From Victoria Ahearn of the Canadian Press:
Link: Oh my, F-bombs on the CBC?
With its sex scenes, drug use and salty language, the creators of the edgy new CBC-TV comedy series “Four in the Morning” admit they were surprised the public broadcaster gave it the green light. Continue reading.Â
From Heather M. of The Televixen:
Link: Lola Tash previews Four in the Morning
“I auditioned and at first I didn’t get it, and a year later I got a phone call that they wanted me for it. [Mitzi] is, at first, an emotionally withdrawn banker who is really easygoing and approaches everything with detachment and then you see that she is detached for a reason and gets hurt easily and cares more than she lets on.†Continue reading.
From Bill Harris of Postmedia Network:
Link: CBC’s ‘Four in the Morning’ inhabits an hour that’s both early and late
There are mathematical and technical dividing lines between night and morning, and then there’s a philosophical dividing line.
The mathematical line, obviously, is midnight. Others might be of the opinion that the technical line is whenever the sun comes up. But to me, the philosophical line is 4 a.m. Continue reading.Â
Ira Parker’s budding writing career couldn’t be more different. Last year saw him writing and co-producing the DirecTV drama Rogue. This year? He’s not only part of the writing and producing team of The Last Ship, Michael Bay’s explosive end-of-the-world adventure headed into a fourth season, but his own project, Four in the Morning.
But where the characters on The Last Ship are larger than life, those in Four in the Morning are totally relatable. Debuting Friday at 9 p.m. on CBC, the eight half-hour instalments catch up with a quartet of twentysomething friends who discuss life through the alcoholic haze of early-morning, where answers are simple, succinct and brilliant. Because alcohol. Starring Michelle Mylett as Jamie, Daniel Maslany as Bondurant, Lola Tash as Mitzi and Mazin Elsadig as William, Four in the Morning fits perfectly in CBC’s primetime lineup, an unconventional comedy with twists of the absurd, something Parker calls “magical realism.”
Four in the Morning couldn’t be any more different from The Last Ship.
Ira Parker: It’s true. I always thought that my first show coming out of grad school would be a comedy. And then I got on to Rogue, which is maybe the least comedic series in the history of the world. All of a sudden, this drama thing started taking off. Then I got a call from Serendipity Point Films, saying CBC loved the show and we were going to make a first season. I was like, ‘Cool, I guess we’re going back to this.’ I wrote the pilot script for Four in the Morning, like, four or five years ago. I wrote that in grad school and it was great to sit down and dig back into that world.
It must have been interesting to go back and revisit those days, days when your mindset was in a very different place.
It was different. I think, certainly, having some space away from it gave me some perspective and informed the writing going forward. But I had a season mapped out in my mind a long time ago. I knew I was in good hands with the producers, who were on board with this odd little feature. Writing on The Last Ship is very navy intensive and requires a lot of reading and research; with Four in the Morning I get to just sit down and write what naturally comes out of me.
I’ve watched the first two episodes of the series and I really liked it. A friend of mine described it as Woody Allen-esque whereas I thought it presented very much like a play. Was that what you were going for?
It’s funny that you say that the first episode was like a play, because that was the goal of the pilot episode, to make it feel like a play. We started with 15 pages in the diner, and then a long walk and talk. Episode 2, to me at least, feels almost like our most standard episode, but we do have a long intro that is heavy on dialogue in the diner.
Were you in your 20s when you wrote the initial pilot?
I wrote this when I was in my mid-20s. In Episode 2, we talk about life and death, the existential crises that we all get into arguments about at that time of the morning. In Episode 1, we talk about jealousy and letting that fester until it comes out later on. Each episode is really about that rather than specific moments and things that happened to me over many, many long nights at four o’clock in the morning.
Let’s talk about the writing process. Did you do it all on your own and what were the challenges of bringing to life four very different voices?
Yes, I penned all the episodes on my own, but I also had Daniel Goldfarb—who is a playwright in New York City, worked on Rogue and is a dear friend of mine—who came in and we spent a week together. Once we got picked up, we were on this incredible timeline, so we spent a week together breaking the stories for the whole season. That was very, very helpful to me.
