‘Canada Shore’ reality TV stars rub B.C. Lions wrong way at Kelowna practice

Photo courtesy: B.C. Lions

Reality television show Canada Shore is returning to Paramount+ for a second season this winter, but you won’t catch Nathan Rourke tuning in, even though the B.C. Lions are slated to make a cameo.

The reigning CFL Most Outstanding Player was tight-lipped about his experience on shoot day, but made clear that he couldn’t be considered a fan of the Kelowna-based production.

“Not after what happened, no,” Rourke said, declining follow-up questions. “That’s all I’m going to say.”

According to multiple sources, female members of the Canada Shore cast attended Lions’ walkthrough practice on Friday, as the team prepared for their second consecutive game at the temporarily expanded Apple Bowl in Kelowna. The production was granted permission to film for a Season 2 episode, working with the equipment staff and handling watergirl duties. At least two members of the football operations staff — general manager Ryan Rigmaiden and vice-president of football operations Neil McEvoy — were mic’ed up for the segment.

However, several members of the team, including Rourke and head coach Buck Pierce, believed that the reality TV stars provided an unwelcome disruption. Some felt their conduct interfered with the Lions’ ability to practice properly by drawing attention to themselves on the sideline and running onto the field during activities.

Running back James Butler was more forthcoming with the details of the practice, though he was one of the players unperturbed by the presence of famous interlopers.

“I liked it, honestly. Me and my fiancée are big fans of the show; we actually watch Canada Shore, so I thought it was kind of cool,” he grinned.

“They were just doing water, doing their Canada Shore things. They’re young, you know what I’m saying, so they’re just doing what young people do. They just have fun; they yell. They weren’t really doing nothing crazy. We were on the field when they were on the sideline, but our only interaction was they just gave us some water, stuff like that. It wasn’t crazy, but they were just young, and that’s the show, if you watch it.”

Canada Shore premiered in January 2026 with a ten-episode first season. The show is a spin-off of the popular American reality show Jersey Shore, which aired for six seasons from 2009 to 2012 on MTV. Original cast member Snooki makes occasional appearances on the new show.

The show follows the antics of 10 Canadian twenty-somethings who share a $5 million home in Kelowna’s McKinley Landing neighbourhood during the summer months. Filming on Season 2 began on June 26 and will reportedly run until July 23, though the full cast has yet to be announced publicly. It is unclear when the Lions’ episode will be available to stream.

Despite his professed fandom, Butler conceded that the television production stirred up internal controversy as the then-winless Lions looked to turn their season around.

“Where we were are as a team, definitely a little bit of a distraction, but that happens, man,” he insisted. “People are gonna run on the field, different things are gonna happen in the game, but we’ve got to continue to be the B.C. Lions. The task at hand is to try to win as many football games as we can.”

“That’s football. There’s gonna be ups and downs, and there’s gonna be distractions, but we’ve got to go out there and handle our business.”

Reality television wasn’t the only disruption that the Lions had to battle in Week 5. Displaced from BC Place by the FIFA World Cup, the team spent a full week in Kelowna between back-to-back games at the temporarily expanded Apple Bowl. That involved a larger-than-normal slate of community events, as well as unique challenges.

However, B.C. made the best of it, with much of the team bringing their families out to enjoy the Okanagan for the week. Many credited that unique bonding opportunity as a key factor in their first victory of the season.

“I think there’s always distractions wherever you are. Being able to bring the families out and have the guys around and get to know each other a little bit, excited we were able to get together and spend the week,” head coach Buck Pierce said. “I know our fans in the province of British Columbia really appreciated us being here, and we loved every second of it.”

The cast of Canada Shore were part of the 19,083 fans on hand to witness the Lions defeat the Edmonton Elks by a 36-24 margin on Saturday night. The group sat field-level at a premium table behind the team’s bench and were tasked with tossing T-shirts into the crowd later in the game.

Though B.C. may now be undefeated when the reality TV stars are in the house, Pierce made it clear that they weren’t a good luck charm.

“No,” he said flatly, delivering a glare that answered the question more concisely than any words could have.

The Lions (1-3) are on a bye this week. They’ll return to action on Friday, July 17, when they visit Edmonton for a rematch with the Elks.

J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league’s Global initiative.