Canadian TV occasionally innovates faster than what we see in the United States: Little Mosque on the Prairie seemed like an obvious show to cross south of the border. There was even talk of a U.S. version on Fox. Really.
Sort Of makes its CBC television debut tonight with back-to-back episodes at 9 pm local time on Tuesdays. Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo are the forces behind the show. Baig plays Sabi Mehboob, a non-binary person who works as a caregiver.
The show debuted with select episodes at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. Canadians have been able to stream the show on CBC Gem since October 5. U.S. viewers can watch Sort Of on HBO Max on November 18.
There are 8 episodes in the 22-minute range.
The idea of a Canadian TV show airing so soon in the United States is extremely rare. Schitt's Creek Season 1 aired later on Pop TV than the length of time between the debuts on CBC television and HBO Max.
Gray Powell, Amanda Cordner, Ellora Patnaik, Grace Lynn Kung, Supinder Wraich, Aden Bedard, Greg Calderone, and Alanna Bale are among the supporting cast. The series has gone beyond the continent with Sky Comedy in the United Kingdom, M6 in France, and Stan in Australia.
2021 CBC television upfront preview
2021 CBC television fall preview
Having a sitcom with a Black family at the lead is not a big deal on American TV. Too many shows to mention above and beyond Good Times. Overlord and the Underwoods is reportedly the first Canadian TV show to do just that.
The program debuted on CBC Gem on October 29.
The show has a Harry and the Hendersons vibe with a visiting alien that is a distant cousin of the mother in the family.
"I think it's the first mainstream comedy on CBC with a Black family at the lead and that's huge," said showrunner Anthony Q. Farrell, a Black writer, actor and comedian who's been trying to add more diversity to Canadian comedies for several years.
Given that Diggstown is the first Canadian TV drama with a Black female lead, something that the U.S. did with Julia with Diahann Carroll in 1968.
Nicholas Campbell, Wendy Mesley, and others: Just stop using the n-word
Coroner ended its Season 3 run on the CW last month. Lots of changes along the way. Tamara Podemski left the show, which was a shame. The on-show friendship between the Serinda Swan primary character and Podemski's character will be greatly missed. We were a bit amused when Tamara's sister Sarah made a few appearances in Season 3 just after Tamara left the show.
We saw Jennifer Dale as someone from Jenny Cooper's past and a nice appearance from Charlotte Sullivan in the final 2 episodes.
The Nicholas Campbell situation is still under investigation. We won't know until Season 4 as to how much Campbell filmed before word of him using a racial slur on a movie shoot.
Season 4 will start airing in January 2022 on CBC and CBC Gem. The show has been running in the United States on the CW.
TONIGHT! 9pm on @CBCComedy or watch it now on @cbcgem! @eOne_TV #moonshineseries pic.twitter.com/48qdJfq65O
— Moonshine (@moonshineseries) November 2, 2021
Sort Of moving in meant that Moonshine ended its Season 1 run. Your humble narrator saw the pilot for Moonshine. Very different than what we used to seeing on CBC. A soap opera of sorts with comedic elements.
We noted the unusual state of having an 1-hour long show on the traditional comedy lineup on Tuesday nights. There will be a Season 2 and Allan Hawco (Republic of Doyle) will join the cast.
Speaking of Tuesday nights, I tried watching Strays. Can't say the pilot did much. The idea was that the Shannon from Kim's Convenience would be a similar Shannon on Strays. The confident, fun-loving person on the former sitcom lost a lot in translation going from Toronto to Hamilton.
The feel was almost like a documentary, where you wouldn't laugh.
If you are a fan of Kim's Convenience, you aren't missing a thing with Strays. Others have been kinder to the show.
The Season 1 finale airs next Tuesday on CBC.
CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage
Ovation is 6 episodes into the 10 episodes of Season 4 of Frankie Drake Mysteries. The CBC show was abruptly cancelled without a chance to end on its own terms.
Like Kim's Convenience, we have to appreciate knowing this is the end, whether we like this as fans (we don't) or not. Frankie Drake Mysteries deserved to go out on its own terms.
Canadians can watch both shows on CBC Gem.
CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage
CanadianCrossing.com television coverage
The big 4 Canadian TV shows that made its way south during the COVID-19 pandemic: Coroner, Trickster, Transplant, and Nurses.
We noted the CBC entries Coroner earlier in the article and the Trickster story was great before the Michelle Latimer controversy. CBC had greenlit the show for Season 2.
We are expecting Transplant on CTV and NBC in winter 2022. We will be curious as to whether they will run close together. CTV simsubbed the NBC run of Season 1 for awhile before switching that simsub to CTV2.
Season 2 of Nurses ran on Global in Canada this past summer. While we think Transplant is better, Nurses might be a better fit for the U.S. audience expectations. We have not heard up or down about whether NBC will pick up Season 2 of Nurses.
video and photo credit: Sort Of/CBC
Twitter capture: @moonshineseries
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