Delving into the characters … each one of them is based a little bit on me or friends I have. Putting it all together came out of moments and situations that we put them in.
What do you want viewers to come away with when they tune in to Four in the Morning?
Twenty-two minutes of entertainment. There’s nothing else that I’m going for here. Everything that needs to be said about people in the 20s has been said very well by a lot of TV shows. Creating something that is entertaining to people is the ultimate goal of this.
Four in the Morning airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
From a media release:
CBC Television today unveiled its summer 2016 schedule with five new series, returning home-grown hits and comprehensive coverage of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The prime-time schedule includes comedies Baroness von Sketch Show and Four In The Morning; international crime drama Follow The Money; inspiring docu-series The Special Needs Hotel; political thriller Undercover; Firsthand documentary special Perfect; CBC documentary special Newfoundland at Armageddon; popular returning series Still Standing with Jonny Harris; new episodes of the Ha!ifax Comedy Fest hosted by Mark Critch; and When Calls The Heart, based on the bestselling novel by Janette Oke. CBC will also showcase a roster of Canadian movies on Saturday nights this summer, including Passchendaele, Monsieur Lazhar, John A: Birth of a Country, Uvanga and more.
The CBC-TV prime-time summer programming schedule is listed below, along with synopses for new series and returning favourites with summer premieres.
MONDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Murdoch Mysteries season 9 (encores)
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Book of Negroes (encores begin June 20)
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Undercover (premieres August 22) *NEW SERIES*
TUESDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Rick Mercer Report season 13 (encores begin June 14)
8:30 p.m. (9 NT) — This Hour Has 22 Minutes season 23 (encores begin June 14)
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Still Standing season 2 (beginning June 14) *NEW SEASON*
9:30 p.m. (10 NT) — Baroness von Sketch Show (premieres June 14) *NEW SERIES*
9:30 p.m. (10 NT) — Ha!ifax Comedy Fest (beginning August 2) *NEW EPISODES*
WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Dragons’ Den season 10 (encores begin June 22)
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — The Romeo Section season 1 (encores begin July 6)
THURSDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — The Nature of Things (encores begin June 23)
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — The Special Needs Hotel (premieres August 25) *NEW SERIES*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Keeping Canada Alive (encores begin June 16)
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Newfoundland at Armageddon (June 30) *NEW CBC DOCUMENTARY SPECIAL*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Perfect (August 4) *NEW FIRSTHAND DOCUMENTARY SPECIAL*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Firsthand (encores begin August 25)
FRIDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Schitt’s Creek season 2 (encores begin June 17)
8:30 p.m. (9 NT) — This Hour Has 22 Minutes season 23 (encores begin June 17)
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Mr. D season 5 (encores begin June 17 until July 29)
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Four In The Morning (premieres August 26) *NEW SERIES*
9:30 p.m. (10 NT) — Mr. D season 5 (encores begin June 17 until July 29)
9:30 p.m. (10 NT) — Raised By Wolves (encores begin August 26)
SATURDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Murdoch Mysteries season 9 (encores)
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Follow the Money (premieres June 18) *NEW SERIES*
SUNDAY
7 p.m. (7:30 NT) — Heartland season 9 (encores begin June 19)
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — When Calls the Heart season 2 (beginning June 19)*NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Baroness von Sketch Show encores (encores begin June 19)
9:30 p.m. (10 NT) — Still Standing season 2 encores (encores begin June 19)
CBC-TV SUMMER 2016 PRIMETIME PROGRAMMING SYNOPSES:
BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW — New Comedy Series
Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. (10 NT) beginning June 14
6×30 (Frantic Films)
This all-female, single-camera sketch comedy series takes a fresh look at the world’s narcissistic contemporary culture. Fast-paced and irreverent, Baroness von Sketch Show celebrates the absurd, mines the embarrassing and satirizes daily lives. Drawing on 15 years of comedy experience and multiple collaborations, the award-winning talents of Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Browne and Jennifer Whalen have teamed up once again as writers, stars and executive producers of this new series. Shot entirely on location in Toronto, the series is insightful and emotionally grounded while offering a witty take on everyday concerns. From the politics of ordering a coffee to entitled co-workers and open relationships, this satirical sketch show holds a fun-house mirror up to modern life.
