SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2020 SECTION E ON ON2 Channelling the ‘Princesses are never disabled’ comfort of a cuppa Hamilton author Streaming services vie for wallets Amanda Leduc takes on of those who love British TV, E2 fairy-tale culture, E11

> LOOKAHEAD MEDICAL Twenty books you CENTRE need to know about Dealing with grief continues to be a topic that fascinates publishers and authors

DEBORAH DUNDAS BOOKS EDITOR We might look at the new year as a blank page onto which we can write a whole new chapter of our lives. We can also look at it as the chance to add to our to-read piles and be introduced to a whole new year’s worth — and in this case decade’s worth — of new ideas, characters and stories. Even this early in the year some trends are becoming apparent. Women writing thrillers have been dominating the bestsellers lists for a few years now, and that trend shows no sign of slowing down this spring. Canadian women writing thrillers you’ll want to grab include Roz Nay with “Hurry Home,” Robyn Harding, who’s out with “The Swap,” and Amy Stuart with the thriller “Still Here.” Dealing with grief and dying continues to be a topic that fascinates both pub- lishers and authors, but new takes on it resonate in a time of broader societal difficulty — how do you find joy in times where grief and death seem overwhelm- ing: “How to Die,” by Ray Robertson, (Biblioasis, Jan. 28) riffing on Mon- taigne’s idea that “He who would teach men to die would teach them to live.”; in “Nobody Ever Talks About Anything CORUS ENTERTAINMENT But The End,” by Liz Levine (Simon and Natasha Calis plays Ashley Collins in Global’s new drama “Nurses,” executive produced by Ilana Frank (“Rookie Blue”). BOOKS continued on E10 BILL BRIOUX Nurse and doctor series have always been SPECIAL TO THE STAR popular, but there’s been a sudden surge Maybe it’s because of universal health care, or that our own waiting rooms in Canadian-made creations hitting the air and walk-in clinics are so crowded, but Canadians seem to have a fever right now for hospital-based TV shows. The ABC import “The Good Doctor,” starring Freddie Highmore as a young autistic surgeon with savant syndrome, is now the most-watched series in En- glish Canada. This season, it has been drawing close to 2.5 million viewers a week on CTV, according to ratings- gatherer Numeris. Other medical shows such as “New Amsterdam,” “The Resident” and even 16-year-old “Grey’s Anatomy” are en- joying healthy ratings. Since, as radio wit Fred Allen once quipped, “Imitation is the sincerest Jim Carrey’s “Memoirs and form of television,” Canadian program- Misinformation” is a mers have taken note. This week alone semi-autobiographical novel. has seen the premiere of “Nurses” on Global and the return of “Coroner” on CBC. Coming soon: the launch of “Transplant” on CTV. There’s even a new B.C.-based YouTube series from ELLY DASSAS CBC established pros lampooning the genre Serinda Swan as coroner Dr. Jenny Cooper in CBC’s “Coroner.” Rights to the show have already been sold to the U.K., Germany, France and Australia. TELEVISION continued on E3 Kate Hennig. Blindingly ambitious, Momma Rose pushes her daughters onto vaudeville stages in Production Sponsor this landmark Broadway musical. With Kate Hennig, Madelyn Kriese, Julie Lumsden and Jason Cadieux On stage April 8 to October 11 1-800-511-7429 | SHAWFEST.COM ON2 ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2020 TORONTO STAR⎮E3 >>ENTERTAINMENT

