From Cheryl Binning in the WGC Canadian Screenwriter magazine:

• Bob Martin: Analyzing Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays
  “It doesn’t have the usual sitcom set-up, punch line rhythm,” explains Martin, who is head writer and executive producer on the series. “And the show has almost no satirical content … We wanted to paint a fairly realistic portrait of people struggling with a recognizable issue.” Read more.

From Matt Watts in the National Post:

• Diary: So there’s this new exclusive club on CBC that you should totally join …
  Not many people talk to me about Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays. Those who do, tell me they love the show and how upsetting it is for them to see it tank in the ratings. Their biggest concern? This will be the only season. We’re with you. Read more.

By Diane Wild of TV, eh?

Someone recently told me the CBC was invented so Canadians could have something to complain about besides the weather. It came up in a series of interviews about what writers want from the CBC, and if I could find any consensus amid the diversity of opinion, it’s that the public broadcaster needs to be doing shows that the private broadcasters can’t or won’t do. Damn the ratings, our CBC should be doing daring, smart, scripted series. A couple even named such a show: Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays.

Matt Watts, writer and star of Michael Tuesdays & Thursdays, didn’t disagree. But no hubris was involved. In an interview for the TV, eh? podcast shortly after the series premiered, Watts admitted his pride in the show but passed the credit largely on to Bob Martin, the head writer and co-showrunner (with Don McKellar) as well as co-star.

In fact, when the modest Watts told acquaintances in Toronto that he was heading to Ottawa to film a series he wrote for, he neglected to mention that he was also in the series. As Michael. The title character. “I sort of downplay that part,” he said.
Continue reading Falling in love with Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays →

From Scott Stinson of the National Post:

• Stinson on the modest success of CBC’s Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays
  All of which makes the inability of Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays to draw strong viewership numbers somewhat daunting. The series, which follows the relationship between a psychiatrist (Bob Martin) and his social-anxiety-disorder client (Matt Watts), is simply the best new comedy of the fall season, on any network, Canadian or otherwise. It is smart, dryly funny and — its most interesting feature — emotionally deep. Read more.

From a media release:

ED ASNER JOINS CBC-TV’S MICHAEL: TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS

• One of TV’s best-loved actors debuts in recurring role on new comedy series this Tuesday

Scott Stinson of the National Post says MICHAEL: TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS is “not just good, it is excellent … sharp, caustic and brilliantly funny.”

The Toronto Star’s Rob Salem says “This is far and away the best television comedy I’ve seen this year. In several years.”

And Globe & Mail TV writer John Doyle says the show is “effortlessly captivating,” and goes on to say, “The show feels frisky in its comedy, not cynical, and there’s real skill evident in the comedic twist on therapy.”

It has drawn tremendous critical acclaim and on October 4, CBC Television’s brilliant new comedy series MICHAEL: TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS ramps up the star power with multiple Emmy Award-winner Ed Asner.

This Tuesday (October 4) at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT), Asner joins stars Bob Martin (Dr. David Storper) and Matt Watts (Michael Dyer) on MICHAEL: TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS in the recurring role of the shrink’s somewhat outrageous shrink, Dr. Wassermann.

Continue reading Ed Asner joins Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays →