We have the new and returning CBC shows for the 2023-2024 season. Let's see what we have in store.
Murdoch Mysteries (Season 17), This Hour Has 22 Minutes (Season 31), The Fifth Estate (Season 49), and Marketplace (Season 51) run in the fall and winter.
Fall
Both new dramas in the autumn stem from Canadian films. Blackberry is an extended 3-part series from the feature film.
The series stars Jay Baruchel as Mike Lazaridis, American actor Glenn Howerton as Jim Balsillie, and Matt Johnson (also director and co-writer of the film) as Mike's friend and business partner Doug.
Bones of Crows is a 5-part series from the Marie Clements film about a family rocked by being removed from their family home and forced into Canada’s residential school system. This was scheduled to be released along with the film.
Sort Of (Season 3) and The New Wave of Standup (Seasons 2 and 3) will be returning comedies this fall. Heartland (Season 16) and SkyMed (Season 2) are also back in autumn. The latter show moves up from the summer schedule. SkyMed got a Best Drama Series nomination at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards. The show airs in the U.S. on Paramount+.
Dragons' Den (Season 18), The Great Canadian Baking Show (Season 7), Still Standing (Season 9), The Passionate Eye (Season 9), and Best In Miniature (Season 3) are back in the fall.
Winter
Standup comedian D.J. Demers fronts a workplace comedy called One More Time. Demers plays a variation of himself as the hearing-impaired manager of a second-hand sporting goods store.
The CBC winter schedule has 2 new dramas. Allegiance features a rookie cop named Sabrina Singh who finds herself caught between loyalties after her father, the Minister of Public Safety, is arrested on terror charges. Wild Cards is a "crime-solving procedural with a comedic twist that follows the unlikely duo of a gruff, sardonic cop and a bubbly, clever con woman" set in Vancouver.
Run the Burbs (Season 3) and Son of a Critch (Season 3) return this winter to CBC.
The Nature of Things (Season 63) along with Season 2 of Bollywed, Push, Canada's Ultimate Challenge, and Stuff The British Stole also return this winter.
The new "factual" show is The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down, based off of the UK show The Great Pottery Throw Down.
Summer
Moonshine (Season 3) moves to summer. Race Against The Tide (Season 3) debuts on July 16 at 8:30 pm followed by Moonshine at 9 pm.
Shows that are done
Strays is done after 2 seasons. Diggstown reached its conclusion with Season 4. We have also noted the departure of Workin' Moms (7 seasons) and Pretty Hard Cases (3 seasons). We aren't sure if there was supposed to be a Season 2 of Plan B with Patrick J. Adams and Karine Vanasse.
We don't normally note non-Canadian programs on the CBC schedule. The press release mentions 2 shows coming to the fall lineup that have aired on Fox in the United States. Both shows involve Joel McHale, who is not Canadian: Animal Control and Crime Scene Kitchen. Animal Control is on CBC Gem, which feels like an odd choice. Canadians can easily access U.S. programs through major U.S. networks.
CBC time should be devoted to Canadian shows. Any filler should be shows not easily available in Canada.
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.
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.
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.
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 I can't track which show he means. Perhaps this is the show he means but we really aren't sure. Perhaps not. Je ne sais pas.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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
The 2023 Canadian Screen Awards was a lot about Canadian TV and Canadian film people winning awards without any visibility outside of a ballroom. No TV or social media presence. No wonderful acceptance speeches on YouTube.
We knew the winners by early Friday evening. Even during the height of the pandemic, we got to watch the awards with anticipation live online. Laurence Leboeuf had an exciting speech in 2022 after finding out from her Transplant co-star Hamza Haq that she had won a Canadian Screen Award. Kaniehtiio Horn winning an award for her work on Letterkenny with her infant son. Beautiful moments from 2022, just not 2023.
Watching the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards, we got descriptions for the Best Motion Picture. What was missing? The actual film titles.
wow the throughline of this canadian screen awards clip show so far is truly “you are only successful if you leave canada.”
The show part of things was embarrassingly awful. It was. I take no comfort in saying this. Lovely speeches for the non-category awards but that took up a huge part of the program. Celebrating Canadian comedy with a montage but not too much on specific shows.
We love and adore Samantha Bee but her presence was bad stereotypes and not a single funny moment from a very funny person.
