Netflix gave its U.S. viewers a very pleasant surprise: Season 7 of Workin' Moms, the final season. No spoilers but "emotional final season" is not a surprise. There are 13 episodes in Season 7. Canadians can catch up on the show on CBC Gem.
For those not familiar with the show, the early episodes involved the friendship of several mothers in a mommy support group. The friendship between Kate (Catherine Reitman, creator and star) and Anne (Dani Kind) showcase one of the incredible relationships ever captured on Canadian television. The frustration of later seasons is watching that slip away in many ways.
The diversity of female characters has been a joy about the show. Frankie (Juno Rinaldi) was a valuable part of the show and her departure was more meaningful than anticipated.
Smaller roles get overlooked but those characters were crucial: Jenny Matthews (Jessalyn Wanlim), who showed so many sides of her; Valerie "Val" Szalinsky (Sarah McVie), who was like an utility player, adapting to the needs of the show; Rosie Phillips (Nikki Duval) scoring comic points as Catherine's secretary without being obvious; Alice Carlson (Sadie Munroe), the troubled and misunderstood daughter of Anne. Let there be a film in 5 years when Alice reaches 19.
Alicia Rutherford (Katherine Barrell), who deserved more on-screen time but Barrell was distracted by her work on Wynonna Earp. Sloane Mitchell (Enuka Okuma) who brought some less desirable tendencies, proving how complex women are.
The men deserve their nods as well: Lionel Carlson (Ryan Belleville) trying to make it all work yet running second fiddle to Anne; Nathan Foster (Philip Sternberg) a good guy but not a perfect guy; and Richard Greenwood (Peter Keleghan), who was a guiding force in helping Catherine figure out what she wanted to do professionally.
Michelle McLeod, who played Mejal in Women Talking, makes a brief appearance in Episode 2 in Season 7. McLeod was the lead in Don't Talk to Irene.
Workin' Moms is a rare Canadian television show to get a Season 7
Citytv has very few original Canadian TV shows as compared to CTV and Global. So when Wong & Winchester debuted, I was curious about how this show would fare. You could easily make the joke that Citytv can only run Canadian TV shows with an ampersand in the title (Hudson & Rex).
The premise of the show from creator Hollis Ludlow-Carroll is the mismatch of Marissa Wong (Grace Lynn Kung), an ex-cop turned private investigator, with her driver Sarah Winchester (Sofia Banzhaf), who helps solve the crimes.
There are only 6 episodes that aired this winter and your humble narrator watched one of them. The premise behind the series and the chemistry with the leads is surprisingly good. The writing isn't much better than what we get out of Hudson & Rex. Pretty Hard Cases is similar and better than Wong & Winchester right now.
Joe Cobden and Anthony Lemke are also in the cast. The focus is on the main female characters.
The writing is part of why those who criticise Canadian TV might not like shows such as Hudson & Rex and Wong & Winchester. Then again, Hudson & Rex did win the Audience Choice Award at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards.
Grace Lynn Kung has been an asset in supporting roles: Mary Kills People, Sort Of, Frankie Drake Mysteries, Being Erica. Kung deserves a crack at being a lead. She also was in the role of Janet in the play Kim's Convenience. This show definitely deserves a Season 2 to see where the characters go.
The show also makes good use of Montréal. Good to see an English language Canadian TV show make good use of Montréal. Transplant is shot in Montréal but pretends to be in Toronto.
2023 CBC television winter preview
While Wong & Winchester is very light, we know is very good at producing dark television. Was very excited about the prospect of Essex County from Jeff Lemire's graphic novel Essex County Trilogy coming to a 5-part series on CBC. Strong cast, well-filmed, and a lot going on.
Lester (Finlay Wojtak-Hissong) is 11, loves to draw, gets picked on a lot, and just lost his mother to cancer. He lives with his closeted uncle Ken (Brian J. Smith) and wants to establish a relationship with his father Jimmy (Kevin Durand).
Jimmy's sister Anne (Molly Parker) just got her daughter off to university and is dealing with her estranged uncle Lou (Stephen McHattie), whose dementia is getting worse.
The supporting cast includes Tamara Podemski, Rossif Sutherland, and Daniel Maslany.
Saw the first episode of Essex County. Definitely up for more.
When we see lame British dramas filling holes on the CBC lineup, Essex County is more of what we need on Canada's public broadcaster. Molly Parker may not have been on CBC since Twitch City. Stephen McHattie is a legend. Good actors are drawn to good projects. Be proud Canadians of programs such as this one.
Three Pines on Amazon Prime Video is another good dark Canadian TV show. The 8-episode, 4-part mystery miniseries is based on the novel series by Louise Penny.
The series set in Three Pines, a quaint village in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, has the 4 mysteries and an ongoing storyline about the disappearance of a young Indigenous woman Blue Two-Rivers (Anna Lambe).
English actor Alfred Molina is the lead as Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Plenty of Canadians on the callsheet, including Rossif Sutherland, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, and Sarah Booth on the investigation team. The cast also includes Tantoo Cardinal, Georgina Lightning, and Crystle Lightning.
Tailfeathers' character is an Indigenous person who doesn't know her roots. CC de Poitiers, the murder victim in the first mystery, lived in a large house she converted from a former residential school.
Unfortunately, the program only has the 8 episodes since Prime Video didn't renew the show for a second season.
Must watch Canadian TV shows in 2023 (tv-eh.com)
We are big fans of the tv-eh.com site for information on Canadian television. Greg David wrote a cool piece on the must watch Canadian TV shows.
David mentions Wong & Winchester (Citytv) as well as CBC shows Run the Burbs and Plan B.
