SO AFTER SWIRLING rumors for weeks, the official press release went out today. CBC has announced two new shows for next year:
“There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so” – Hamlet. What would you do if you had the chance to go back in time and relive the moments you regret the most? In THE SESSION, 32-year-old Erica Strange (Erin Karpluk – Godiva’s, The L Word, Bionic Woman) does just that. She is given the incredible opportunity to see her life from a fresh perspective when a mysterious therapist (Michael Riley – This Is Wonderland) unlocks the door to her past. It is created by Jana Sinyor (Dark Oracle). Aaron Martin (Best Years) is the showrunner and executive producers are Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier. THE SESSION is produced by Temple Street Productions. BBC Worldwide has acquired international distribution rights.
Oil, money and greed in Canada’s Wild West—Calgary style. THE WILD ROSES dramatizes the story of a family of women fighting for what is lawfully theirs, set against the backdrop of the new West: steel and glass towers and vast Alberta ranchlands. It features Sarah Power (Repo! The Genetic Opera), Steve Byers (Falcon Beach), Michelle Harisson (The L Word) and Adam MacDonald (1-800-Missing). It is created by Amy Cameron (Song of Slomon, Canadian Film Centre), Gemini Award-winner Tassie Cameron (The Robber Bride, The Eleventh Hour) and Miranda de Pencier (PU-239, Adam). Shelley Eriksen (Shania: A Life In Eight Albums) is the showrunner. Executive producers are Jordy Randall, Tom Cox and Miranda de Pencier. THE WILD ROSES is produced by Seven24 Films and Northwood Productions.
I managed to see a copy of The Session pilot a while back, and it's a very nice piece of work. A good mix of pathos and light drama, with some bigger questions seeded in.
Production values were particularly good -- Holly Dale's direction was crisp and winning. Traditional shooting, well composed frames. Erin Karpluk (left) was always the best thing about Godiva's. There's something that's very sympathetic about her onscreen. And Michael Riley plays an odd kind of mysterious character. Tone? It's kind of Quantum Leap meets Life on Mars, with a dash of Joan of Arcadia, really. To me, it's exactly the right kind of series for CBC right now, especially if they're serious about picking up more of those 25-49 female viewers. There is much about this show that's pure chick crack. And the basic high concept feel of it, plus Riley's rumpled, edgy therapist just might help pull in a few XY viewers, too.And, uh....seriously? High concept at the CBC? I never thought I'd see the day.
I'm interested to see where the cosmology of this world goes. The Session pilot leaves it vague whether she can actually change things, or whether it's just about changing herself. What's nice is that it avoids the sci-fi cliche angle of changing something and coming back to find that you've totally f-ed up the world.
But they definitely drop hints that there are a few serious things in Erica's past that she's desperately going to want to try and affect. And what's Riley's agenda?
It's a pleasing adventure series. Life on Mars had a great thing going with the Procedural elements. That formula's gotten a little more tired with Ashes To Ashes, the 80's set sequel series starring former MI-5'er Keeley Hawes. But this series is a fresh enough spin that should appeal to the kind of audience that likes Medium, Gilmore Girls, etc. It's got a shot with a few audiences. Will be interesting to see how the CBC promotes it, and if they sell to more than one target audience.
Also...man...hope they don't kill what's cool about the show. Cause there's a lot of cool in it.
This show, BTW, means that Aaron Martin won't be returning to his own series -- The Best Years, which was a late pickup for Global.
Mmm. Writers? In demand? Quoi?
As for The Wild Roses (a project whose working title was until recently "Cowgirls," -- good call on that change) this show's scuttlebutt was some rough development times. But a show like this, set in Calgary (which is Canada's fastest growing city) is also a smart choice. And Shelley Eriksen is a get, who should be great for the material. (She's a friend, so that's probably a little self serving, but the hell with it. It's also true.)
It will be interesting to see if CBC handles this show any differently from last season's MVP.
Good picks. Good talent behind the scenes. Fingers crossed for the future.
5 comments:
They're using the term "soap" in relation to Wild Roses. Is it really that highly "serialized"?
I'll be honest and say that so far, The Session doesn't seem like my kind of show. I'll have to wait to find out more about it but as of now, I'm not interested.
I am, however, beyond excited about The Wild Roses. I've seen three of the four actors announced for the show in other shows and liked them. The premise of the show is both current and potentially riveting too, which is a plus (the oil sands and the destruction and sale of agricultural land is a huge issue right now). I do hope though that the writers for the show are at least a bit knowledged on the oil business and ranching. One thing that annoyed me about MVP was the writers' seemingly lack of knowledge on hockey and one thing that annoyed me about Heartland was the writers' seeming lack of knowledge about Alberta and ranching (it seems at times that they were getting their knowledge from an elementary school storybook). I looked up Shelley Eriksen on imdb and from what I see, she has a resume full of good shows so I have faith.
I am so glad they changed the title. I knew the original name was Cowgirls (which I didn't like) and I heard a few other less than stellar names rumoured, but the name they settled on works well.
It's really tough to do a rural drama set in the current day. I'm a farm girl born and raised and I know that though I may get excited about, let's say, changes in cattle feed, I realize that it's hard to convey that to your average watcher. One show that does that very well is the Aussie drama McLeod's Daughters (a show which has been sold to a few hundred countries and is successful in many of them). That show is about a group of women who run a ranch in the Aussie outback. That show is now in its last season (after making 230 episodes) so when it's over I'll need a show to take it's place as my favourite. I'm hoping The Wild Roses will be that show.
Now that you mention it, Wild Roses sounds suspiciously similar to McLeod's Daughters.
This is the problem with putting ratings first. The only semi-reliable way to ensure that you have successful shows is to look at other successful shows and just copy them. So we end up with shows like Wild Roses, MVP (remake of Footballers' Wives), and Sophie (remake of a successful French-Canadian series). In its quest for ratings, I fear CBC is falling into the same trap that the American networks are in, relying on safe, proven formulas and leaving the truly original programming to the cable networks.
While The Wild Roses and McLeod's Daughters both are rural-set dramas dominated by female characters, from what I've read, they're no more similar than say Crossing Jordan and C.S.I.
McLeod's did well because it was original and distinctly portrayed the South Australian culture and landscape. If the Wild Roses successfully portrays the Alberta culture and landscape I think it'll do great.
I have a problem with Canuck or Aussie shows which try to be American because a Canuck or AUssie budget just can't compare to an American one, but there's nothing wrong with a Canuck show which tries to be Canadian or an Aussie show which tries to be Aussie. I'm hoping that the Wild Roses doesn't fall in that try-to-appeal-first-and-foremost-to-Americans trap because if it does, it'll fail. We saw that with MVP.
Well I caught Wild Roses and reality is definitely NOT what it is based in. The 'poor' ranch family still has one huge, impressive house. And the amount of money they owe the McGregor guy, where did that come from? You deserve to lose your farm if you are that bad with money. banks exist for a reason, borrow from them. I grew up on a farm as well (though that is not where all my families income comes from--my dad works in the oil field as well) and really farm vs oil doesn't really exist for me. Alot of small towns now would completely lose out to the cities if not for the oil industry keeping some of the work force in rural areas. Despite growing up in rural Alberta, I have never owned a cowboy hat. People dress up like that to go to bars like "Cowboys" its like Halloween, not what most people actually dress like (not saying there aren't a few). Maybe if I saw this show based in USA or something I could suspend reality enough to enjoy it.
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