Majumder Manor

Newfoundland. More specifically, Burlington, Newfoundland. Population 370 (ish). A small outport community in a remote part of the province. Most folks would never hear about the place if it wasn't for one notable fact: it's the hometown of renowned Canadian comedian and actor, Shaun Majumder. Born from a pure love of the place, and a longing to share his hometown with the world, Shaun puts his Hollywood career on hold to fulfill a life-long dream: give something back to Burlington by designing and building a guest lodging and invigorating the local economy in a whole new direction. Struck with the social enterprise bug, Shaun hopes his project will ignite an economic engine in the region, by attracting tourists to revitalize the former logging and shipbuilding hub. He returns home with his fiancée, Shelby Fenner and their dog, Jazzy, and they start the ball rolling with a property purchase. And with that characteristic Majumder energy, Shaun sets out to get the town on board. At a town meeting, Shaun's put on the spot. Apart from whether or not the idea is realistic, its sustainability is also brought into question. But that's just the first challenge he faces. Shaun knows he and Shelby cannot do all this by themselves. Together, they set out to assemble a fearless team who can help fulfill this dream. It all starts with family. Shaun recruits his dad, Manni and his step mom. He also turns to friend and local architect, Peter Blackie and last but not least...the holdout, Shaun's older sister, Rani! With his team together, the town sorta behind him, Majumder Manor is taking that first step on a journey that promises to be full of surprises, laughter and a whole lot more!

With the support of the town behind him, Shaun is energized to make his dream to build a guest house in his hometown of Burlington, a.k.a. "The Burl", a reality. With his fiancée, Shelby and his fellow business partner, Peter Blackie, Shaun sets off to find inspiration in the outport communities of Newfoundland. And he finds it big time in Fogo Island. Voted one of the 'Top 10 Places in the World to Visit' by The New York Times, this remote Newfoundland island is currently enjoying international hot spot status. Seems like Shaun isn't the first Newfoundlander who's dreamed big in revitalizing outport Newfoundland. Thanks to hometown gal/ multimillionaire, Zita Cobb, Fogo Island has a grand scale artist's colony that will soon be supported by a luxury, state-of-the-art inn. Fueled by his conversations with Zita, Shaun's dream gets bigger. A lot bigger. Like a couple of million dollars bigger. Shaun's dream grows from a modest guest house, to a five-star lodge with a world-class kitchen. There's one small problem, however. Shaun is anything but a self-made millionaire. But before Shaun can come up with a budget, he needs to find an architect. Who will design this new dream? Aided by his right-hand man, Peter Blackie, the search for the architect begins. But finding the right person to build a manor that will capture the hearts of the townspeople is no easy task. Shaun thinks there has to be more than a five-star lodge that will attract tourists. Activities, for one thing. What will people do? For him, there's so much to explore and experience in the beautiful outdoors of Burlington. There's hiking, snowmobiling, ice-fishing, kayaking- but is this really enough? And to test the adventure tourism potential of his town, Shaun brings in a man who knows all about keeping busy in the middle of nowhere, Survivorman himself, Les Stroud! Now all he has to do is convince Les that Burlington is worth putting on the map.

With his architects in place, Shaun and his team begin the process of designing the state-of-the-art Inn. Shaun's vision for the project has evolved a lot and he has told the architects to think big and create a design that is eco-friendly with solar power, geo-thermal heating and even recycling water. Meanwhile, Shaun's sister, Rani works with a group of architecture university students from Dalhousie to re-ignite the memory of a community-connecting bridge that had been torn down many years before. While Shaun and Peter anxiously wait to see the models the architects have cooked up in Newfoundland, Shelby, Shaun's fiancée, is back in LA feeling isolated from the process. From the start, Shaun has wanted his co-pilot, Shelby, to be involved with the project. She prides herself in having a strong grasp on style. Ultimately, she sees her role in the overall design and is excited to lead the interior design of the Inn. But so far, she hasn't been part of the process and well, she isn't exactly happy about that. Back in Newfoundland, the Acre Architects, Monica and Stephen, present Shaun and Peter with three models of the manor. And Shaun is ecstatic. Shelby, on the other hand, struggles to find anything she likes about it and has some choice words for the design. Shaun finds himself in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between his fiancée's ideas or his architects'. One thing that is clear to Shaun is how important these first few steps are crucial to the future success of the project long-term. With a figure of 2.6 million dollars in mind, Shaun, along with his partner, Peter, needs to approach the government for big investment in order to make his dream a reality. But, before he steps into their boardroom with his pitch, Peter has some tough questions for Shaun to answer. What is Shaun's commitment to the project long-term? Once the manor is built, will he head back to LA for good? Passion alone won't be enough to get the tight fiscal pockets of the Newfoundland & Labrador government to loosen. Not only does Shaun have the enormous pressure of turning his hometown into a world-class tourist destination, he has to convince Shelby, the town and now the government, that he's on the right track. Will they find a way to make it work? Can Shelby be brought into the process? Will Shaun get his pitch right to the Newfoundland & Labrador government? So much is on the line right now...

With his relationship still intact, Shaun returns to Burlington to unveil the new eco-friendly ultra modern, building design. The local reviews are mixed to say the least, with most left asking; 'what ever happened to that quaint salt box guest house?' Tagged with a larger than expected cost and no financing yet in place, Shaun and partner Peter Blackie, suit up to wow and woo the Government with the hopes they will get the money and support they need to finally get started. Meanwhile, Shaun learns from those close to him that patience can sometimes be the most important ingredient in relationships that are meant to last.

Shaun's hospitality and food expert, Sarah, comes to Burlington. She immediately has concerns about the piece of land Shaun will be building on. Will Shaun have to look for another place to build the manor? A decision to do so could turn the whole project on its head. Meanwhile, it's cod-jigging season in Burlington and Shaun wants to take Shelby and her mother out for an authentic Newfoundland experience. While getting a boat in a community like Burlington is no problem, Shaun goes for the boat that's land locked and with a motor that hasn't been started in a year. If there was any concern about activities in Burlington, Shaun puts that to bed with this adventure.

In part 1 of the 2-part season finale, Shaun and his team begin the preparations for THE GATHERING. A Fire, Food and Music festival with the hopes to draw tourists to the Burl. It's a fantastic plan, but can Shaun pull this off armed with just his zodiac and a few volunteers? As a tribute to resettlement, Peter and Shaun have something very special planned for the finale of the festival, but as usual, they face an uphill battle to get it finished on time. Who said building a floating house over a weekend was easy!

Shaun is neck deep in organizing a three-day event in Burlington called The Gathering: Fire, Food and Music. He's flown in top chefs from across Canada and his favorite musical acts culminating with his and Peter's house pull. Shaun has organized a huge group hike through a trail he cut himself. At the end, the hikers will find themselves with a spectacular view and entertained with live music performed by Sean McCann (Great Big Sea) and a meal cooked by Todd Perin (Canada's Next Top Chef). A fantastic plan, but can Shaun pull this off armed with just his zodiac and a few volunteers? With a great influx of guests and nowhere to put them, Shaun has decided to assemble a city of tents and Shelby finally gets to show off her design eye to ensure this will be an experience no one will forget. With little manpower, Shaun faces his toughest challenge yet. Can he pull it off? Will Peter be able to float, safely light and pull the house within their tight window of opportunity? And with hundreds of people expected to travel to the event, this is Shaun's opportunity to show Burlington off. Finances, reputation and relationships are on the line as we come to a complex climax of what was once a simple dream.