CBC Gem Shows, a list by Steve Davis

8.6

/21774/

82

/773/

82

/142/

99

/46/

86

84

/27/

age 10+

The heartwarming and humorous adventures of a young country vet in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1930s. A remake of the 1978 series.

86

8.7

/243410/

84

/8751/

81

/1139/

92

/78/

94

80

/141/

age 14+

A chronicle of the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—with great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy.

86

8.5

/20428/

83

/1310/

76

/146/

100

/26/

95

82

/8/

age 15+

After breaking up with his girlfriend, Josh comes to the realization that he is homosexual. With the support of his now ex girlfriend Claire, and his best friend and house mate Tom, Josh must help his mother with her battle with depression and the rest of his family embrace his new found lifestyle.

85

8.2

/25570/

78

/1265/

75

/158/

98

/161/

92

87

/47/

age 17+

Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan write and star in a comedy that follows an American man and an Irish woman who make a bloody mess as they struggle to fall in love in London.

85

8.4

/32259/

80

/1591/

79

/232/

96

/35/

92

81

/10/

age 14+

A cash-strapped young couple inherits a grand country house, only to find it is both falling apart and teeming with the ghosts of former inhabitants.

85

8.1

/15899/

75

/890/

83

/298/

97

/101/

88

87

/36/

age 15+

Middle school as it really happened. Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle star in this adult comedy, playing versions of themselves as thirteen-year-old outcasts in the year 2000, surrounded by actual thirteen-year-olds, where the best day of your life can turn into your worst with the stroke of a gel pen.

83

8.0

/14765/

76

/659/

74

/81/

100

/51/

87

85

/19/

age 14+

Ashley and Gordon are two single(ish), complex humans who are brought together by a car accident and an injured dog. Flawed, funny people choosing each other and being brave enough to show their true self, scars and all, as they navigate life together.

83

8.5

/168169/

81

/7542/

77

/635/

93

/109/

93

73

/16/

age 14+

Formerly filthy rich video store magnate Johnny Rose, his soap star wife Moira, and their two kids, über-hipster son David and socialite daughter Alexis, suddenly find themselves broke and forced to live in Schitt's Creek, a small depressing town they once bought as a joke.

83

8.6

/156132/

84

/5842/

80

/896/

90

/285/

84

78

/102/

age 15+

It’s 1958 Manhattan and Miriam “Midge” Maisel has everything she’s ever wanted - the perfect husband, kids, and Upper West Side apartment. But when her life suddenly takes a turn and Midge must start over, she discovers a previously unknown talent - one that will take her all the way from the comedy clubs of Greenwich Village to a spot on Johnny Carson’s couch.

83

8.4

/17985/

81

/752/

84

/231/

age 17+

A group of working-class friends finding unconventional ways to win at life in suburban northern England. These lads have dealt, scammed, bribed and conned their way through adolescence, but now, their dealing and stealing is catching up with them and a whole load of trouble is heading their way.

82

8.2

/15375/

78

/730/

74

/92/

4.2

/11241/

94

/52/

87

80

/23/

age 15+

Through the eyes of various Irish Republican Army (IRA) members, explore the extremes some people will go to in the name of their beliefs, the way a deeply divided society can suddenly tip over into armed conflict, the long shadow of radical violence for both victims and perpetrators, and the emotional and psychological costs of a code of silence.

82

8.4

/162337/

82

/8527/

78

/1148/

88

/117/

89

75

/61/

age 14+

A dark psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba as Luther, a man struggling with his own terrible demons, who might be as dangerous as the depraved murderers he hunts.

82

8.2

/138334/

80

/9106/

78

/1453/

91

/101/

90

74

/60/

age 18+

Some of literature's most terrifying characters, including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, and iconic figures from the novel Dracula are lurking in the darkest corners of Victorian London. Penny Dreadful is a frightening psychological thriller that weaves together these classic horror origin stories into a new adult drama.

82

7.9

/19894/

76

/1244/

72

/193/

98

/166/

84

88

/84/

age 16+

Sam Fox is a single, working actor with no filter trying to raise her three daughters – Max, Frankie and Duke – in Los Angeles. She is mom, dad, referee and the cops.

81

8.1

/130307/

79

/5492/

77

/926/

85

/62/

85

79

/12/

age 17+

When the Police Service of Northern Ireland are unable to close a case after 28 days, Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson of the Metropolitan Police Service is called in to review the case. Under her new leadership, the local detectives must track down and stop a serial killer who is terrorising the city of Belfast.