fuss about hospital dramas. “You have life and death situa- Hospital tions and you have an interest- ing group of people who are fac- ing it and that’s hopefully what shows the audience are going to con- nect with, the different charac- ters.” The hook with “Transplant” is sell the transplanted young medic at the centre of the story. Ham- za Haq (“The Indian Detective,” globally “Quantico”) plays Bashir “Bash” Hamed, an ER doctor TELEVISION from E1 who fled his native Syria to come to Canada. At first he’ll — “Hospital Show” stars Sara take any job, no matter how de- Canning and Adrian Holmes as meaning. actors forever tongue-tied Hannah thinks Haq’s story- when it comes to spitting out line will set “Transplant” apart medical terms. from other medical shows. “Im- “Nurses,” on the other hand, migration is a very hot topic,” plays it straight. The series fol- says the actor. “To have this guy, lows the lives of five young who is living here, working in a nursing interns as they are kitchen, unable to work in his thrown into the life-and-death profession, get this opportunity struggles of a big-city emergen- is a really interesting journey cy room. for a TV show.” In Monday’s ripped-from- Unlike “Nurses” and “Trans- the-headlines pilot episode, the plant,” CBC’s “Coroner” com- kids have barely scrubbed in bines the two pillars of broad- when several severely wounded YAN TURCOTTE RICK HENRIQUES PHOTO cast network drama: cop and pedestrians from a vehicular Hamza Haq, left, stars alongside John Hannah in the new TV series “Transplant,” in which Haq doc shows. Serinda Swan stars manslaughter attack are plays an ER doctor who fled his native Syria to come to Canada. as an intense, Toronto-based wheeled into the ER. medical examiner, shattered Why are there suddenly so pitched the basic idea for background performers on TV. of Toronto and Montreal-based yet steeled after the death of her many medical shows on net- “Nurses” to Corus, home of I wanted to see a show from the shows standing in for Chicago husband. “It sort of has a ‘Nurse work television? The simple Global TV, after reading the nurses’ point of view.” and New York, is that “Trans- Jackie’ vibe to it,” says Swan, answer is because they sell. bestseller “The Making of a It helped, says Frank, that the plant” is shot in Montreal but referring to the U.S. cable dra- Broadcast networks in the U.S. Nurse” a decade ago. There it producers were able to assem- set in Toronto. In TV, this may ma from the decade just ended and Canada like procedurals sat before the success of “The ble much of the “Saving Hope” be the ultimate compliment: starring Edie Falco. Roger because viewers return to Good Doctor” pushed it to the production team. One excep- Canada is finally good enough Cross stars as the seasoned de- them, week after week. Plus, if a top of Corus’ list. tion was production designer to stand in for itself. tective delivering newcomers genre is booming in the North Linda Pope (who worked with John Dondertman (“Orphan Torri Higginson (“This Life,” to her morgue. Together they’re American market, producers Frank on the hospital series Black”), who turned a convert- “Stargate Atlantis”), who plays sort of the Mulder and Scully of can reap bigger rewards “Saving Hope” as well as “Rook- ed warehouse in Mississauga head nurse Claire Malone on cop-doc crossovers. through international sales to ie Blue”) is also an executive into the series’ fictional hospi- “Transplant,” feels the set be- The series is executive pro- the U.K., European markets producer as is Adam Pettle, a tal. comes a character on the series. duced by Morwyn Brebner, and, now, international stream- writer and showrunner on The setting has to look real, Recreating a hospital set is ac- who also worked with Frank on ing services. “Hope,” “Blue” and now “Nurs- says Frank. “So much of the se- tually harder than creating the “Rookie Blue” and “Saving One who knows the TV game es.” If the new show seems like ries takes place within these interior of a spaceship, says the Hope.” “Coroner” averaged well is Ilana Frank, who hopes it could have been called, “Sav- hospital walls.” Burlington native, because over a million viewers a week to find another Missy Peregrym ing Rookie Nurses,” thank these The setting on the upcoming “this is real, whereas the other last season as Canada’s No. 1 among the new nursing re- three. Montreal-based CTV series represents something we new homegrown drama and is a cruits. The executive producer “My dad’s a doctor, my step- “Transplant” is equally authen- haven’t seen before so you don’t strong export for distributor helped shepherd that Montreal mother’s a nurse. I kind of grew tic. Production designer Andre have the same marker for au- NBC Universal, with rights al- native and current “FBI” star to up in and around a hospital,” Guimond (“Street Legal,” thenticity.” ready sold to the U.K., Germany, fame a decade ago on “Rookie says Pettle, who was excited at “19-2”) and his team construct- Scottish actor John Hannah France, Australia and several Blue.” the opportunity to “flip the ed an entire hospital floor at (the “Mummy” film series), other territories. Frank, also an EP on CBC’s medical drama on its head a Montreal’s Cinepool Studios. who plays the chief of the emer- Says Swan, “It’s the little en- “Burden of Truth,” says she little bit. Nurses are usually The irony here, after decades gency department, gets all the gine that could.”

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