This January, CBC Gem welcomes acclaimed international series including the exclusive Canadian premieres of thriller THE HEAD season 2 (Jan. 2), UK period drama DEATH AND NIGHTINGALES starring Jamie Dornan (Jan. 6), Spanish sci-fi/drama PARAÍSO season 2 (Jan. 27); and comedies I HATE YOU (Jan. 11), BUMP season 3 (Jan. 13) and UK lifestyle series, THE SIMPLER LIFE (Jan. 2). Also coming to CBC Gem this month is the fourth and final season of CASUAL (Jan. 25)
CBC’s winter 2023 season kicks off in January with the world premiere of BOLLYWED (Jan. 12), the CBC premieres of AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (Jan. 2) and STUFF THE BRITISH STOLE (Jan. 6), and new episodes from returning favourites, including: FAMILY FEUD CANADA (Jan. 2); MURDOCH MYSTERIES (Jan. 2); THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (Jan. 3); SON OF A CRITCH (Jan. 3); WORKIN’ MOMS (Jan. 3); CATASTROPHE (Jan. 3); STILL STANDING (Jan. 4); RUN THE BURBS (Jan. 4); PRETTY HARD CASES (Jan. 4); MARKETPLACE (Jan. 6); THE NATURE OF THINGS (Jan. 6); THE FIFTH ESTATE (Jan. 6); HEARTLAND (Jan. 8); and Canadian original documentaries THE CASE AGAINST COSBY (Jan. 8), DOUG AND THE SLUGS AND ME (Jan. 15), OFFSIDE: THE HAROLD BALLARD STORY (Jan. 22); and UNLOVED: HURONIA’S FORGOTTEN CHILDREN (Jan. 29). all of which will be available on CBC Gem concurrently with their premieres on CBC TV
Feature films coming to CBC Gem in January include Rob Grant’s horror/comedy HARPOON (Jan. 6); FALLING (Jan. 13) – Viggo Mortensen’s feature directorial debut in which he stars alongside Lance Henriksen and Laura Linney; HAMMER (Jan. 20) from Christian Sparkes; and CRISIS (Jan. 27) starring Evangeline Lilly and Gary Oldman
CBC Gem will recognize International Holocaust Remembrance Day in January with the Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein-led documentary series, THE U.S. & THE HOLOCAUST (Jan. 13)
ACCLAIMED INTERNATIONAL TITLES
THE HEAD Season 2 (6×50, Drama, Hulu Japan and The Mediapro Studio, Spain)
*Exclusive English Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Monday, January 2
Arthur Wilde (John Lynch, Black Death) and his team work on the Alexandria, an enormous container ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, near what is known as Point Nemo, the place furthest from land on the planet. Onboard the Alexandria is a secret state-of-the-art laboratory. Arthur’s goal is to find a microorganism that will stop Climate Change. Among his collaborators is Sarah (Olga Wehrly, Wildfire), Arthur’s daughter and a promising scientist who hates him for being a terrible father. Arthur hopes participating in this mission will make Sarah change her mind about him. After weeks of navigation, Arthur’s team finds just what he was looking for. It’s a groundbreaking achievement, the corroboration of Arthur’s genius. And it is worth billions. The team celebrates long into the night, but come next morning, Arthur’s most brilliant collaborator is found dead. Headless. He has been brutally decapitated. For Arthur, this unspeakable crime can only mean one thing: Maggie Mitchell (Katharine O’Donnelly, Mary Queen of Scots) is back – and she’s after him!
DEATH AND NIGHTINGALES (3×60, Drama, The Imaginarium, UK)
*Exclusive Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Friday, January 6
Based on Eugene McCabe’s modern Irish classic, Death and Nightingales is a riveting story of love, betrayal, deception and revenge, set in the beautiful haunting countryside of Fermanagh in 1885 when all of the country is an undivided province of the British Empire. A haunting tale of love and deception, it is a place where neighbours observe each other and inform; a world of spies, confessions and double dealing; where a pervading sense of beauty is shot through with menace and impending doom. Set over a desperately tense 24-hour period, it’s Beth Winters’ (Ann Skelly, Red Rock, Kissing Kansas) 23rd birthday – the day she has decided to join the charming Liam Ward (Jamie Dornan, The Fall, Robin Hood) and escape from her limited life and difficult and complex relationship with her Protestant landowner stepfather Billy (Matthew Rhys, The Americans, The Post). As decades of pain and betrayal finally build to a devastating climax, Death and Nightingales is a powerful and gripping drama that follows a woman struggling to control her own destiny and will illuminate tensions that tear both families and nations apart.
