Canadian cottage country the backdrop of new Amazon series The Lake

Cancon was centre-stage at Prime Video's showcase this week of upcoming releases for this year and beyond.

The Amazon streaming service announced a lineup of content developed and filmed in Canada during a press conference at Toronto's Massey Hall, including the cottage-country dramedyThe Lake.

Filmed in North Bay, Ont., the eight-part series debuting on June 17 stars Julia Stiles and Canadian actor Jordan Gavaris.

The story revolves around Gavaris's character wanting to reconnect with his daughter at the family cottage, only to find out his parents gave it to his step-sister.

It is Amazon's first original scripted Canadian comedy series.

"What we kind of poke fun at in the show is the gossip and the insular nature of those groups," said Stiles, who plays Maisey-May, the step-sister.

"When you're on the lake it is the only lake on the planet to these people and they all keep tabs on each other and get very heated over charades."

Stiles, known for her roles on TV shows like Dexter and Riviera, told CBC News she had been wanting to take part in a comedy series for some time.

"It was so nice to go to work everyday and have it be light and we were trying to make each other laugh and make the audience laugh."

Putting cottage life in focus

Canada is known for its expansive outdoors but rarely plays itself on screen. Netflix shows like Riverdale, shot in Vancouver, is set inthe fictional U.S. town and Virgin River, also shot in Vancouver, is played off as Northern California.

While Schitt's Creek and Letterkenny showed versions of small-town Ontario, The Lake brings the very unique cottage experience to the forefront for the first time.

"It's one of the iconic and quintessential Canadian experiences that everyone has a different way into," said Canadian writer Julian Doucet. "It felt like very rich and fertile territory to explore."

He added the show draws on experiences from his own cottage experiences but also asks the questions of how people partake in cottage country and how accessible it is to different people.

"Can we look at it in a way, put it under a microscope, poke fun at ourselves, and find a new way into it while celebrating the things that unify us all?" said Doucet.

Other Canadian shows on tap

The streaming platform also announced several other shows including an untitled documentary series about The Tragically Hip. Directed by Mike Downie, the brother of Gord Downie, the series set to debut in 2024 will chronicle the band's journey from high school to Canadian rock stars.

There's also The Sticky, a show about a Canadian maple syrup farmer who stumbles into a plot to steal millions of dollars' worth of the sweet stuff. No release date has been announced yet.

Amazon also set release dates for previously announced projects, including the Toronto-shot revival of The Kids in the Hall sketch series on May 13, and a companion documentary on the Canadian comedy troupe on May 20.