As someone who is in-depth in the world of Canadian TV and Canadian film, I had a hard time sitting through the telecast. I can't imagine the casual viewer watching more than 3 minutes, 45 seconds.
They showed Falcon Lake winning the John Dunning Award for the best first feature film. Several male voices were heard but not one of them was Charlotte LeBon, writer and director of the film.
Wouldn't you want to see and hear acceptance speeches from Bilal Baig (Sort Of) and Alfre Woodard (The Porter)? Those speeches aired online last year, but not this year.
They definitely needed 2 hours to cover all of Canadian TV and Canadian film. What we saw plus 2 hours produced by others.
Free advice to the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television: Don't wait until the start time to post a YouTube link to the telecast.
"Making films is so rough and it's so not glamorous," Riceboy Sleeps writer/director Anthony Shim told the CBC. "To have an excuse to get together with your peers and to have a night to just acknowledge one another's work in person is, I think, part of the reward of making something."
Shim was among a few who shared regret about the switch from a live show format to a pre-taped special.
2022 was a great year for Canadian TV and Canadian film. That should have been reflected in the Canadian Screen Awards.
Two Days Before Christmas | 23 décembre is the Golden Screen Award for Feature Film winner, given to the Canadian film that made the most money. The film is reportedly inspired by Love Actually and has stories about love and romance in the last two days before Christmas. The film stars François Arnaud.
Hudson & Rex (Citytv) finally snapped the Wynonna Earp streak for the 2023 Cogeco Audience Choice Award. Helped that the long-time drama ended its run.
The other 2 finalists were Heartland (CBC) and Son of a Critch (CBC). Heartland and Hudson & Rex were 2022 runners up to Wynonna Earp.
The 7 shows that made the original list are Canada's Drag Race (Crave); The Hardy Boys (YTV); Murdoch Mysteries (CBC); Revenge of the Black Best Friend (CBC Gem); SkyMed (CBC); Transplant (CTV); and Vollies (FibeTV1/Bell Media).
We aren't the biggest fan of Hudson & Rex (the dog is the best character on the show) but the award is voted on by the fans and so, respect for winning the award.
There were 8 acting categories between TV and film: only 2 women won awards, both in guest performers on TV. We love the gender-neutral awards but there is a need to reward actors who are female. Having 10 nominees in each category would help give recognition.
We invite you to check out our Canadian film wrapup and Canadian television wrapup to get a better idea of the hard work for the nominees, who were otherwise invisible for the 2023 version of the Canadian Screen Awards.
Samantha Bee will host the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards conclusion program on April 16 on CBC. The CBC show will not be live as in pre-pandemic times.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television announced the Canadian film and Canadian television nominations earlier today. We have the prominent nominees in separate articles for Canadian film and Canadian television.
Canadian Screen Week will run April 11-14 at Toronto’s Meridian Hall.
Besides the typical awards, there are also special Canadian Screen Awards:
Board of Directors Tribute — Paul Pope, Jennifer Podemski Academy Icon — Catherine O'Hara Changemaker Award — Tracy Moore Earle Grey Award — Peter MacNeill Gordon Sinclair Award — Lisa LaFlamme Humanitarian Award — Ryan Reynolds Lifetime Achievement Award — Pierre Bruneau Radius Award — Simu Liu
The television landscape looks very different for the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards nominations for Canadian television. Lots of old favourites are gone, opening up new opportunities for rising Canadian TV shows.
The Porter got 19 nominations, best among Canadian TV shows. Sort Of received 15 nominations and Pretty Hard Cases had 11 nominations.
The CTV show Children Ruin Everything has a few major nominations on the comedy side as does Run the Burbs on CBC. Son of a Critch is surprisingly absent in these categories, especially Best Comedy Series. Strays is not on the list but Fakes somehow is.
Meredith MacNeill (Pretty Hard Cases) and Dani Kind (Workin' Moms) are 2 of the few repeat nominees for the same show. Andrew Phung received an acting nomination for his new show. Somehow Hudson & Rex has 2 of the lead role nominees on the drama side.
The gender-neutral acting awards mean that Bilal Baig got a very justifiable nomination for Best Lead Performer, Comedy. While the film roles are split in half by primary gender, only 4 of the 16 comedy acting nominations are for identifiable males. as a contrast, 10 of the 16 supporting acting nominations went to identifiable males.
