49th and Main - Canadian Soap with a touch of Bollywood Spice

We all love a little drama! If part of your presonal DVD collection includes some Bollywood melodrama, some glitsy Hong Kong or kung-fu period peices, and possibly some Filipino over-the-top family feud, you know you're not alone. And most recently, everyone (and I mean everyone) has been hooked on the South Korean soap opera wave. Soaps rule the airwaves in the world's largest television markets. But for the most part, American and Canadian television drama has continued to deliver the same imagined demographics of the 1970s - and that's not likely to change fast enough. Those in the TV biz know it's hard to get a new soap concept looked at by N. American broadcasters; even harder when it stars a predominantly (visibly) diverse cast. So when we began to receive emails about TV-sightings of new Canadian soaps North/South and 49th & Main in the middle of the afternoon, it was like the impossible had just happened.

49th and Main (from Wikipedia) "... is set in the Punjabi Market district of Vancouver. Much like ITV's Coronation Street, 49th & Main focuses on the interactions of the businesspeople, merchants and residents of the multicultural area. In particular, the series revolves around Dr. Cedric Ferreira, a Kenyan-born Indian with an English upbringing, who decides to bring his young son to Canada and start a medical practice." (lot's more here)

No promises that either of these two pilots will stick. But at this point, we're all just (happily) stunned and basking in the fact that the CBC has made this happen: six episodes each. And to some positive reviews: "Northern Exposure meets Da Vinci's Inquest," according to The Globe and Mail (read more here)

More:
On youtube.com
The inside scoop ... Behind the Scenes: How a CBC TV Drama Show Got to Air HERE. 24 seconds with [writer/director] William B. Davis here.
Punjabi-Canadian Actress: Agam Darshi stars in CBC 49th and Main click here.
To find CBC Television in your area here.

It premiered on CBC Television on July 18, 2006 at 2:30 P.M. (3:00 P.M. in Newfoundland), and will run for 6 episodes on a Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday scheduling setup, with the final episode airing on July 27. Tell us what you think. Email info@schemamag.ca