From James Bawden:
Book Of Negroes: A CBC-TV Event
So far this has been a terrible TV season for Canadian scripted drama. Each year as more foreign cable networks get licensed the number of Canadian dramas gets a bit smaller. This year mighty Rogers seems to have all but abandoned any commitment to scripted Canadian stories with its huge ratings roar of weekends plugged with prime time NHL games. I’ve been subsisting on such worthwhile CTV Canadian dramas as Saving Hope which offer proof positive cagey veteran Wendy Crewson can steal any scenes she’s in anytime she wants to. And then along comes CBC’s must-watch new miniseries The Book Of Negroes. It’s the kind of quality fare Canadian TV should be offering every week. Continue reading.
What I’d love to see is a good Canadian saga, a miniseries with a chance of renewal, a la Downton Abbey. Book of Negroes looks fantastic and I can’t recall such a great miniseries being made in Canada since Anne of Green Gables came out. Sure, there have been attempts, but for the most part there’s been political thrillers or issues-heavy miniseries that only appealed to niche viewers and failed ratings-wise. I am curious how Book of Negroes will do in the ratings. There’s been plenty of promotion and the trailer is very enticing. I hope it’ll do good but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Another good-looking series, X Company, is set to debut this winter too and a trailer was just released last week and it looks great as well. I hope both the series do well enough to commission more. I love a good period drama and right now there’s so many on tv such as Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, Vikings, Reign, Peaky Blinders, The Bletchley Circle, etc.