One of those identifiable males is the late Christopher Plummer, up for Departure.
Jonathan Torrens wins our versatile Canadian actor award for guest performance nominations in comedy (Letterkenny) and drama (Moonshine).
Usually, foreign actors tend to have more of a force on the film side. Malcolm McDowell (Son of a Critch) and Alfre Woodward (The Porter) are up for Canadian Screen Awards. Absolute acting legends, even if they are not from Canada.
Comedy
Best Comedy Series Astrid & Lilly Save the World (CTV Sci-Fi Channel) Children Ruin Everything (CTV) Fakes (CBC Gem) Letterkenny (Crave) Sort Of (CBC)
Best Lead Performer, Comedy Meaghan Rath Children Ruin Everything Meredith MacNeill Pretty Hard Cases Adrienne C. Moore Pretty Hard Cases Rakhee Morzaria Run The Burbs Andrew Phung Run The Burbs Bilal Baig Sort Of Dani Kind Workin' Moms Catherine Reitman Workin' Moms
Best Supporting Performer, Comedy Ennis Esmer Children Ruin Everything Tricia Black Pretty Hard Cases Al Mukadam Pretty Hard Cases Karen Robinson Pretty Hard Cases Malcolm McDowell Son Of A Critch Amanda Cordner Sort Of Sarah McVie Workin' Moms Enuka Okuma Workin' Moms
Best Guest Performance, Comedy Anna Hopkins Letterkenny Jonathan Torrens Letterkenny Kardinal Offishall Run The Burbs Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll Son Of A Critch Amanda Brugel Sort Of
Amanda Brugel, who is a Canadian acting gem, is a repeat nominee for this last category switching from Pretty Hard Cases to Sort Of. Brugel, as 7ven's mother, was amazing in that role. Another fun nod in this category to Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll for Son Of A Critch. You might remember him as a frequent customer on Kim's Convenience. Making the audience love you and sometimes cringe is a difficult task for an actor and he pulled that off well.
Drama
Best Drama Series Departure (Global) Moonshine (CBC) The Porter (CBC) SkyMed (CBC) Transplant (CTV)
Best Lead Performer, Drama Series Mayko Nguyen Hudson & Rex John Reardon Hudson & Rex Jennifer Finnigan Moonshine Aml Ameen The Porter Ronnie Rowe Jr. The Porter Mouna Traoré The Porter Hamza Haq Transplant Laurence Leboeuf Transplant
Best Supporting Performer, Drama Thom Allison Coroner Andy McQueen Coroner Wendy Crewson Departure Karen LeBlanc Departure Christopher Plummer Departure Dwain Murphy Diggstown Kevin Hanchard Hudson & Rex Daniel Maslany Murdoch Mysteries
Best Guest Performance, Drama Series Jo Vannicola Diggstown Natalie Brown Hudson & Rex Allan Hawco Moonshine Jonathan Torrens Moonshine Alfre Woodard The Porter
Between Coroner, The Porter, and Departure, there will be a lot of upheaval for the 2024 version. Wendy Crewson was up for guest performance last year for Frankie Drake Mysteries and is up for a supporting role in Departure.
Hamza Haq and Laurence Leboeuf from Transplant won the lead drama awards last year but only one of them, or someone else, can win this year.
Interesting to see a summer show such as SkyMed make the cut for best drama series.
Somehow not a single Podemski sister was up for an acting award.
The final segment is set in the musical chairs on Canadian political talk shows. Evan Solomon left the CTV shows and Canada for an online political news outlet in New York City.
Vassy Kapelos, who never seemed like a good fit at CBC, jumped to CTV News to replace Solomon on Power Play and Question Period. CBC senior parliamentary reporter David Cochrane was the most logical of several good candidates to get the job at hosting Power & Politics. Now Cochrane is the new permanent host.
In Canada, this is more about the cable news wars. For our American readers, having David Cochrane in the coverage stretches to CBC Radio and CBC podcasts.
Cochrane promised he would not be a "perfect host." In many ways, former host Rosemary Barton was that perfect host but that ship has sailed. Cochrane will be, in our opinion, a more ideal and welcoming host than Kapelos.
The private networks tend to undercover the disturbing elements of Pierre Poilievre as the federal opposition leader. The CBC often capitulates to conservative politicians but needs someone stronger, such as Cochrane, in this role to come closer to balance.