Sullivan's Crossing is a new series currently running this spring on CTV. Maggie Sullivan (Morgan Kohan) is a neurosurgeon from Boston who has to relocate and goes back home to Nova Scotia. American actors Chad Michael Murray and Scott Patterson are at the top of the callsheet.
Canadian actors further down the callsheet are Tom Jackson, Andrea Menard, Republic of Doyle alums Lynda Boyd and Allan Hawco, and Peter Outerbridge.
American viewers will get a chance to see the show this fall on the CW.
The Red Ketchup series is based off a graphic novel. Martin Villeneuve (Mars et Avril) is the series director so that is a good sign. The animated program is not on the air yet but will come to Télétoon la nuit (en Francaise) and in English on Adult Swim Canada.
David mentions a show named Casino but we can't track which show. Perhaps this is the show but we aren't sure. Je ne sais pas.
Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays is available on Netflix in the U.S.
Top 10 best Canadian TV shows in the 2010s
Love television but not always fond of the sequel. We voted Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays to the #7 slot in Canadian TV shows of the 2010s based on the 12 episodes from 2011.
Got a chance recently to watch the 6-episode follow-up Michael: Every Day from 2017.
Fans of the 2011 version will appreciate what went into the 2017 edition. We find out some odd things along the way that perhaps we didn't want to know. The 2017 version is a lot more sad and pathetic, especially on the therapist side.
If you haven't watched the show, please don't start with the 2017 version. Start with the 2011 version. Netflix in the United States has the 2011 version.
There is often the disclaimer that you shouldn't pay attention to TV because television is not realistic. I can tell you I found useful therapeutic information within the voice recordings that David makes in the 2011 version. The show is based from Matt Watts (Michael) therapy and anxiety experiences. Still consult a professional but you can get a good start from watching the show.
There is a Twitter feed @NBCTransplant but that hasn't been updated in awhile. Tweeting to @NBC or @Peacock might make you feel better about wondering where the hell Season 3 of Transplant is on the U.S. side. Season 3 aired this winter on CTV in Canada. Season 4 is on deck for next year for CTV.
Hamza Haq won Best Leading Performance in a Drama Series; Laurence Leboeuf was also nominated in this category in the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards. The show was nominated for Best Dramatic Series and the Audience Choice award.
We figure NBC has decided to run off episodes this summer. Will that be on NBC and Peacock? Just Peacock? The U.S. network handled Season 2 in a very poor fashion. The show is still good so the quality isn't the issue. NBC has a production element in Transplant so this isn't like when they didn't carry Season 2 of Nurses. Notice we didn't complain when NBC stopped after Season 1.
.@NBC @peacock. We've tried tweeting at @NBCTransplant to find out about Season 3. That isn't working well. @TransplantCTV has already aired in #Canada. Let's find out when one of your outlets will show Season 3 of this really great #cdntv show.
— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) April 28, 2023
Son of a Critch has been renewed for Season 3 by CBC. Lionsgate Television made a deal for distribution outside Canada. So far, at least in the United States, Lionsgate is sitting on its hands. Figured that was a obvious deal to pitch but something is clogging the path for U.S. viewers who can't get CBC to watch the show.
Netflix had Republic of Doyle so that service isn't allergic to Newfoundland. This is why Canadian content needs a Britbox type service. I would gladly volunteer (for money) to run such a service.
Season finale of @shelved_tv tonight! We didn't expect an ACTUAL Toronto election to be happening when this aired, but here we are! A lot is gonna go down in 21 minutes...
— Anthony Q. Farrell (@aqfarrell) April 24, 2023
108 "Brave New World SF HUX"
📝 Jay Vaidya
🎥 @joycewongjoyce #Shelved #TOelection #JamesonPublicLibrary pic.twitter.com/XOzZe0bs3g
I've heard quite a bit about Shelved, running on CTV. Maybe this sitcom can make a jump to Hulu or Netflix in the States.
Anthony Q. Farrell wrote for The Office, worked as an executive story editor for Little Mosque on the Prairie, wrote for The Thundermans on Nickleodeon, and co-created the CBC show Overlord and the Underwoods.
Having spent a few hours in Toronto libraries, a comedy about a library in Toronto sounds promising.
Shelved will show up on Crave on May 5. Canadians can catch up on CTV shows through its Web site.
Speaking of Crave, the extra Letterkenny episode May 2-4 hits Crave on May 19. The Hulu premiere should be around that time.
CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage
Xavier Dolan gets mentioned a lot in our film coverage but not usually on the television side. Dolan adapted and directed a 5-part series The Night Logan Woke Up. The Canal+ project is adapted from a 2019 stage production from French-Canadian playwright Michel Marc Bouchard. Most of the actors from the play are in the TV adaptation.
Dolan is in the cast. Anne Dorval, used in most of his films, is in the series as well as Julie Le Breton, Patrick Hivon, Magalie Lépine-Blondeau, and Éric Bruneau.
The story revolves around a family haunted by a dark secret decades after a traumatic event occurs in a small Quebec town.
The adaptation played at the Sundance Film Festival. No Canadian or American screening dates have been set.
CanadianCrossing.com television coverage
Bill C-11 has reached royal assent and is now law. What does this mean for Canadian television? Damned if I know. The CRTC will go a long way toward determining this. Wish everyone involved much luck sorting this out.
The Hollywood film and TV writers may go out on strike this week. While a long strike may help get more Canadian television into U.S. homes, the most important consideration is getting economic justice for the writers.
photo credits: Netflix; Citytv; CTV
video credit: Amazon Prime Video
Twitter capture: @canadian_xing; @aqfarrell
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