CBC
72 Hours
CBC, Tuesdays 8-8:30 p.m.
(20 x 30 min.)
the story: A documentary-style series that recreates criminal investigations based on Canadian police records with an emphasis on forensic science. The unfortunate title for this series stems from the facts that most crimes are solved within 72 hours of being committed (crimes that are solved, that is) and that the final 72 hours of a victim’s life holds the clues to the murderer’s identity. Production hasn’t begun but cases on deck include: a teenage Quebec couple murdered on a date; a Sikh baker whose burned body is found two weeks after a fight with his wife, and a British Columbia woman who is raped and shot at home on her family farm.
the cast: TBA
the verdict: Nasty, sensational stuff. Like the hit series Unsolved Mysteries, this series should be sordid, frightening, and satisfying to the viewer.
the backing: Programs like this have a built-in audience, but most of it is not tuned into CBC. No word on how the station plans to change that. SM
Trudeau II
CBC, TBA
(2 x 120 min.)
the story: The prequel to last year’s mini-series, Trudeau II is the coming-of-age story of the legend himself.
the cast: Colm Feore (Trudeau, The Red Violin, Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould).
the verdict: The original Trudeau miniseries was a national event, well-received by critics and viewers, but everyone agreed that the final hour of constitutional politicking was a difficult sell for prime-time television, even with the flashy camerawork and stellar supporting cast. Putting the focus on a feisty young Trudeau should up the drama factor, and the must-see value. Highlights include Trudeau’s more famous political stunts, like his cross-Quebec motorcycle tour in which he wore a German helmet to protest the Canadian government’s conscription policy. Sexy and exciting.
the backing: A blanket ad campaign drew an average two million viewers for the original miniseries. Trudeaumania endures and CBC will want people to know about it. Expect major media interest as well. SM
Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion
CBC, TBA
(2 x 120 min.)
the story: An epic dramatization of the Dec. 6, 1917 explosion that flattened two square miles of Northern Halifax.
the cast: Academy Award nominee Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves), Peter Postlethwaite (In the Name of the Father).
the verdict: Few episodes in Canadian history lend themselves so well to dramatization as the collision of a Belgian relief ship and a French-owned freighter packed with TNT. The explosion killed over 2,000 people and injured 9,000 and the ensuing fire and a dramatically timed snowstorm devastated what was left of the once-thriving port. Salter Street Films lends its historical drama expertise to the story, which follows a fictional family based on a real fisherman who survived the event. Drama fans and history buffs will love this one.
the backing: Canadian CBC viewers love informed historical dramas and these are exactly the kind of things non-CBC viewers can be guilted into watching. After spending $10 million in production, CBC should be laying it on thick. SM
Third World
CBC, TBA
(6 x 60 min.)
the story: An ambitious miniseries that links multiple perspectives and experiences relating to the problem of international refugees and immigration.
Similar in structure to the U.K. miniseries Traffik (which looked at drug trafficking through a spectrum of characters involved in the trade and inspired the blockbuster film of the same name), Third World follow six interconnected characters touched by the world’s refugee crisis.
Kate Nelligan plays a right-wing politician forced to serve as a member of the refugee review board after losing a by-election. Her daughter, meanwhile, volunteers at a Central-African refugee camp. In the same camp, we meet Odette Kaba who struggles to keep herself and her three children alive. Meanwhile, Nicholas Campbell plays a married immigration lawyer who becomes involved with an Afghani refugee caught illegally entering Canada.
the cast: Kate Nelligan (Prince of Tides), Nicholas Campbell (Da Vinci’s Inquest), Leslie Hope (24)
the verdict: The topic and timing are dead on and the treatment presents an opportunity for a uniquely Canadian perspective on the issues. The program is global in scope and addresses multiple challenges Canadians are already facing.
the backing: Make no mistake about it, this is a big deal. CBC spent $9.5 million shooting in Vancouver and South Africa. The show itself will make sensational TV footage, and great talk-radio fare. SM
Wonderland
CBC, TBA
(13 x 60 min.)
the story: Disillusioned with corporate law, Alice De Raey signs on with a small criminal law firm under the mentorship of James Richter, a man in the middle of a nervous breakdown. She proceeds to encounter unusual characters in an understaffed and overcrowded justice system.
the cast: TBA
the verdict: If funding materializes, Canadians are in for a treat. Multi-Gemini Award-winning producer Bernard Zukerman has in mind a major high-profile drama based on writing by award-winning playwright George F. Walker. Set in Toronto’s Old City Hall, there is ample opportunity for drama, tragedy and humour in a real-life, urban Canadian setting.
the backing: A funding crunch has put a lot of series in jeopardy at the CBC. If this show makes the cut, it should make a splash. SM
The Rick Mercer Show
CBC, TBA
(weekly x 30 min.)
the story: St. John’s’ funniest comedian hosts his own show.
the cast: Rick Mercer (This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Made in Canada).
the verdict: It’s a no-brainer. Rick Mercer’s Talking to Americans in 2001 drew the highest ratings for a comedy special in CBC history. This series has him travelling coast-to-coast treating Canada as ‘spectator sport.’ Taped in front of a live studio audience Friday nights at CBC, Toronto, rants, guests, and comedy sketches will fill out the half-hour.
the backing: This is brand-name programming and the CBC knows it. Even people who don’t think Rick Mercer is hilarious (are there any?) know they will miss out if they don’t tune in for his spin on the news each week. SM
Cirque du Soleil: A Variety Series
CBC, TBA
(13 x 60 min.)
the story: A talent showcase from Canada’s internationally renowned circus performers and others.
the cast: Various.
the verdict: Cirque du Soleil Images, the Montreal production house that’s been bringing Cirque du Soleil to television screens since 1988, is applying its production expertise to a variety of circus acts from across the globe.
