When a man embarks on a mission to reclaim his business and the love of his life, he finds inspiration in the most unlikely place.
—Official series description
WindCity is a Web Video Series that ran for two seasons from 2014 to 2015. The show took place in Winnipeg, capital city of the Canadian province of Manitoba, and was named in reference to the intersection of Portage Avenue and Main Street, said to be the coldest and windiest intersection in all of Canada.
The series follows business consultant Dylan as he pursues an account to promote the newly renovated local convention centre, all while fending off archrival Duke and struggling with his recent divorce from ex-business partner Kate. Surrounding these three main characters are Julia, Dylan's scatterbrained sister; Olivia, Dylan and Kate's preteen daughter; Switch, Dylan's IT assistant; Loni, a skeptical conventional centre executive; Sam, Loni's eager young intern; and Morgan, Dylan's financial advisor. Joining the cast in season 2 are Veronica, Duke's sister and an out-of-town event planner with her eye on Dylan, and Charly, a trucker and archaeoastronomy enthusiast who befriends Julia.
The main goal of WindCity was to promote the city to tourists, particularly potential convention planners. Viewership remained low
throughout its run, and the series all but disappeared from public attention after the release of its second season.
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: Julia gets Charly's name wrong several times after they first meet, calling him "Donovan" and "Portnoy."
- Always on Duty: Even when she's just stopping off for an after-work drink, Morgan is ready to break out the tablet and discuss her clients' finances. She spends every scene she's in talking about RBC's services or charitable activities.
- Ancient Conspiracy: We learn in season 2 that Duke is the head of "the Order," an evil cabal that seeks to destroy Winnipeg in the hopes of rebuilding it as they see fit. They believe they can do this by solving the real-life Hermetic Code, which only Dylan's grandfather ever accomplished.
- The Cameo:
- Kevin McDonald of The Kids in the Hall makes a few appearances as a local who has a few awkward encounters with Julia.
- Local morning radio host Ace Burpee appears as a fellow bar patron who gives Dylan advice.
- Convention centre CEO Klaus Lahr appears in season 1 at Dylan's official campaign pitch and again in season 2 as a member of the Resistance.
- The Resistance also includes philanthropist Gail Asper and Maxim Truck and Trailer CEO Doug Harvey.
- Can't Hold Her Liquor: Veronica spends an entire evening drinking with Dylan in an attempt to seduce him, only to pass out herself.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Julia is always in a world of her own: She lives in a model condo unit in a mall, misinterprets someone else's date as a "heist or something," and talks to the corpses she's embalming as if they can hear her.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: Several characters reference Kate's father's disapproval of Dylan.
- Determinator: It takes a total of five pitches, four of them utterly disastrous, for Dylan to win over Loni for the Convention Centre job at last. Why she keeps meeting with him despite her potent dislike is anyone's guess.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Veronica repeatedly tries to seduce Dylan by consuming phallic-looking (and sometimes not-phallic-looking) foods.
- "Eureka!" Moment: An offhand comment from Switch makes Dylan realize why his pitch has been falling flat: He's been emphasizing the convention centre's specifications when he should have been promoting the city itself. He immediately rushes off to revise his presentation.
- Evil Former Friend: Dylan and Duke were classmates as children and have since become mortal enemies. Veronica describes them as having been best friends at the time.
- The Ex's New Jerkass: Kate has begun dating Duke, which Dylan is none too happy about.
- Fake-Out Twist: The last episode of season 1 begins at a funeral. Because of Switch's car accident ending the previous episode, viewers might assume it's hers. It's actually just some random old lady, and Switch is still alive and well, except for a broken leg.
- Hidden Depths: Dylan has no idea that Switch sings and plays guitar until she gives a performance at the Shark Club.
- High-Powered Career Woman: Veronica comes to town to check out the convention centre for her association management clients.
- Interclass Friendship: Kate, Duke, and Veronica all grew up in more affluent circumstances than Dylan and Julia.