I HATE YOU (6×30, Comedy, Popper Pictures and Big Talk Productions, UK)
*Exclusive Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Wednesday, January 11
I HATE YOU is a comedy about best friends. Two best friends in their mid 20s – Charlie (Tanya Reynolds, Sex Education) and Becca (Melissa Saint, Ghosts) and their intense, messy friendship in today’s intense, messy world. It’s about the one friend you can say anything to and do anything with: the idiotic in-jokes, and the laughing till you almost puke, as well as the insane bickering and late-night shouting matches. It’s about that one friend you really love – and really hate. Charlie is a bit of a worrier, thinks 99% of humans are dickheads, and Becca has no embarrassment gene, usually makes the wrong decision – share a flat that is half spotless (Becca’s room) and half ‘shittery’ (Charlie’s room). Together they’re complete chaos. In the first season, Charlie learns the perils of jogging to jazz, Becca tries to seduce her own step-brother, the girls meet a guy who believes humans came from bears, and both start dating older guys – more specifically – men in their seventies. All this plus a lord who keeps a fly as his pet.
BUMP Season 3 (10×30, Comedy/Drama, Roadshow Rough Diamond, Australia)
*Exclusive Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Friday, January 13
Four years later and it’s a new dawn for Oly (Nathalie Morris, One Lane Bridge, Black Christmas) and Santi (Carlos Sanson Jr., Legacies, Don’t Jump). Jacinda is almost five and starting kindergarten. But the grind of early parenthood has taken its toll: Oly and Santi have broken up, and Santi’s got a new girlfriend who should only be a rebound but appears much more solid. Santi’s still in construction, his art dreams left far behind; and Oly’s studying at uni, but her long-held career goals seem as distant as ever. Throughout the season, the wounds of the interim years inform present day drama, and the beloved characters must find their way back to themselves, and each other.
CASUAL Season 4 (8×30, Comedy, Casual Productions, USA)
Begins streaming Wednesday, January 25
Season four starts several years in the future, and much has happened since we last saw the characters at the end of season three: Alex and Rae are raising a child, Laura is returning from her time abroad with a new job and serious girlfriend, and Valerie is about to make a big life change of her own. The technology may be streamlined, but the relationships are messier than ever.
PARAÍSO Season 2 (8×50, Drama/Sci-Fi, Moviestar + and The Mediapro Studio, Spain)
*Exclusive English Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Friday, January 27
Three years have passed since the events of the first season and another group of Undead, the Novavis, appears to have deployed to Almanzora de la Vega. Olivia, taking over from her grandmother as a medium, manages to bring Javi, Álvaro, Zeta and Quino back to face this new threat. The Novavis are now much more ruthless and bloodthirsty, and they will not hesitate to take down anyone who interferes in their plans. Javi and his crew must face new and greater dangers, including a secret that will shake the foundations of everything Javi believes in.
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NEW CBC GEM ORIGINAL SERIES
HOW TO LOSE EVERYTHING: THE SERIES (5×7, Animated, One Foot Tapping Media Inc., Canada)
Begins streaming Friday, January 27
HOW TO LOSE EVERYTHING is a series of animated short films that explore personal stories of loss. From instructions on how to survive tragedy, to parallels between two Scottish and Inuit communities, to a bear named Jesus, the five films’ stories span nations, languages, and perspectives on heartache. Created by Christa Couture and produced with Michelle St. John in collaboration with CBC Arts, each film is written and animated by a different pair of Indigenous artists, representing Cree, Ojibwe, Ktunaxa, Inuit, Chippewa, Potawatomi, Atikamekw and Métis nations.
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LIFESTYLE
THE SIMPLER LIFE (6×60, Factual, Five Mile Films, UK)
*Exclusive Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Monday, January 2
Twenty-four ordinary Brits leave behind their jobs and their homes for an extraordinary summer, cut off from the modern world, on a remote farmstead in Devon.Together, they live by the principles of the Amish, which rejects modern values and technology.
ESCAPE TO THE COUNTRY Season 28(a) (27×60, Lifestyle, Boundless, UK)
*Exclusive Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Friday, January 6
ESCAPE TO THE COUNTRY continues to fulfil the dreams of city dwellers looking to start a new life in the British countryside. A cast of knowledgeable hosts support prospective buyers on their house hunt, finding them three to four country properties that meet their needs, along with a ‘mystery house’ which challenges their preconceptions about what they think they want from their new home. The series also celebrates country life, as well as the architecture, heritage and beauty of British rural and coastal landscapes.
