Canadian TV

In Canada: Mondays, 8:30pm ET/PT, CityTV
In the rest of the world: Not yet acquired

There are two things that are hard with Canadian comedies. The first is to hate them. They’re so well meaning and liberal and nice. Even what could be a mean-spirited show like Seed – in which a 30something, womanising slacker bartender whose sperm-bank-generated teenage progeny turn up in his life looking for their oblivious father – still manages to be endearing, despite numerous stereotypes about lesbians, dominating career women, liberal middle-class couples, black lesbians, single 30something women, single 30something men, men in general and others. It’s just so gosh darn… nice.

The other thing that’s hard with Canadian comedies is to laugh. The country as a whole has a track record that includes Kids In The Hall and The Newsroom and has filled the entertainment world with so many famous, talented comedians (most of whom you probably don’t realise are Canadians), it would be impossible to list them all. But modern Canadian comedy shows are largely exemplified by the likes of the horrifically unfunny 18 To Life, Men With Brooms, Hiccups, InSecurity, Good Dog and The Line.

And so it is with Seed, a show that’s amiable and trying really hard to be funny, but which ultimately fails to raise more than a wry grin and an “Awe, isn’t that nice?” out of the whole affair.

Here’s a trailer for the first episode, the aptly titled Ill Conceived, followed by a trailer for the rest of the season:

Continue reading “Review: Seed 1×1 (City TV)”