We’re very sad to share that #Season3 of #PrettyHardCases will be our final season. Thank you to all of the amazing cast and crew who have worked with us these last three years and have made this show possible. pic.twitter.com/nqA5yi0FoH
A detective show with a dominant female cast with veteran female showrunners (Tassie Cameron and Sherry White) where the case isn't solved at the top of the hour (bottom of the hour in most of Newfoundland). Star appeal in the leads, one American (Adrienne C. Moore) and one Canadian (Meredith MacNeill). Different but women who work well together.
Pretty Hard Cases seemed like a strong hit that could have lasted several seasons. Instead, the CBC drama comes to a close late this winter on March 8. The show will finish with 32 episodes over 3 seasons.
Actors who play bad guys on detective dramas usually are one-and-done but the format of getting to come back week after week puts a human face on them. Dan Petronijevic (Letterkenny, 19-2) got to play twin criminals in Season 1 and Susan Kent showed her range also in Season 1. Charlotte Sullivan, who worked on Rookie Blue, which Cameron co-created, was memorable in Season 2.
We never really learn with Canadian TV cancellations, especially from the CBC, as to the reason why the cancellation is happening now. We don't get the feeling this was voluntarily but that may not be the CBC's fault. There are rumbles that point in a direction but we don't publish unsubstantiated speculation.
Either way, this is a loss of strong writing and enjoyable female characters above the age of 40.
We wanted to give some love to the other actors on the show. Al Mukadam (Det. Taai Nazeer) and Daren A. Herbert (DS Nathan Greene) serve as co-workers to the female detectives and sometimes love interests. The versatile and amazing Karen Robinson as Unit Commander Edwina Shanks.
Percy Hynes White (son of Sherry White) playing MacNeill's character's son, who was involved with criminal Jackie Sullivan (the incredible Katie Douglas). And yes, Percy Hynes White is also in Wednesday on Netflix.
Since Season 3 is currently running on CBC, the U.S. release would likely have to wait for a specific date. The first 2 seasons can be found in the United States on Amazon Freevee.
Homegrown dramas from this winter are likely to be limited runs. Essex County is set for 5 episodes and what sounds like a one-time shot. Plan B might have potential for a Season 2. That late Wednesday window in the winter screams for a great homegrown drama hit, like Pretty Hard Cases was when the program debuted.
If you haven't jumped into Pretty Hard Cases, this could be a good place to start, especially since you know there are a limited number of episodes. Canadians can watch on CBC Gem while Americans can catch up on Freevee for the first 2 seasons (for now).
Twitter captures: @PrettyHardCases; @WomenAskAbout photo credit: Pretty Hard Cases/CBC
A few readers were surprised that Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays made our Top 10 list of the best Canadian television during the 2010s. This included the 12 episodes in its original form in 2011 as well as 6 more episodes in 2017 under the title Michael: Every Day.
The roots of some of the program can be found in Slings & Arrows. Bob Martin, who co-created Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays, co-created the Shakespearean inspired show with Susan Coyne and Mark McKinney. The latter 2 wrote episodes of Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Don McKellar, the other co-creator, directs 6 of the 12 episodes of the original incarnation and all 6 episodes of the 2017 version.
The neuroses of Matt Watts, who was prominent in The Newsroom, the Ken Finkleman show and not the American program with a similar name, figure prominently in Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays. Watts plays Michael, who has been going to David (Martin), his therapist for 15 years. David is trying to write a book based on Michael, who has named him Miguel to protect his identity. At the start, David hasn't asked Michael for permission for his story to be in a book.
Claire (Tommie-Amber Pirie) is David's incompetent receptionist. Carlos (Pablo Silveira) is Michael's rival at work who tries to take advantage of Michael's insecurities. Jasmina (Martha Burns) and Samantha (Jennifer Irwin) are David's book publisher and editor.
The surprising co-star in the program is Ottawa, the relatively boring federal capital of Canada. The Nicholas Hoare bookstore, Parliament buildings, city buses are just some of the scenery in the background. Don't know of too many other Canadian television shows shot in Ottawa.
The joint fragile nature of Michael and David is what makes the show work. The therapist can be seen as the all-knowledgeable yet therapist and patient have significant issues.
David sees Claire as incompetent but she turns out to be more complex. Samantha has her own insecurities, managing sex within a professional relationship with David. The female characters aren't throw-away people.