- The Intern: Sam, to Loni. He's the one who convinces her not to give up on Dylan.
- Manchild: Kate divorces Dylan because she views him as one of these, accusing him of being more like a sibling to their daughter than a parent.
- Mean Boss: Loni takes an instant dislike to Dylan and spends most of their meetings belittling his ideas and insulting his appearance. He finally wins her over at his final pitch, but she's still pretty rude to him after that.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Veronica uses Dylan's phone to snap a photo of her kissing him at the hockey game. She sends the photo to Kate, who immediately assumes the worst. Dylan convinces her later that Veronica orchestrated the whole thing.
- Moving Angst: Kate accepts Duke's offer of a job in Toronto, but she never seems comfortable with the idea, occasionally bursting into tears at the thought. She ends up staying.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Charly is only helping the Order so they'll pay to keep his grandmother in her beloved retirement home, where she "spins hip hop." Once he realizes how far they're willing to go to remake Winnipeg, he expresses remorse for using Julia to get close to Dylan.
- After Kate confronts him for his alleged infidelity, Dylan decides he has nothing to lose and shares his Hermetic Code drawings with Duke. He immediately regrets this after finding Veronica's fake kiss photo in his image gallery.
- Mysterious Backer: Every positive new addition to Winnipeg is attributed to the Resistance, which acts in opposition to the Order. We learn in the closing scene that its leaders have been Loni and Sam all along.
- Naïve Newcomer: Sam views himself this way as a "newcomer" to downtown Winnipeg from a south-end suburban neighborhood.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Switch is never called anything but Switch.
- Performance Anxiety: Switch vomits into a bucket at the thought of speaking up at Dylan's pitch meeting.
- Post-Stress Overeating: Dylan is so despondent at the thought of Kate and Olivia moving to Toronto that he spends an entire day eating chicken wings.
- Product Placement: Inescapable. The show was marketed as "branded content" and sponsored by a number of local businesses and destinations, all of which appear in the script and as shooting locations at least once.
- Put on a Bus: Kate mentions at the beginning of season 2 that Switch is "at the songwriting circle." She never reappears after that.
- Safe Driving Aesop: A recurring theme, largely because Manitoba Public Insurance sponsored season 1. Switch repeatedly warns Dylan not to distract himself behind the wheel, only to suffer the consequences of this herself by getting into a Surprise Car Crash while texting Dylan behind the wheel.
- Secret Diary: In season 2, Dylan begins having flashbacks to drawings his grandfather made referring to the answer to the Hermetic Code. He recreates the drawings from memory and keeps them in a notebook that he carries around with him everywhere in case another flashback strikes.
- Secret Relationship: Dylan and Kate have reunited by the beginning of season 2. They want to keep it a secret from Olivia and their clients in case they break up again, but Olivia isn't fooled.
- Shout-Out: While examining Charly's toolkit at the garage, Julia picks up a hammer and asks "Can I touch this?"
- Sibling Rivalry: Duke tries to enlist Veronica's help in getting Dylan to join the Order. She refuses because she's too busy trying to get him for herself. The two snipe over which one will succeed.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Dylan views Kate as his One True Love and fails to respond to any of Veronica's come-ons as a result.
- That Liar Lies: Switch accuses Duke of using the information she gave him to hurt Dylan's business instead of helping it as he promised. He doesn't deny it.
- The Unfavorite: Loni is so unimpressed at her first meeting with Dylan that she demands to see Kate instead. She'll only agree to see his final pitch if Kate—who Sam describes as "a legend around here"—is present.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Morgan is completely unseen and unmentioned in season 2.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Olivia is usually the first to give Dylan and Kate a reality check.
- Working with the Ex: Discussed: Dylan and Kate have tried to keep their business partnership intact. Clearly it hasn't worked, because the series opens with the two of them discussing their choice of shutting the business down or having one of them buy out the other's shares.
- Wrong Song Gag: Julia accidentally puts on the dubstep mix CD that Charly made for her at the beginning of a funeral service.