GRAND DESIGNS NEW ZEALAND Season 7 (8×60, Lifestyle, Fremantle Australia, New Zealand)
*Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Monday, January 16
Grand Designs NZ is a much loved series that celebrates creative and intrepid New Zealanders who are brave enough to risk it all as they push the boundaries of architecture in pursuit of their dream home. In each episode, architect Tom Webster discovers Kiwis all over the country who are challenging architecture, geography, sustainability, technology and even standard building practice in order to create innovative, cutting edge homes. The latest series of Grand Designs does not disappoint, featuring a range of people from around Aotearoa all embarking on their unique build journey in what can be argued is the most challenging time the building industry has ever encountered.
JAMIE & JIMMY’S FOOD FIGHT CLUB Season 8 (10×60, Lifestyle, Fresh One Productions, UK)
Begins streaming Wednesday, January 18
Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty are back on Southend Pier in their seaside cafe, welcoming more celebrities to the cooking lesson of a lifetime. Tracking down special recipes that really mean something to each of their guests, Jamie takes them on a personal journey using the power of food. The boys have also been busy travelling around the UK, visiting social enterprises that use catering skills to help the homeless; putting in a shift with the RAF catering division and learning how to make artisanal chocolate – even the boys’ mums get a starring role! This latest series is also packed with Jamie’s delicious weekend recipes, including homemade takeaway favourites, spectacular seafood and a romantic beef Wellington for two! Meanwhile, Jimmy downs his power tools to create impressive DIY snacks without the fuss.
CHATEAU DIY Season 5(a) (15×60, Lifestyle, Spark Media Partners, UK)
*Exclusive Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Monday, January 23
With a year of lockdowns and travel bans, the fantastic family of chateau owners faces huge obstacles to keep their chateaus up and running whilst also trying to maintain their businesses and renovation projects. Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton) narrates as familiar faces return, battling to restore their once unloved buildings into the fairytale castles they have always dreamt of. With jaw-dropping renovations in the caves under one chateau, a luminous entrance hall makeover in another, alongside the never-ending work on a gite – series 5 continues to bring all the drama and tension viewers know and love but ultimately basks in the beautiful makeovers that our chateaux families achieve.
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DOCUMENTARIES
THE U.S. & THE HOLOCAUST (6×60, directed by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, USA)
Begins streaming Friday, January 13
THE U.S. AND THE HOLOCAUST tells the story of how the American people grappled with one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century, and how this struggle tested the ideals of their democracy. By examining the periods leading up to and during the Holocaust with fresh eyes, this film dispels competing myths that Americans either were ignorant of the unspeakable persecution that Jews faced in Europe, or that they looked on with callous indifference. It also takes a candid look at the roles that eugenics and racism, as well as xenophobia and antisemitism, played during this crisis and throughout American history. In the process, it grapples with questions that remain essential to American society today: Is America, truly, as it claims to be, a land of immigrants? Why did the U.S. fail to rescue a people at the time of their greatest need? How do the continued struggles over how Americans define their past shape their future as a country?
FINDING AICHA (1×25, directed by Myriam François, UK/France)
*World Premiere*
Begins streaming Wednesday, January 25
Azdyne Amimour’s son Samy was one of the terrorists responsible for the 2015 Islamic State attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. Samy was one of the attackers at the Bataclan Hall; he was killed when police shot at him and his suicide vest exploded. Samy left behind a daughter, Aicha, born just days after the attacks in France. Amimour has never met her and even after years of searching, he hardly knows anything about her – except that she is in a camp, somewhere in Syria. In FINDING AICHA, Amimour takes the first legal steps to find his granddaughter, while grappling with pain, guilt, grief and shame about his son. FINDING AICHA was co-commissioned by CBC, BBC Arabic and BBC Our World.
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FEATURE FILMS
HARPOON (1×83, Horror/Comedy, directed by Rob Grant, Canada)
Begins streaming Friday, January 6
Lying somewhere between a rated-R Seinfeld episode and Roman Polanski’s Knife in the Water, maladjusted Jonah (Munro Chambers, Degrassi: The Next Generation) is attacked by his hot-headed best friend Richard (Christopher Gray, The Society) who believes Jonah is sleeping with Richard’s long-term girlfriend Sasha (Emily Tyra, Boardwalk Empire). Once Jonah and Sasha convince Richard the allegations are false, Richard apologizes by taking his friends for a pleasure cruise on his yacht, only to discover the affair was, in fact, true. After another melee ensues that renders the boat inoperable, left with little food or water, the trio must set aside their differences in order to survive stranded in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean as more dark secrets, rivalries, and sexual tensions emerge. HARPOON received its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.
