With 207 episodes in the books, CBC family drama Heartland is the longest running one-hour scripted series in the history of Canadian television.

The show, based on a series of 26 novels written in the 2000s by Lauren Brooke, moves the Virginia ranching drama of the books up north to Alberta.

And while a lot of people (me, you?) have never heard of it, the 2018 premiere of the show's twelfth season debuted to an audience of 840,000. That's pretty good by Canadian television standards, and Heartland is now on its thirteenth run.

For the Twitter user "Brooks Otterlake", however, Heartland is more than just an extremely CBC show, it's a new kind of national commentary.

I have become obsessed with Heartland, a CBC show that's somehow been running for 13 seasons. It elevates mild Canadian boringness to what might be a new form of art. I want to stress that this is not just some random scene but a promotional clip for the latest episode pic.twitter.com/G9fyQLpKqp

— Brooks Otterlake (@i_zzzzzz) October 27, 2019

A surreal promotional clip from the show, posted to their account, received considerable attention online over the weekend for its uncanny mundaneness.

The clip features two of the show's characters, who provide caretaking services for horses, informing a customer that her horse had some discomfort from a leg infection that has been cleared up.

At the end of the conversation, they ask the customer to leave their business an online review. More or less, that's it.

Apparently, this is not wildly out of step with the general tone of Heartland, which resides at a comforting nexus of earnestness and banality.

Many rightly found the humdrum interaction hilarious.

This is the funniest thing I've ever seen. I've watched it five times in the last 24 hours and I've cried every time. The pitch for this show must've been "what if the inside of your eyelids but on purpose" https://t.co/bfaS3eJ9mu

— “YOU’RE GONNA DIE” but festive (@MarkAgee) October 28, 2019

"Is this what TV in Canada is like?" asked one American journalist.

Meanwhile, a fan of the show pointed out that the the relatively low stakes — it's about a family that cares for horses — are kind of soothing. 

My mum got me into this, because there’s no murder, guns or swearing. It’s so peaceful to watch. Makes anyone want to buy a ranch, and buy some chickens and ponies.

— Laura Thomson (@GdayLaura) October 27, 2019

"It's almost like 'slice-of-life' anime," observed another American.

the Canadian contribution to slow TV kicks ass https://t.co/SdjuSXrKBQ

— ishmael (@iD4RO) October 28, 2019

Following the viral attention his tweet brought to the series, Otterlake petitioned for an appearance on the show.

My clip from Heartland has done better numbers than anything ever posted by the official @HeartlandOnCBC account and I respectfully demand a guest spot on an episode

— Brooks Otterlake (@i_zzzzzz) October 27, 2019

Heartland airs every Sunday at 7 p.m. on CBC television.