FOLLOW THE MONEY — New Drama Series
Saturdays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) beginning June 18
10×60 (Acquired from DRTV)
Follow the Money is a Danish drama that takes audiences into the world of economic crime, following swindlers and corporate moguls and the crimes they commit in the pursuit of wealth. When the body of a man is washed ashore near a wind farm, police detective Mads (Thomas Bo Larson) is called out to investigate. At first, it merely looks like an industrial accident, but the case implicates those in the upper echelons of Energreen — one of Denmark’s most successful energy companies. The CEO of Energreen is the charismatic Sander (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), and young lawyer Claudia (Natalie Madueño) is working hard to advance in the company. Nicky (Esben Smed), a former car thief and mechanic, works at his father-in-law’s garage. He has put his life of crime behind him for his girlfriend’s sake, but his new colleague Bimse (Lucas Hansen) tempts Nicky with a chance to make a quick buck. Set in the worlds of both economic and violent street crime, Follow the Money tells the stories of the rich, the poor, the greedy and the fraudulent — people who will go to any lengths to build the lives of their dreams.
FOUR IN THE MORNING — New Comedy Series
Fridays at 9 p.m. (9:30NT) beginning August 26
8×30 (Serendipity Point Films)
Four in the Morning is an edgy comedy that follows four friends in their twenties as they navigate life at the unpredictable, emotional and bewitching hour of 4 a.m. Dealing with themes of life and death, love and heartbreak, friendship and betrayal, it’s a series about self-discovery, disappointment and clawing after dreams that always feel out of reach. The series is created by Ira Parker, who also holds an executive producer credit alongside Ari Lantos, Jeff Sagansky, Mark Musselman and Matt Geller.
HA!IFAX COMEDY FEST — New Episodes
Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. (10 NT) beginning August 2
6×30 (Pilot Light Productions)
The Ha!ifax Comedy Fest cracks like a whip and moves like a bullet. Hosted by the ever-funny Mark Critch (This Hour has 22 Minutes) and featuring more than 60 stand-up performances, the series was shot in various locations around Halifax and crisply edited into six half-hour episodes. This season features 30 Canadian and international comedians, including festival favourites Lachlan Patterson (Last Comic Standing), Gemini Award-winner Nikki Payne, Graham Chittenden, Tim Nutt, Erica Sigurdson, newcomers Matt Wright, Sean Emeny and Daniel Tirado, and comedy legends Harland Williams and Caroline Rhea.
NEWFOUNDLAND AT ARMAGEDDON — New CBC Documentary Special
Thursday, June 30 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
1×120 (Gala Films and Morag Loves Company)
Newfoundland at Armageddon tells the epic story of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and its bloody destruction on the morning of July 1, 1916, a battle that led to enormous consequences on the life of Newfoundlanders. On July 1st 1916, 800 soldiers of the Newfoundland regiment rose from St. John’s Road trench and marched into no man’s land. “We died like tethered goats,†recalled one officer. Less than 35 minutes later almost every Newfoundlander was wounded or dead. As the boy soldiers suffered, so did the heroic women of their lives – who somehow picked up the scattered pieces. How the women did it is central to the story at the heart of this tragedy.
PERFECT — New Firsthand Documentary Special
Thursday, August 4 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
1×60 (Rapide-Blanc)
Perfect follows Canada’s national synchronized swimming team as they strive to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Shot over the course of a year and benefiting from exclusive access to the team, it reveals a world of extraordinary sacrifice and determination. Combining the beauty of dance with the intensity of swimming, this sport not only demands a staggering level of athleticism and artistry, it also requires that a team be physically homogenous: virtual clones of the same ideal body. As these young athletes aim for the world’s podiums, they must strive to maintain their health and self-esteem.