Performers will include the Russian circus troupe Khayalahov, a family troupe that performs a high-wire act with no nets. Add to that something called the ‘wheel of death,’ head-spinning, and a human torch and you have all the magic of Cirque du Soleil, plus the exciting possibility of death.
Cirque du Soleil’s amazing success is due in no small part to its ongoing marketing and branding efforts (see its outstanding Web site for proof). Extending that brand as curators of a circus program is a sure-fire concept that seems likely to pay off.
the backing: The CBC, Cirque du Soleil love affair will continue long into the future. SM
Cambridge Spies
CBC, TBA
(4 x 120 min.)
the story: A four-part historical drama about Britain’s most notorious spies. In 1934, four young Cambridge students were recruited by Soviet agents to infiltrate the British Intelligence Service. Committed to fighting fascism, the students agreed, believing themselves to be helping their country. In fact, they were betraying it, and the episode became the most notorious (and embarrassing) in British history.
the cast: Tom Hollander (Gosford Park), Rupert Penry-Jones (Charlotte Gray), Samuel West (Notting Hill) make up a BBC all-star cast.
the verdict: Directed by Tim Fywell (Madame Bovary, North Square) for the BBC, this film was controversial in England for portraying the spies as sympathetic characters. Fywell maintains that the film contextualizes the young men in confusing political times. The complexity should lend drama and momentum to the historical facts; viewers will be in it for the long haul.
the backing: The story will not have the instant public curiosity that it did in the UK, but its themes are universally intriguing and the cinematic packaging gives good potential. This could be an event. SM
Prime Suspect 6
CBC, TBA
(2 x 60 min.)
the story: A British detective takes a hands-on role investigating the brutal torture and murder of a Bosnian refugee and seeks justice at all costs, even that of her career. Almost 12 years after the original series aired, Detective Jane Tennison has been promoted to head all murder investigations in London. Chief Inspector Simon Finch believes the death is related to the Bosnian Mafia and is determined to be right. Tennison’s prime suspect is a different type altogether, and the struggle she makes to prove it is the most difficult in her career.
the cast: Helen Mirren (Gosford Park; The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover).
the verdict: The original Prime Suspect won Mirren an Emmy, and legions of fans are clamouring for more of her tough-talking Tennison. This is top quality mystery television.
the backing: British mystery fans (not to mention the Helen Mirren Appreciation Society) will be in seventh heaven. Others might not be so easily convinced. SM
Dangerous Liaisons
CBC, TBA
(TBA x TBA min.)
the story: The miniseries follows the innocent Cecile Volange (Leelee Sobieski) who becomes a pawn and later a participant in the sexual games of the shamelessly scheming Madame de Merteuil (Catherine Deneuve) and Valmot (Rupert Everett). In this version, the action takes place in 1963 on the French Riviera.
the cast: Catherine Deneuve (Indochine, Belle de Jour), Rupert Everett (The Importance of Being Earnest, The Next Best Thing), Leelee Sobieski (Eyes Wide Shut, Max), Nastassja Kinski (Roman Polanski’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles).
the verdict: The French grande dame makes her television debut in this US$18 million French/Canadian/ British collaboration based on Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ 18th-century novel. Jean-Paul Gaultier designed costumes. In short, all the makings of glamorous, heady television. The cast alone makes this an easy sell, and most viewers will be in it for the long haul.
the backing: A literary production with an all-star cast and loads of sex appeal sounds like a dream for the CBC. SM
Political Animals
CBC, TBA
(6 x 60 min.)
the story: Twenty-three-year-old university graduate Shannon Jennings lands a job as a special assistant to the prime minister, and finds a minefield of bitching, carping and raw ambition.
the cast: TBA
the verdict: The West Wing was a landmark hit and Political Animals could have the same impact (on a Canadian scale). Created and executive produced by superstar CBC producer Wayne Grigsby, Political Animals puts even more emphasis on the motives and ambitions of the politicians involved, including our hero who occasionally wonders what she’s doing as she watches the action unfold around her. The potential exists for lots of fascinating characters with legs.
the backing: Any other year this would be the star program, but money is tight at the CBC. Grigsby (also the man behind Trudeau and the creator of North of 60) has already had funding withdrawn for a 13-episode comedy show called A Guy and a Girl. Shooting has yet to begin and unfortunately, ongoing support is not guaranteed. SM
Ciao Bella
CBC, TBA
(13 x 30 min.)
the story: Elena Battista is a young, sexy Italian who comes out of a coma and finds she’s ready to move on from life with her family in Montreal’s Little Italy.
the cast: Claudia Ferri, Jessica Heasey (both unknown).
the verdict: The advent of a big fat Italian comedy series was not unpredictable, and neither is its success. Zesty, outspoken Italians might make for a great light comedy, but in the aftermath of The Sopranos’ poor reception in the Italian community, the CBC will be careful whom it stereotypes.
the backing: CBC’s multicultural mandate means they will try and do a better job of this than anyone else. That doesn’t mean it will make for good programming. Filming begins this summer and time will tell whether this program has any legs. SM
