From Maria Kubacki of the Ottawa Citizen

• When women leave
  “Who’s more useful — women or men? Watching The Week the Women Went, CBC’s reality TV show, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the fairer sex is also the indispensable sex.” Read more.

From Brian Gorman of the Brantford Expositor:

• Lock up the womenfolk
  “This is the second time CBC has stormed into a village, carried off the women and enslaved the men. The occasion is the reality series/social experiment “The Week the Women Went,” which begins its second season Wednesday, Jan. 21, on CBC Television.” Read more.

From the Journal Pioneer:

• Nova Scotia community soldiers on without its women
  “This quaint town on Nova Scotia’s north shore has survived invasion and its coasts are battered annually by tropical storms. The townspeople are proud, tough and have always found a way to flourish.” Read more.

From Tim Arsenault of the Chronicle Herald:

• It’s a man’s world
  “IT MAY HAVE been The Week The Women Went, but it was also the week Paperny Films came to Tatamagouche.” Read more.

From Veronica Boodhan of the National Post:

• Q&A: CBC’s The Week the Women Went producer Cal Shumiatcher
  “The Gemini-nominated series, adapted from the 2005 BBC version, takes place in a small town where the women leave their families to take a week vacation. This season, the show takes place in the Maritime town of Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. While the women leave for a trip to a luxury resort, the men in their lives must handle the daily responsibilities without their ladies to lend them a hand.” Read more.

From Melanie Patten of the Canadian Press:

• ‘Women Went’ comes to Nova Scotia
  “Innkeeper Jimmie LeFresne lost half of his staff when The Week the Women Went came to his small Nova Scotia village last fall. Sure, hiring his buddies to scrub bathtubs and feed guests was nerve-wracking, but the thing that’s really got LeFresne worked up prior to the reality show’s premiere Wednesday is what might have slipped out during filming. ‘Oh, my land! I had a mic on me from eight in the morning till nine at night. What did I say?’ LeFresne, 53, said with a laugh from Tatamagouche, where the show’s second season was shot.” Read more.

From Belinda Leach in the Globe and Mail:

• A reality check on rural women
  “The not-quite-reality CBC TV series The Week the Women Went removes all the women from a small rural town for just one week, then watches how the men cope. Last year, it was Hardisty, Alta. In the new season, which begins on Jan. 21, it’s Tatamagouche, N.S. The program may be four parts soap opera, but taking women away from their families and communities reveals the often invisible work that rural women do.” Read more.

Photo: The women weather the storm as they exit Tatamagouche and prepare for a week of pampering. (Pictured Barb McCallum)

From Melita Kuburas of Media in Canada:

• CBC reality show taps social media to ramp up interest
  “Rural Canada’s relentless grip on traditional gender roles is exposed again – in the Maritimes this time – as CBC’s reality TV show The Week the Women Went premieres its second season on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 8 pm.” Read more.