Netflix has Schitt's Creek, Kim's Convenience, and Workin' Moms all from Canada. If Netflix had the CBC television show Four in the Morning, the quirky Canadian comedy would change perceptions of Canadian television inside and outside Canada.
Creator/showrunner Ira Parker paints an illuminative surrealism in the overnight air in Toronto. The show follows 4 young people in relationships with each other. Daniel Maslany (Murdoch Mysteries; brother of Tatiana Maslany) and Lola Tash (Republic of Doyle) form one couple. Mazin Elsadig (Degrassi: The Next Generation; The Beaverton) and Michelle Mylett (Letterkenny) form the other couple. The men and women are also best friends.
Mitzi (Tash) dreams about her pig who is no longer alive. Bondurant (Maslany) is quite hyper and dreams someday of playing the trumpet at Julliard. Jamie (Mylett) spins an extensive tale of being a sexual contrarian. William (Elsadig) has to deal with a mother who makes him sign a paper that declares he was never born as well as his own repressed emotions.
The four in Four in the Morning applies to the hour of the night as well as the four protagonists. Four in the Morning explores a lot with sex and relationships. Jealousy does play a role in the 8-episode run.
The Moon episode takes us to the David Dunlap Observatory at the University of Toronto where a group wants to blow up the moon. Day Kids show people who live their complete lives in 24 hours. The Day Kids episode is one of the best half-hours of any television show I've seen in a long time.
The show makes great use of downtown Toronto, especially the Patrician Grill on King Street East as well as Massey Hall. The actual diner had breakfast and lunch hours only, making the place ideal for overnight filming.
The show has mostly unknown (to your humble narrator) guest stars, though Jennifer Dale and Dani Kind have brief appearances.
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Four in the Morning originally ran on CBC from August 26-October 8, 2016. The series is available in Canada on CBC Gem but not in the United States. Anyone can access CBC Gem on Canadian soil.
video credit: Four in the Morning/CBC
photos credit: Google maps; Four in the Morning/CBC
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