No spoilers here for the Trickster series finale that aired on the CW last night. There are few moments in the history of television where the creators set up a season finale knowing there will be a next season, and then there wasn't. The finale would have been more gratifying if there was a Season 2.
As a season of 6 episodes, the show combined a harsh but accurate realism with the supernatural element of Indigenous stories. Trickster kept my interest all the way through with good stories, interesting characters (good and bad). The coarse language was authentic; the CBC presented it without censorship while the CW bleeped a lot of dialogue.
The U.S. audience got a peek into the problems with residential schools, but likely had to do an Internet search for "residential schools." To our non-Canadian readers doing research, feel free to ignore anything former Canadian Senator Lynn Beyak has to say on the topic.
The furor on social media has been to find another home for future seasons for Trickster. APTN and Crave are possibilities to take up the series though the rights would be tangled up with Season 1 on CBC.
We don't talk often about books on CanadianCrossing.com. Eden Robinson has written the Trickster trilogy. Trickster the series is based on her novel Son of a Trickster (2017). Trickster Drift (2018) might have been the source material for Season 2. The Return of the Trickster is slated for release in March. Robinson wrote Monkey Beach (2000), of which we recently reviewed the film version.
Watching adaptations of books is a lot of fun but those books can be enjoyed on their own.
Canadian film review: Monkey Beach
Canadian TV notebook: Trickster and Nurses on the U.S. side
Trickster coming to the U.S. on the CW in January
Transplant makes U.S. debut on NBC
Nurses is the latest Canadian TV drama to come to U.S. broadcast TV
U.S. television turns to Canadian TV shows to fill gaps due to COVID-19
Nurses ends its U.S. run for Season 1 on Tuesday. Nurses has some bright moments: the collective care for a chronic long-term patient was so beautiful. This show also gives problems to the nurses that disappear and reappear on a whim: Wolf's issue with affording a specific drug (in Canada) and Naz's needing to learn the basics. Grace's sexual assault by a doctor that got her fired (not him) from her previous job is an important story but handled poorly at times.
The Global show will have a Season 2 in Canada and likely could also run again on NBC.
Fox acquired the rights to the 12 episodes that make up 2 seasons of Diggstown. The CBC show is coming back for Season 3. Diggstown ran the last 2 winters but did not run this winter.
Vinessa Antoine is the lead about a high-powered corporate lawyer who leaves that world to join a legal aid clinic in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Love the shots of the Halifax area from the show. Natasha Henstridge, C. David Johnson, Stacey Farber, Brandon Oakes, Shailene Garnett, Tim Rozon, and Dwain Murphy are in the cast. In the era of inclusion, great to see a character who is Indigenous (Oakes) but not have that be a big deal.
We don't have a timetable for when Fox will run the show. Summer isn't ideal but that might be the path for the show.
IFC is finally airing the 5 bonus episodes of Baroness von Sketch Show a week from today at midnight Eastern on February 24.
CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage
CanadianCrossing.com television coverage
We don't have word on whether Pretty Hard Cases has a U.S. outlet. NBC Universal is a major producer on the project so one of their networks should eventually air the show. U.S. viewers are in for a rather unusual ride in the police drama genre.
Episodes don't end with cases wrapped up tight. There are comedic elements within the drama. There is a discussion about whether ketchup should be on French fries or off to the side.
Your humble narrator has seen the first 2 episodes. Meredith MacNeill and American actor Adrienne C. Moore form an unusual pair but fun to watch. The surrounding cast works well. Katie Douglas is part of a multi-episode arc reminding us of what we loved and hated about her character on Mary Kills People.
CBC thought enough about the series to give the second episode an extra airing last Sunday night and has used the Hockey Night in Canada games for a lot of promos. The program airs on Wednesday nights at 9 pm on CBC and is available on CBC Gem.
photo credit: Trickster/CBC
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