RIO 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
Aug. 5–21 beginning at 7 a.m. ET (4 a.m. PT) each day
The Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be CBC/Radio-Canada’s 20th as Canada’s Olympic Network and the first Olympic Games hosted by a South American city. Including Team Canada, approximately 10,500 athletes representing 206 countries will be in Rio de Janeiro this summer to compete in 306 medal events. As Canada’s Olympic Network, CBC/Radio-Canada, along with primary broadcast partners TSN, RDS as well as Sportsnet, will provide the most innovative and accessible Olympic Games coverage ever made available to Canadians. With more than 1275 combined hours of television coverage and more than 4000 hours of live streaming and innovative virtual reality experiences, Canadians will enjoy Rio 2016 like no Olympic Games before. Details of CBC/Radio-Canada’s programming plans for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games from September 7–18, 2016 will be announced in the coming months.
STILL STANDING –  Season 2 — New Season
Tuesdays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) beginning June 14
13×30 (Frantic Films)
Follow Canadian comedian Jonny Harris (Murdoch Mysteries) as he sets off yet again, veering off the main highway to discover the hidden comedy in Canada’s far-flung small towns. Each week, Jonny takes a hilarious and heart-warming journey to find humour in the unlikeliest of places — small towns on the ropes. After immersing himself in the lives of local characters and unearthing the tall tales in these tiny towns, Jonny delivers a rousing original stand-up comedy routine — a toast, not a roast — for the whole community. From coast to coast to coast, Still Standing showcases Canada’s vast beauty and highlights the country’s unique and diverse characters. Viewers ride shotgun with Jonny at the wheel on the ultimate cross-country road trip. In season 2, Jonny makes doughnuts in the Haida community of Skidegate B.C., trades stories with Neil Young’s childhood friend Goof in Omemee, Ontario, visits the world’s most northerly mosque in Inuvik, N.W.T., joins a seniors’ ukulele group in Georgetown, P.E.I., — and much more.
THE SPECIAL NEEDS HOTEL — New Factual Series
Thursdays at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) beginning August 25
3×60 (Acquired from Sky Vision)
The Special Needs Hotel follows Foxes Academy, a remarkable organization that gives young people with learning difficulties the opportunity to train to work in the hospitality industry. In this charming and light-hearted series from the U.K., viewers meet extraordinary young people as they progress through the unique academy, which includes working in the academy’s Foxes Hotel. The hotel is open to the public and competes for customers, and must be at the top of its game while staffed by this eclectic group of students. This inspiring documentary series follows both the missteps and triumphs of this extraordinary group and the staff who help them every step of the way.
UNDERCOVER — New Drama Series
Mondays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) beginning August 22
6×60 (Acquired from BBCWW)
Undercover is a six-part political thriller from BBC/BBC America created by Peter Moffat. The series follows Maya (Sophie Okonedo), a barrister in London, who is at the very top of her profession and about to become the first black director of public prosecutions. But just as her life comes under intense public scrutiny, Maya discovers that her husband, Nick (Adrian Lester), has been lying to her for 20 years. Their stable and loving home life is deeply under threat as a result. At the same time, a case that has dominated her career is about to reach its conclusion. Rudy Jones (Dennis Haysbert), a black man in America, is wrongly convicted of murdering a white politician and soon to be executed. As she fights to save Rudy and discovers more about her husband’s past, Maya begins to realize there are bigger forces at work. An intricate web of corruption involving members of the police, the press and politicians unfolds.
WHEN CALLS THE HEART – Season 2 — New Season
Sundays at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) beginning June 19
10×60 (Acquired from Mindset Television)
Based on the bestselling novel by Janette Oke, season 2 of When Calls The Heart follows the residents of Coal Valley as they navigate matters of the heart during uncertain times in the wake of the mine disaster investigation. Young school teacher Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow) and Mountie Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing) are just starting to build their relationship. But when Elizabeth gets bad news from home, she must return to the wealthy, high-society life she left behind, where her feelings for Jack will be put to the test.
