Streaming This January on CBC Gem
CBC Gem is Canada’s streaming service, offering more than 4000 hours of live and on-demand acclaimed, authentically Canadian programming and a curated selection of best-in-class content from around the world, including more than 750 documentary titles, 200 hours of ad-free content for kids and tweens, and over 100 Canadian features, with a new film added each week. CBC Gem also provides livestream access to 14 CBC channels and their local newscasts across the country. It is available free as an App for iOS and Android devices and online at cbcgem.ca, and on TV screens via Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
For screening links or more information about any of the following titles, please contact Enya Franks-Best (enya.franks-best@cbc.ca). Note: This schedule is subject to change.
Scandinavian crime drama WISTING, begins streaming Sunday, January 24
““Wisting” is Nordic Noir – set in stunning landscapes, backed by Scandinavian powerhouse Viaplay, adapting two highly popular bestselling novels by Jørn Lier Hors.” -Variety
Psychological thriller SAFE HARBOUR begins streaming Sunday, January 24
“...Safe Harbour (created by the showrunner Belinda Chayko) has a highly topical and potentially incendiary premise, merging the political and the personal.” -The Guardian
The fourth and final season of THE DURRELLS begins streaming Friday, January 3
“...writer Simon Nye has done it again - expanded skillfully on the books while retaining their elegiac yet earthy tone. The resulting blend of character comedy and pathos is as warm and relaxing as a Greek sunset.” -iNews
CBC’s winter 2020 programming slate begins streaming Sunday, January 5, including a new season of KIM’S CONVENIENCE and the final season of SCHITT’S CREEK, beginning Tuesday, January 7
Canadian feature films including WEIRDOS, MY LIFE WITHOUT ME and HELLO DESTROYER premiere throughout the month (dates below), expanding CBC Gem’s extensive library of homegrown films
ACCLAIMED FROM AROUND THE WORLD:
-
THE DURRELLS Season 4 (Drama, 6x60, Sid Gentle Films Ltd, United Kingdom) Begins streaming Friday, January 3
The future’s looking bright for the eccentric Durrells, as we catch up with their lives on the beautiful island of Corfu. They’re each channelling their heartbreak in different ways following the events in Series 3. Louisa’s keeping busy by opening the doors of the family villa as a guest house, but with cousin Basil her only paying guest, business isn’t exactly booming. Larry’s struggling to get his risqué Black Book published and enjoying love with two ballet dancers, while Leslie’s throwing himself back into his job (and shooting). Animal-mad Gerry now has ambitions to open his own zoo, and Margo’s up for another new challenge as she decides to start her own beauty salon.
-
WISTING (Drama, 10x60, Good Company Films, Denmark) Begins streaming Friday, January 24
Set in the unique and stunning landscape of Norway, this series follows homicide detective William Wisting (Sven Nordin, Lilyhammer) as he wrestles with the most challenging and shocking case of his career: a wanted American serial killer living in the small coastal town of Larvik. Meanwhile, Line (Carrie-Anne Moss, The Matrix, Jessica Jones) – Wisting’s intrepid journalist daughter – is chasing headlines, leading her straight into the path of the serial killer. Suddenly, an old case comes back to haunt Wisting, and a dreadful accusation is hurled at him. How will Wisting save other lives when he finds himself suspended and fighting for his own reputation, career and life?
-
SAFE HARBOUR (Drama, 4x60, Matchbox Pictures, Australia) Begins streaming Friday, January 24
On a yachting holiday from Darwin to Indonesia, five Australians come across a broken-down fishing boat, full of desperate asylum seekers. The Australians decide to help, towing the refugees, but when they wake the next morning, the fishing boat is gone. Five years later, they meet some of the refugees again and learn the truth of what happened: Someone cut the rope between the two boats and, as a result, seven people died when the fishing boat sank. The revelation drives a wedge of mistrust between the Australians, as they grapple with protecting themselves and doing the right thing. The refugees struggle with their desire for justice – and possibly revenge. Old secrets come to light, relationships are shattered and lives are put in danger. And one question hangs over it all – who cut the rope?
CANADIAN FILMS PREMIERING IN JANUARY:
-
WEIRDOS (Drama, 2016, directed by Bruce McDonald) Begins streaming Friday, January 10
In a small Nova Scotia town in 1976, when 15-year-old Kit (Dylan Authors, The Mist) decides that living with his father is too repressive, he hits the road with his girlfriend Alice (Julia Sarah Stone, Honey Bee) and hitchhikes to the big city of Sydney to move in with his glamorous but unstable mother (Molly Parker, Deadwood). The journey becomes one of self-discovery that opens them up to new possibilities for their futures, all in an attempt to find a place to call home.
-
MY LIFE WITHOUT ME (Drama, 2003, directed by Isabel Coixet) Begins streaming Thursday, January 16
Based on the book Pretending the Bed Is a Raft by Nanci Kincaid, MY LIFE WITHOUT ME tells a story of a 23-year-old wife and mother (Sarah Polley, The Sweet Hereafter) who finds out she is going to die soon.
-
HELLO DESTROYER (Drama, 2016 directed by Kevan Funk) Begins streaming Friday, January 24
A young junior hockey player’s life is shattered by an in-game act of violence. In an instant his life is abruptly turned upside down; torn from the fraternity of the team and the coinciding position of prominence, he is cast as a pariah and ostracized from the community. As he struggles with the repercussions of the event, desperate to find a means of reconciliation and a sense of identity, his personal journey ends up illuminating troubling systemic issues around violence.
-
EADWEARD (Drama, 2015, directed by Kyle Rideout) Begins streaming Friday, January 31
Michael Eklunds stars in this psychological drama centered around world-famous, turn-of-the-century photographer Eadweard Muybridge, who photographed nude and deformed subjects, and became the godfather of cinema while his relationship with his wife dissolved.
-
CHARLEY PRIDE: I’M JUST ME (Documentary, 2019, directed by Barbara J. Hall) A documentary Channel original; Begins streaming Friday, January 31
Explore the complicated history of the American South and its music through the life of country star Charley Pride. Raised in segregated Mississippi, his journey shows the ways that artistic expression can triumph over prejudice and injustice
THE BEST OF CBC:
Past and current seasons of CBC series, including hit competition series BATTLE OF THE BLADES; crowd-pleasing dramas MURDOCH MYSTERIES, FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES, HEARTLAND, and ANNE WITH AN E; acclaimed comedies STILL STANDING, TALLBOYZ, KIM’S CONVENIENCE, BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW, and SCHITT’S CREEK; and classic CBC hits like THE KIDS IN THE HALL and BEING ERICA.
COMING IN FEBRUARY:
- Hey Lady!
- Brassic
- Britannia
- Secrets of the Royals: Inside the Crown
- Elvis Goes There
- Canada’s A Drag (Season 3)
-30-