FALLING (1×112, Drama, directed by Viggo Mortensen, Canada/UK)
Begins streaming Friday, January 13
John (Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic) lives with his partner, Eric (Terry Chen, Almost Famous), and their daughter, Monica (Gabby Velis), in California, far from the traditional rural life he left behind years ago. His father, Willis (Lance Henriksen, Hard Target), a headstrong man from a bygone era, lives alone on the isolated farm where John grew up. Willis’s mind is declining, so John brings him west, hoping he and his sister, Sarah (Laura Linney, Ozark), can help their father find a home closer to them. Their best intentions ultimately run up against Willis’s angry refusal to change his way of life in any way. Viggo Mortensen’s feature directorial debut, for which he also wrote the screenplay, was recognized with four Canadian Screen Award nominations in 2021.
HAMMER (1×82, Drama, directed by Christian Sparkes, Canada)
Begins streaming Friday, January 20
In a quiet border town, Stephen Davis (Will Patton, Remember The Titans) is waiting at a stop light when his estranged son, Chris (Mark O’Brien, City on a Hill), speeds past on a dirt bike. Tracking him down, Stephen discovers that Chris is on the run from a botched drug deal. He agrees to help him in an attempt to mend their relationship, but things quickly spiral out of control as a friend of Chris’ goes missing and the vengeful drug dealer kidnaps someone they love. As the truth of Chris’ activities comes to light, Stephen is forced to face his own failings as a father and must decide how far he is willing to go to protect a son he no longer recognizes.
CRISIS (1×118, Drama/Thriller, directed by Nicholas Jarecki, Canada/Belgium)
Begins streaming Friday, January 27
CRISIS takes an uncompromising look at the opioid epidemic through three parallel stories inspired by real life events, and puts a human face on the epidemic which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide. Caught in the middle are: Dr. Tyrone Brower (Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), a university professor who battles unexpected revelations about his research employer, a major pharmaceutical company bringing a new “non-addictive” painkiller to market; Jake Kelly (Armie Hammer, The Social Network), an undercover DEA agent who attempts to infiltrate an international Fentanyl smuggling operation; and Claire Reimann (Evangeline Lilly, Ant-Man and the Wasp), an architect recovering from an oxycodone addiction who tracks down the truth behind her son’s involvement with narcotics. Together, their worlds collide to illuminate the landscape of an international health crisis touching every corner of society in a story of professional integrity, moral ambiguity, and love and revenge.
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CBC WINTER 2023 SEASON
CBC’s winter 2023 season begins in January with the world premiere of BOLLYWED (Jan. 12), the CBC premieres of AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (Jan. 2) and STUFF THE BRITISH STOLE (Jan. 6), and new episodes from returning favourites, including; FAMILY FEUD CANADA (Jan. 2); MURDOCH MYSTERIES (Jan. 2); THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (Jan. 3); SON OF A CRITCH (Jan. 3); WORKIN’ MOMS (Jan. 3); CATASTROPHE (Jan. 3); STILL STANDING (Jan. 4); RUN THE BURBS (Jan. 4); PRETTY HARD CASES (Jan. 4); MARKETPLACE (Jan. 6); THE NATURE OF THINGS (Jan. 6); THE FIFTH ESTATE (Jan. 6); HEARTLAND (Jan. 8); and Canadian original documentaries THE CASE AGAINST COSBY (Jan. 8), DOUG AND THE SLUGS AND ME (Jan. 15), OFFSIDE: THE HAROLD BALLARD STORY (Jan. 22); and UNLOVED: HURONIA’S FORGOTTEN CHILDREN (Jan. 29).
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THE BEST OF CBC
Past and current seasons of CBC series including ARCTIC VETS, BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW, HEARTLAND, KIM’S CONVENIENCE, MURDOCH MYSTERIES, PRETTY HARD CASES, TALLBOYZ, THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW, THE PORTER, RUN THE BURBS, SCHITT’S CREEK, SKYMED, SON OF A CRITCH, SORT OF, STILL STANDING; and classic CBC hits like BEING ERICA.
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COMING IN FEBRUARY
CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY Collection
YOU’RE MY HERO
MITTENS AND PANTS
CANADA’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGE
PLAN B
PUSH
BEST IN MINIATURE Season 2
DEAR JACKIE