Call My Agent! The Movie premieres on Netflix on Sept. 10.Christophe Brachet/Supplied
Call My Agent! The Movie, Netflix
I have very fond memories of the French comedy Call My Agent! that first ran on France 2 and then found a global audience on Netflix. Five years after the final season, most of the original cast is back for an enjoyable romp of a TV movie that drops on the streamer on Sept. 10.
There is, thankfully, no attempt to resurrect the fictional talent agency ASK that fell apart at the end of the series. Instead, we find former hard-nosed super-agent Andréa (Camille Cottin) back in the merde of wrangling actors, from another side of the business: directing her first film. Former colleagues Gabriel (Grégory Montel) and Mathias (Thibault de Montalembert) pop up representing the talent she hires.
The comedy gold, however, all belongs to Noémie Leclerc (the hilarious Laure Calamy), the exuberantly emotional executive assistant who is now an eager but inexperienced producer. Reunions are hard but, a couple unnecessary celebrity cameos (George Clooney, Eva Longoria) aside, c’est dans la boîte.
Mrs. America, Disney+
Cate Blanchett plays Phyllis Schlafly in Mrs. America.Disney+/Supplied
The late Gloria Steinem called this 2020 FX historical miniseries about the fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the United States “hopelessly wrong.” But even if the role of conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly (played by Cate Blanchett) in deep-sixing the amendment is embellished for dramatic effect, this show, created by Canadian Dahvi Waller, remains a smart and entertaining primer on the ferment and fissures of American second-wave feminism.
It’s full of memorable performances: Rose Byrne showed new subtle shades in her portrayal of Steinem, while Uzo Aduba and Margo Martindale gave their biopic best as Shirley Chisholm and Bella Abzug, respectively.
Reviewing Mrs. America upon its premiere, The Globe and Mail’s John Doyle called it “a knowingly playful but culturally weighted drama about real people and real events.”
Last Seen, Apple TV+
Patrick Brammall plays former police detective Ian Ridley in Last Seen.Ben King/Supplied
The Canadian premiere of the third and final season of the awesome Australian romantic comedy Colin from Accounts arrives on Sept. 10 on Citytv+. As a bonus, fans of that show’s co-creator and co-star Patrick Brammall also get a chance to see the Aussie actor’s dramatic chops on display this week in Last Seen on Apple TV.
Adapted from an American novel to an Australian setting, this six-part thriller sees Brammall play former police detective Ian Ridley, now working as an emergency dispatcher. Eleven years after the disappearance of his daughter, he’s only six months sober when the remains of a child are found deep in a nearby forest.
By the end of the first episode, the general gist of what happened to Ian’s daughter is clear: The drama is more in how things will play out. Worth watching for Brammall’s fresh take on a reckless anti-hero destroying the family he’s trying to save and the underappreciate landscapes in the state of Victoria.
The choice to cast Brendan Cowell, an Australian actor often mistaken for Brammall, as another character gives what could be a conventional narrative an uncanny feel. Two episodes are out now; four more to come.
Saturday Night Live UK, CTV Comedy Channel, Crave
SNL UK airs on CTV Comedy Channel at 10 p.m. on Saturdays.Supplied
As autumn arrives, topical sketch comedy returns to TV. First, This Hour Has 22 Minutes came back to CBC for its 34th season on Tuesday night (now streaming on Gem). Next, Saturday Night Live UK kicks off its second season this weekend.
There’s heated debate online about whether this British version of SNL is better than the original American one – but, in my estimation, it depends on the week. What I appreciate about SNL UK, however, is that there’s, so far, been no Hunger Games-ing about the casting: The original 11 sketch comedians are all back again this season and should be even more firmly established as an ensemble.
Jeff Goldblum kicks things off as host – and the Celtic country-pop singer CMAT is musical guest. SNL UK airs on CTV Comedy Channel at 10 p.m. on Saturdays – which is not live, but the same time slot it has in Britain – and then is available to stream the next day on Crave.
North of North, CBC Gem, APTN+
The first two episodes of North of North are now streaming on CBC Gem and APTN+.Jasper Savage/Supplied
Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril’s Nunavut-set comedy centred on newly single Inuk mom Siaja (Anna Lambe) made its long-awaited return on Tuesday. The first two episodes are now streaming on Gem and APTN+, with a release on co-producer Netflix coming later this fall.
A notable debut of 2025, North of North’s chief strengths are still apparent in its sophomore season so far: Lambe has true romcom star qualities; Maika Harper’s character Neevee, Siaja’s mom, is uncommonly complex – but also very funny; the setting is gorgeous.
Watching screeners of the first few episodes of the season, I found myself a mite concerned that the unique elements of the show were bumping up against conventional workplace sitcom structure.
The whole plotline about town manager Helen (Mary Lynn Rajskub) trying to attract more cruise ships to Ice Cove in the opening episode felt like a trope transposed. It allowed a rare opportunity to show Greenlandic mask dance on screen – but the unsettling power of that art form was reduced by a directorial focus on tourist reaction shots, then undercut by generic hijinks.
The question is not whether North of North is a good TV comedy – it is – but will the many producers behind it allow it to be a great original one.