CBC Gem is Canada’s streaming service, offering more than 5000 hours of live and on-demand Canadian programming and a curated selection of acclaimed, best-in-class content from around the world, including more than 750 documentaries, 400 hours of ad-free content for kids and tweens, and a collection of over 120 Canadian feature films. CBC Gem 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.
CBC Arts partners with Ngozi Paul and Emancipation Arts to present FREE UP!, the annual youth-led celebration of Emancipation Day featuring music, theatre, spoken word and dance (August 1)
Virtual film festival THE FUTURE OF FILM SHOWCASE highlights bold and original short works by emerging Canadian filmmakers (August 21)
Canadian Premieres of acclaimed UK series GAME FACE Season 2 (August 7) and Australian miniseries BARRACUDA (August 14)
Oh! Canada! Retro Favourites collection expands with Season 2 of DA KINK IN MY HAIR (August 21)
All episodes of highly anticipated MALORY TOWERS, based on the popular tween novel series, begin streaming August 28
New documentaries include Exclusive Canadian Premiere of Hot Docs 2020 selection THE BOOKSELLERS (August 7) as part of CBC Gem’s Book Lovers Day Collection; award-winning KEDI (August 7); CBC Short Doc RU-TSU (August 21) about David Suzuki’s grandson - snowboarder and activist Tamo Campos; and documentary Channel’s WHO FARTED? (August 28)
New to CBC GEM in August:
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THE FUTURE OF FILM SHOWCASE *CBC Gem Partnership*
Begins streaming Friday, August 21
THE FUTURE OF FILM SHOWCASE, a not-for-profit media arts organization fostering the future of emerging Canadian filmmakers, presents its seventh annual film festival in a virtual format on CBC Gem, highlighting bold and original short works by Canadian filmmakers aged 40 and younger. A selection of titles will be available to stream beginning August 21, including Carol Nguyen's No Crying at the Dinner Table and Rebeccah Love and Connor Casey's Ripe.
CBC GEM ORIGINALS
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FREE UP! (CBC Arts Special, 1x60, Canada) *World Premiere*
Begins streaming Saturday, August 1
CBC Arts partners with Ngozi Paul and Emancipation Arts to present FREE UP!, the annual youth-led celebration of Emancipation Day featuring music, theatre, spoken word and dance.
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THE AMAZING GAYL PILE: LAST RESORT (Comedy, 10x10, LaRue Entertainment, Canada) *World Premiere*
Begins streaming Friday, August 21
After surviving nuclear war, former home shopping TV host Gayl Pile (Morgan Waters, The Morgan Waters Show) builds a post-apocalyptic beach resort on the outskirts of Orillia, Ontario, in this ten-part comedy series.
ACCLAIMED FROM AROUND THE WORLD
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GAME FACE Season 2 (Comedy, 6x30, Objective Fiction, United Kingdom) *Exclusive Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Friday, August 7
Created by and starring Roisin Conaty (Man Down, After Life), GAMEFACE follows Marcella as she spiritedly crashes her way through life, assisted by her dubious life-coach, best friends and ever-patient driving instructor.
“Rude, raw and slyly romantic, Game Face is the funniest sitcom of the year.”
“Irresistible comedy that's all heart and silliness.” - The Guardian
“It's hard not to like Conaty and the relatable character she has created.”
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BARRACUDA (Drama, 4x60, Matchbox Pictures, Australia) *Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Friday, August 14
Adapted from the bestselling Australian novel by Christos Tsiolkas (The Slap) and starring Elias Anton (Neighbours, Australia Day), Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under, Muriel’s Wedding), Matt Nable (Riddick, Arrow), and Ben Kindon (Bite Club, Godot’s Clinic), BARRACUDA is an unflinching look at Australia’s national obsession with sporting heroes. It’s a brutal clash of cultures, dreams and expectations and the relentless demands we place on our young athletes, their families, schools, friends and coaches.
“Compelling; with some skilful scriptwriting and direction reinforcing [Tsiolkas’] pitiless dissection of suburban Australian living.” - The Australian
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YOUNG AND PROMISING Season 4 (Dramedy, 6x30, Monster Scripted, Norway) *Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Friday, August 14
Three ambitious twenty-something women living in Oslo are attempting to follow their dreams by breaking into creative careers and a grown-up lifestyle. In Season 4 of YOUNG AND PROMISING, a few months have passed, and it’s now winter. Oslo is covered in snow, and people rush around to finish the last of their preparations before Christmas.
OH! CANADA! RETRO FAVOURITES
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DA KINK IN MY HAIR Season 2 (Comedy, 13x30, Barna-Alper/trey anthony/Ngozika/Defiant Entertainment, Canada)
Begins streaming Friday, August 21
Created by Trey Anthony and Ngozi Paul, DA KINK IN MY HAIR Season 2 stars Ordena Stephens-Thompson (New in Town, The Umbrella Academy) as Novelette “Letty” Campbell, the owner of Letty’s, a bustling hair salon in Toronto’s Caribbean community. Letty knows just how to make her clients open up while letting their hair down.
