portrayed as ordinary, flawed, funny, and fully at home in this region.
For Black Nova Scotians especially, the significance isn’t just that the show exists — it’s that it didn’t ask permission to.
(Available on Bell TV / TV1: https://tv1.bell.ca/fibetv1/shows/0-60)