We see guest appearances from Canadian icons such as Ottawa are native Sandra Oh as well as Samantha Bee.
You don't have to be in therapy or a therapist to get the show. The humour is subtle and dry, which is also true of the other shows we have mentioned.
The U.S. audience can see for themselves whether they think the show belongs on our list or is just a good show that should have been an honourable Canadian TV mention.
Netflix picked up Season 1, which are the 12 episodes from 2011 but not the 6 episodes from 2017 (as Michael: Every Day). Hopefully, all of the episodes are available in Canada via CBC Gem.
Speaking of Canadian TV shows on U.S. streaming outlets, we had been complaining for some time that Hulu hadn't picked up Season 3 of Jann. That complaint feels insignificant now that Hulu no longer carries Jann in any form. If we hear news about Jann south of the 49th parallel, we will pass on that information.
video and photo credit: Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays/CBC Comedy
The 2023 CBC winter schedule doesn't have an Olympics interruption. The NHL is back to a normal mid-April conclusion as opposed to the end of April from 2022.
Comedies back from their sophomore years include the Mark Critch vehicle Son Of A Critch and Run The Burbs. Workin' Moms is back for its final season, Season 7. Pretty Hard Cases is back for Season 3 on Wednesdays.
Coroner is done as is Tallboyz. The sketch comedy show should have had another season, given that CBC had to fill the post Workin' Moms slot with a British and American show.
Season 8 of Still Standing has Jonny Harris off to new towns from Ucluelet and Gibsons, BC to Wabush, Newfoundland, and everywhere in between.
David Suzuki is back for his final season of The Nature Of Things (Season 62 overall). We'll have more down below on his replacements.
The CBC will run Canadian documentaries on Sunday nights under the name Hot Docs.
CBC Winter 2022
Monday
Murdoch Mysteries 8p Around the World in 80 Days/Plan B 9p
Tuesday
This Hour Has 22 Minutes 8p Son Of A Critch 8:30p Workin' Moms 9p Catastrophe/Casual 9:30p
Wednesday
Still Standing 8p Run The Burbs 8:30p Pretty Hard Cases 9p
Thursday
Bollywed/Canada's Ultimate Challenge 8p The Fifth Estate/Trigger Point 9p
Friday
Marketplace 8p Stuff The British Stole/Push 8:30p The Nature of Things 9p
Saturday
Hockey Night in Canada 7p
Sunday
Heartland/Best in Miniature 7p Hot Docs 8p Essex County 9p
bold indicates new series; ital indicates new timeslot
CBC has officially announced Essex County as a 5-part, live action TV miniseries for March 2023! I’m showrunning and co-writing the series. Stay tuned for more details soon! https://t.co/aiAMkaIhZX
As for the new shows, Plan B has strong promise. Airing 6 episodes starting February 27, the English language version of the Radio-Canada French-language drama stars Patrick J. Adams and Karine Vanasse (photo below). This is about second chances, not birth control.
Essex County is a 5-episode miniseries that follows the intertwining lives of two families living in a rural community. Molly Parker and Stephen McHattie are in the cast. The show debuts on March 19.
The rest of the new shows fall into the reality TV genre. Bollywed is a docu-series about the Singh family, operating the Chandan Fashion bridal shop in Toronto’s Little India for the last 37 years. Canada's Ultimate Challenge is a reality show where Canadians are mentored by superstar coaches Donovan Bailey, Waneek Horn-Miller, Clara Hughes, Gilmore Junio, Jen Kish, and Luke Willson. Stuff The British Stole is technically a CBC co-production with ABC out of Australia. Push is a factual series about “the Wheelie Peeps” in Edmonton. Best in Miniature is another reality show.
That is a lot of unscripted programming from the public broadcaster. Barry Hertz from The Globe and Mailadds his own thoughts, generally agreeing on the amount of reality TV in the schedule.
Lionsgate has a deal for U.S. and international distribution for Son of a Critch. but we haven't seen any sign of an actual deal. The initial episode showed great promise.
Season 7 of Workin' Moms will be the final season for the long-running CBC comedy. Hopefully, the U.S. audience won't have to wait too long to see the final season on Netflix. The first 6 seasons are available on CBC Gem (Canada) and Netflix (United States).