81

7.7

/11385/

75

/773/

70

/98/

100

/32/

83

age 16+

The life of Tracey, a religious, Beyoncé-obsessed 22-year-old living in an estate in Tower Hamlets, and the mishaps of her neighbourhood, friends and family. Oh, and obvs her boyfriend!

81

8.6

/78426/

86

/3890/

87

/4855/

63

/37/

91

79

/17/

age 12+

A coming-of-age story about an outsider who, against all odds and numerous challenges, fights for love and acceptance and for her place in the world. The series centers on a young orphaned girl in the late 1890s, who, after an abusive childhood spent in orphanages and the homes of strangers, is mistakenly sent to live with an elderly woman and her aging brother. Over time, 13-year-old Anne will transform their lives and eventually the small town in which they live with her unique spirit, fierce intellect and brilliant imagination.

81

8.6

/15220/

81

/977/

75

/97/

87

/142/

77

/40/

age 8+

This British television baking competition selects from amongst its competitors the best amateur baker. The series is credited with reinvigorating interest in baking throughout the UK, and many of its participants, including winners, have gone on to start a career based on baking.

80

7.8

/66497/

75

/3496/

75

/458/

97

/168/

76

83

/70/

age 15+

Follow Charlie Cale, a woman with an extraordinary ability to tell when someone is lying, as she hits the road and, at every stop, encounters a new cast of characters and crimes she can't help but solve.

80

7.6

/9011/

73

/663/

69

/103/

98

/39/

88

72

/12/

age 11+

New Zealand's capital is a hotbed of supernatural activity... so Officers Minogue and O'Leary, who featured in the vampire documentary What We Do In The Shadows, take to the streets to investigate all manner of paranormal phenomena.

80

7.7

/12057/

71

/611/

74

/173/

97

/80/

90

73

/24/

age 17+

Brothel owner, Margaret Wells, struggles to raise her daughters in London during the 18th century.

80

8.6

/34825/

80

/1243/

75

/245/

81

/18/

age 14+

Drama following the lives of a group of midwives working in the poverty-stricken East End of London during the 1950s, based on the best-selling memoirs of Jennifer Worth.

79

7.9

/16379/

77

/449/

82

/155/

age 7+

Elizabeth Thatcher, a young school teacher from a wealthy Eastern family, migrates from the big city to teach school in a small coal mining town in the west.

79

8.2

/19906/

79

/748/

77

/277/

A Victorian-era Toronto detective uses then-cutting edge forensic techniques to solve crimes, with the assistance of a female coroner who is also struggling for recognition in the face of tradition, based on the books by Maureen Jennings.

79

74

/1566/

69

/164/

94

/48/

82

76

/33/

age 14+

Satirical sketch comedy set and filmed in Portland, Oregon that explores the eccentric misfits who embody the foibles of modern culture.

79

7.9

/40013/

76

/2910/

70

/396/

84

/143/

85

83

/69/

age 18+

William Masters and Virginia Johnson are real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality. Their research touched off the sexual revolution and took them from a midwestern teaching hospital to the cover of Time magazine and multiple appearances on Johnny Carson's couch. He is a brilliant scientist out of touch with his own feelings, and she is a single working mother ahead of her time. The series chronicles their unusual lives, romance, and unlikely pop culture trajectory.

79

78

7.4

/9699/

71

/389/

73

/62/

3.7

/871/

96

/38/

87

76

/18/

age 15+

On 26 November 1983, six armed men break into the Brink's-Mat security depot, stumbling across gold bullion worth £26m.

78

7.2

/20675/

71

/888/

79

/193/

3.7

/14647/

86

/59/

72

70

/28/

RogerEbert

4.0

age 15+

Fourteen-year old Reena Virk went to join friends at a party and never returned home. Through the eyes of Rebecca Godfrey and a local police officer, learn the hidden world of the young girls accused of the murder — revealing startling truths about the unlikely killer.

78

8.1

/151260/

80

/7773/

79

/1421/

80

/258/

73

75

/74/

age 14+

A security consultant hunts for a ruthless assassin. Equally obsessed with each other, they go head to head in an epic game of cat-and-mouse.

78

IMDb 55

7.7

/31692/

76

/1442/

67

/224/

97

/99/

76

75

/35/

age 14+

Liza Miller, a suddenly single stay-at-home mother, tries to get back into the working world, only to find it’s nearly impossible to start at the bottom at 40-year old. When a chance encounter convinces her she looks younger than she is, Liza tries to pass herself off as 26 and lands a job as an assistant at Empirical Press. Now she just has to make sure no one finds out the secret only she and her best friend Maggie share.