KIDS/TWEEN
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MALORY TOWERS (Tween, 13x30, WildBrain and King Bert Productions, Canada/United Kingdom)
Begins streaming Friday, August 28
Based on Enid Blyton's hugely popular novel series, Malory Towers follows 12-year-old Darrell Rivers, played by talented newcomer Ella Bright, as she leaves home for the first time to attend an all-girls’ boarding school. Set in the 1940s on the sun-drenched cliffs of the Cornish coast, Malory Towers explores this nostalgic world of midnight feasts, lacrosse, pranks, and lasting friendships, and tells the story of universal experiences including shifting cliques, FOMO, bullying, crushes, peer pressure, and self-doubt. The girls keep an eye on each other and, like a family, are forever connected by their shared experiences.
YOUNG ADULT NEW ADULT PROGRAMMING
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ACKLEY BRIDGE Season 3 (Drama, 8x60, The Forge, United Kingdom)
Begins streaming Friday, August 7
Ackley Bridge is a Yorkshire mill town, home to largely divided white and Asian populations. Like the communities, the school systems have also become segregated. However, as two formerly isolated comprehensives are merged into a brand new academy, Ackley Bridge College, the lives and cultures of each are set to collide. Lessons are about to be learned in and out of the classroom, even if education isn’t the first thing on the agenda.
DOCUMENTARIES
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THE BOOKSELLERS (Documentary, 1x99, directed by D.W. Young) *Exclusive Canadian Premiere* *Part of Book Lovers Day Collection*
Begins streaming Friday, August 7
A Hot Docs 2020 selection starring and executive produced by Parker Posey (Lost in Space, A Mighty Wind), THE BOOKSELLERS is a behind-the-scenes look at the New York rare book world. Antiquarian booksellers are part scholar, part detective and part businessperson, and their personalities and knowledge are as broad as the material they handle. They also play an underappreciated yet essential role in preserving history. THE BOOKSELLERS takes viewers inside their small but fascinating world, populated by an assortment of obsessives, intellects, eccentrics and dreamers. THE BOOKSELLERS is directed by D.W. Young (Too Cold to Swim, The Happy House), and alongside Posey, also stars Fran Lebowitz (The Wolf of Wall Street, Public Speaking), Gay Talese (Blind, Honor Thy Father), and Susan Orlean (Adaptation).
“The Booksellers is a documentary for anyone who can still look at a book and see a dream, a magic teleportation device, an object that contains the world.” - Variety
“[A] delightful homage” - NPR
“A treat for anyone who appreciates the printed word.” - The Hollywood Reporter
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KEDI (Documentary, 1x79, directed by Ceyda Torun) *English-Canadian Premiere*
Begins streaming Friday, August 7
Hundreds of thousands of Turkish cats roam the metropolis of Istanbul freely. For thousands of years, they’ve wandered in and out of people’s lives, becoming an essential part of the communities that make the city so rich. Claiming no owners, the cats of Istanbul live between two worlds, neither wild nor tame - and they bring joy and purpose to those people they choose to adopt. In Istanbul, cats are the mirrors to the people, allowing them to reflect on their lives in ways nothing else could. KEDI was named one of TIME magazine’s Top 10 Movies of 2017, alongside the likes of Lady Bird and Get Out. The film won two 2017 Critics' Choice Documentary Awards, including Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary and Best First Documentary for director Ceyda Torun.
“A magical and remarkable documentary”; Kedi will make you a believer”
- Variety
“A collective portrait that's as elegant as its light-footed subjects, it's guaranteed to soothe a weary mind, and just might lower blood pressure too.”
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RU-TSU (Short Doc, 1x14, directed by Darcy Hennessey Turenne)
Begins streaming Friday, August 21
Snowboarder and activist Tamo Campos explores his connection to his heritage and Japanese roots with grandfather David Suzuki.
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WHO FARTED? (Documentary, 1x78, directed by Albert Nerenberg and Nik Sheehan)
Begins streaming Friday, August 28
From filmmakers Albert Nerenberg (You Are What You Act, Stupidity) and Nik Sheehan (Flicker, Symposium: Ladder of Love) and featuring an intercontinental cast of best-selling authors, climate scientists and master flatualists, WHO FARTED? suggests that understanding our place in nature is essential to our continued existence as a species.
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 SEPTEMBER:
- CHEWING GUM Season 2
- MOHAWK GIRLS Season 3
- MY GRANDPARENTS’ WAR
- TIMEWASTERS Season 2
- ROOM
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