The CBC released the titles for the documentaries on Sunday nights (director in parentheses):
January 8 The Case Against Cosby (Karen Wookey)
January 15 Doug and the Slugs and Me (Teresa Alfeld)
January 22 Offside: The Harold Ballard Story (Jason Priestley)
January 29 Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children (Barri Cohen)
February 5 Dear Jackie (Henri Pardo)
Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children ran during the 2022 Windsor International Film Festival and has aired on the Documentary Channel in Canada. This is Jason Priestley's return to directing a full-length film since Cas & Dylan. Priestley also directed the rockumentary Barenaked in America as well as TV shows and TV movies.
These are only the films we know so far. Unlike British seat fillers, these are Canadian stories in Canada told by Canadians.
Diggstown finished its 4 seasons on CBC this fall. Season 4 saw a shift to filming in Prince Edward Island where the show had been shot in Halifax in Nova Scotia. Variety has an extensive interview with Diggstown creator and showrunner Floyd Kane. One of the issues addressed in the interview was why the show didn't end up on Fox.
U.S. viewers can access the show through BET+. Canadians can watch via CBC Gem.
As it stands right now, our biggest native show was trickster, and they cancelled it because of one person. That show was rhymes for young ghouls light I could've taken it over with my eyes closed. But they didn't even try.
We ran this quote for the 2022 CBC television winter preview. Barnaby would have done a tremendous rendition of a theoretical Season 2 of Trickster. Unfortunately, that won't happen, mostly because Barnaby passed away unexpectedly in mid-October at the young age of 46.
Season 1 of Trickster was one of the best TV experiences of 2021 for your humble narrator. Those stories need to be told.
The Nature of Things will have 2 co-hosts next winter, to replace David Suzuki. Sarika Cullis-Suzuki, daughter of David Suzuki, has a PhD in marine biology and has hosted episodes of The Nature of Things as well as programs for Audible and Ocean Networks Canada. Anthony Morgan has hosted science programs on such outlets as Discovery Channel, CBC, and Vice. Morgan is also the creative director of Science Everywhere, a science education startup and media company.
photos credit: Run The Burbs; Plan B/CBC; Hockey Night in Canada/Rogers Sportsnet (x2) Twitter capture: @JeffLemire; @tripgore
Sort Of had such an outstanding debut last fall on CBC and HBO Max. There is some new energy for Season 2 where Amanda Brugel will come in to play 7ven’s (Amanda Cordner) mother. That should be a lot of fun.
Scott Thompson (Kids in the Hall) will appear as Bryce, a wealthy investor and potential business partner. Raymond Cham Jr. will play Wolf, Deenzie’s (Becca Blackwell) offspring.
The family unit returns: children Violet (Kaya Kanshiro) and Henry (Aden Bedard) and their parents Paul (Gray Powell) and Bessy (Grace Lynn Kung). Bessy spent most of Season 1 in a coma but that will change in Season 2.
Sort Of is airing in back-to-back episodes Tuesday nights, starting tonight at 9 pm local time on CBC. CBC Gem is streaming the show as of today. Those who watch Sort Of on HBO Max in the United States will have to wait until December 1.
Bilal Baig has a much better shot at getting nominated for an acting award now that the Canadian Screen Awards will have awards for lead and supporting performances in the drama and comedy categories that are not split off by gender. Though the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television made a terrible mistake in reducing the number of nominees from 10 to 8 in each category.
Loved this interview with @cleaduvall and @cbcradioq (the best)! So excited High School is streaming in Canada now! Hope everyone is enjoying it! Watch this weekend! All 8 episodes are on @PrimeVideoCA !!! https://t.co/TreqJeEyDv
High School is the TV adaptation of the memoir from the Canadian indie pop duo Tegan and Sara. Clea DuVall, along with Tegan and Sara, created the show.
The memoir of the same name came out in 2019.
This show isn't considered Canadian even though this is literally a Canadian story. Tegan and Sara, besides being amazing singers and songwriters, have a really intriguing story.
There is a lot of relevant music from that time as part of the unofficial soundtrack.
There are a few Canadians in the cast. Amanda Fix, who was marvelous in North of Normal, is in the primary cast. Cobie Smulders plays the mother of Tegan and Sara. Recurring Canadian cast members include Jayne Eastwood and Nikki Rae Hallow.
We included a link to the Clea DuVall interview on Q with Tom Power in the Twitter capture.