78

7.9

/56087/

78

/2673/

75

/506/

85

/65/

84

69

/35/

age 18+

Set in 15th century Italy at the height of the Renaissance, The Borgias chronicles the corrupt rise of patriarch Rodrigo Borgia to the papacy, where he proceeds to commit every sin in the book to amass and retain power, influence and enormous wealth for himself and his family.

77

7.5

/13063/

73

/628/

68

/115/

3.9

/2249/

92

/37/

80

74

/22/

age 14+

Count Alexander Rostov finds himself going from riches to rags following the Russian revolution. A Soviet tribunal banishes him to the attic room of an opulent hotel, where, oblivious to the world outside, he discovers the true value of friendship, family and love.

77

7.7

/19691/

73

/864/

74

/139/

86

/43/

82

75

/15/

age 12+

Seven strangers from different walks of life - people who would never normally interact - are forced to work together to renovate a derelict community centre. They resent the menial physical labour and they resent each other. But when one of their number gets dragged into a dangerous world of organised crime, they unite in ways none of them thought possible.

78

77

8.0

/10839/

75

/346/

71

/56/

91

/51/

85

70

/12/

Sitcom about navigating the trials and traumas of middle-class motherhood, looking at the competitive and unromantic side of parenting.

77

7.9

/51466/

76

/2329/

66

/394/

85

/133/

77

81

/58/

age 18+

The emotional effects of an extramarital relationship between Noah, a New York City schoolteacher and budding novelist with a wife of twenty years and four children and Alison, a young waitress and wife from Montauk at the end of Long Island, trying to piece her life back together in the wake of a tragedy.

79

77

7.5

/5095/

74

/321/

73

/80/

100

/16/

88

66

/10/

age 16+

Dr. Mary Harris, a single mother and emergency doctor by day, also moonlights as an underground angel of death - helping terminally ill patients who want to die and slip away on their own terms. So far Mary has managed to stay under the radar; but business is booming, and her double life is getting complicated. When her world starts to unravel, Mary realizes she's going to have to fight dirty if she's going to stay in the killing game.

78

76

7.5

/6637/

74

/346/

70

/36/

100

/22/

77

77

/10/

age None+

A young Inuk woman wants to build a new future for herself after a spontaneous and extremely public exit from her marriage. It won't be easy in a small Arctic town where everybody knows your business.

76

7.8

/25763/

76

/1201/

74

/116/

age 15+

Four women juggle love, careers, and parenthood. They support, challenge, and try not to judge each other as life throws them curveballs. Whether it is an identity crisis, a huge job opportunity, postpartum depression, or an unplanned pregnancy – they face both the good and bad with grace and humour.

79

75

7.6

/4891/

73

/241/

69

/44/

96

/61/

86

78

/26/

age 14+

This semi-autobiographical dark comedy starring Tig Notaro follows her as she returns to her hometown after the sudden death of her mother. Still reeling from her own declining health problems, Tig struggles to find her footing with the loss of the one person in her life who understood her. All while dealing with her clingy girlfriend and her dysfunctional family.

75

7.8

/23408/

77

/933/

72

/104/

76

/9/

age 16+

Sam Loudermilk is a recovering alcoholic and substance abuse counselor with an extremely bad attitude about, well, everything. He is unapologetically uncensored, and manages to piss off everyone in his life. Although he has his drinking under control, Loudermilk discovers that when your life is a complete mess, getting clean is the easy part.

75

8.1

/86278/

78

/3229/

78

/792/

69

/75/

83

66

/55/

age 18+

The Tudors is a history-based drama series following the young, vibrant King Henry VIII, a competitive and lustful monarch who navigates the intrigues of the English court and the human heart with equal vigor and justifiable suspicion.

80

75

8.0

/5094/

73

/183/

75

/48/

3.5

/2180/

92

/13/

93

72

/6/

A love story in two films charts the very different challenges to happiness for Michael and Thomas in the aftermath of World War 2, and to Adam and Steve in the present day.

78

75

8.5

/3790/

79

/412/

71

/54/

British television series which features unusual and often elaborate architectural homebuilding projects.

78

74

7.2

/5049/

71

/294/

71

/49/

100

/11/

age 14+

A spirited con woman and a demoted by-the-book detective are given the chance to redeem themselves. The catch? They have to find a way to work together each using their unique skills to solve crimes.

74

6.9

/18976/

70

/1058/

68

/216/

92

/54/

76