The program airs on Freevee in the United States and Amazon Prime Video in Canada.
We try to write about Canadian television even with shows that aren't as accessible. Hudson & Rex on Citytv has been particularly non-accessible.
The program is the major Canadian TV show for Citytv in a sea of Canadian knock-offs from American shows, such as Canada's Got Talent.
If you are visiting the United States from Canada, you can log into the Web sites (ABC, Fox, etc.) and watch over-the-air television. Same thing if you are visiting Canada, you can watch shows on CTV and Global, since they are over-the-air networks. So your humble narrator figured to watch Citytv by being on Canadian soil.
Uh, no.
The Citytv site, at first, would only let me watch the last episode. Didn't care. Then, the site required a cable or satellite authentication — for an over-the-air network. Also, my Airbnb had a Roku setup with apps for CTV and Global, but not Citytv. Of course, you can watch CBC shows in Canada on CBC Gem.
Part of the curiosity behind this program is that Hudson & Rex is all the way up to Season 5, unlike a lot of Canadian television shows. I got a friend who got me a Hudson & Rex episode from Season 5.
The obvious comparison is Republic of Doyle, since both shows shoot in St. John's in Newfoundland. Put that out of your mind since there is little comparison other than similar space.
Charlie Hudson (John Reardon), the Hudson & Rex human partner, is milquetoast at best. Rex (Diesel vom Burgimwald) has slightly more charisma than Hudson.
Chief of Forensics Sarah Truong (Mayko Nguyen) deserves a better show as does Superintendent Joseph Donovan (Kevin Hanchard). When Donovan tells the sister of the victim to have faith in Hudson, you almost want to laugh instead of the seriousness the show is going for in the moment.
IT Specialist Jesse Mills (Justin Kelly) feels like he belongs on this show.
You could tell us that a single episode from Season 5 isn't a good indicator. Fair point but this is what we have to go with for now. Feel free to defend the show in the comments.
We are much more excited about a new Citytv Canadian TV show debuting this TV season.
Wong & Winchester features Marissa Wong (Grace Lynn Kung) and Sarah Winchester (Sofia Banzhaf), an ex-cop and a naive former university student who partner as detectives.
We talk about reasons to come to Canada: legal marijuana, poutine, abortion, a different sensibility. Watching Season 3 of Mary Kills People, the lone season that hasn't made it to the United States, or Season 3 of Jann, also not available in the States: not a huge reason to cross the border but that could be further down the list. A way to pass a winter weekend in Canada.
A fond farewell to Diggstown, ending its run on CBC after 4 seasons. The series finale airs tomorrow night on CBC at 8 pm local time.
A show has been notable with a Black female lead (Vinessa Antoine) with Black producers (Floyd Kane, creator and executive producer) and Black directors (including Cory Bowles). The show also was a rare legal drama where lawyers fought for those who really needed help.
Maybe Fox was waiting until all the episodes had aired in Canada to then run the show in the United States. The U.S. network announced almost 2 years ago that the program would be picked up. For those who think we are a little obsessed, don't announce on my birthday you did something great and then not do it.
U.S. viewers can catch up on Diggstown through BET+, though Season 4 isn't yet available on the U.S. streaming service. Canadians can watch all 4 seasons on CBC Gem.
David Suzuki has been hosting The Nature of Things since October 24, 1979. Suzuki is stepping away from the show in the spring to focus on activism and calling out BS, in his words.
Suzuki has made an amazing impact on the show. The show itself has been around for 62 seasons.
"I have been fortunate to have been endowed with good health which has enabled me to remain the host of the series long after my 'best before date'," said Suzuki.
Fakes is not the strongest Canadian TV show on U.S. television but you might be in the young person demo. Zoe (Emilija Banarac) and Becca (Jennifer Tong) start and end up losing a fake ID empire. That might seem like a spoiler but that info comes up in the first 5 minutes of the opening episode. Zoe is the good and smart one while Becca is the party animal.
More about the ride than the result. Any previous CW comparison based on really pretty people: well, the show is smarter and has a lot more swearing than the CW would allow (as we saw with Trickster).
Banarac and Tong, both Canadian, have a nice chemistry. Wish their characters were more realistic instead of the simplistic shy versus over the top aspects of their personalities.
Vancouver is a beautiful co-star in the show.
Fakes is available on CBC Gem in Canada and Netflix in the United States.
