The Glass House, Prime Video
Martin Matte stars in The Glass House.Laurence Grandbois Bernard/Supplied
Amazon’s streaming service has had a bad track record making series set in Quebec, bungling such solid IP as Louise Penny’s chief inspector Armand Gamache novels (Three Pines; lasted one season) and the great maple syrup heist (The Sticky; cancelled mid-cliffhanger). But for its latest attempt the Bezos-backed bozos finally got wise to hiring an actual Quebecois talent to make one.
Popular comedian Martin Matte (Les beaux malaises) is the creator of this bingeable six half-hour episode limited series, containing only hints of humour and is kind of Death of a Salesman set in Laval during the 1995 referendum.
Matte plays André Joyal, a racist, homophobic, federalist businessman (inspired by the star’s own father), going through the worst month of his life. Joyal’s glass and door company is failing owing to big-box competition and his refusal to cave to corruption. His wife is on the verge of leaving him. And then, halfway through the series, comes a twist, which, if you don’t know Matte’s personal story, is a major surprise and takes the tale and characters to original places (and makes up for earlier unevenness). Available with English subtitles, The Glass House is, throughout, handsomely directed by Guillaume Lonergan (the visual voice of Crave’s superb Empathie).
Deli Boys, CBC Gem, Disney+
Asif Ali, Poorna Jagannathan and Saagar Shaikh star in Deli Boys, Season 2.Sandy Morris/Supplied
I noted the other day while biting my nails off that CBC is using the deep playoff run of the Montreal Canadiens to promote the first season of Deli Boys, which it has added to its streaming service Gem.
This 2025 American crime comedy is created by former Vice alt-journalist Abdullah Saeed – and has a bit of that mag’s old in-your-face vibe. After their father’s sudden death, rich Pakistani-American Philadelphian brothers Mir (Asif Ali) and Raj (Saagar Shaikh) discover they have inherited not a sprawling deli chain as expected but a vast drug operation. The two spoiled second-generation brats are tutored in the black-market arts by their violent auntie Lucky (Poorna Jagannathan).
If you’re a Disney+ subscriber, the six-episode Season 2 is just out to follow the story onward – with Portlandia’s Fred Armisen new to the cast as a casino owner named Sugar (and love interest for Lucky) and Andrew Rannells as a district attorney running for mayor and determined to bring down the deli boys operation.
Half Man and Hacks, Crave
Jamie Bell and Richard Gadd star in Half Man.Anne Binckebanck/Supplied
Two great HBO shows that are complete polar opposites drop series finales this week on Crave. Half Man, the latest twisted limited series from Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer), is a nasty, brutish and six-hour drama about two Scottish stepbrothers trapped in a decades-long cycle of shame and abuse. Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot) gives an extraordinarily ugly, hard-to-watch performance as the, initially, more likeable one; this heart-wrenchingly honest show makes most other TV dramas seem sanitized.
Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder star in Hacks, Season 5.HBO Max/Supplied
Hacks, on the other hand, is one of the smartest, most sparkling comedies ever set in America showbiz. The great Jean Smart has won four successive Emmys playing vain, veteran female stand-up Deborah Vance – and Hannah Einbinder hasn’t exactly been undersung as woke bisexual millennial comedy writer Ava. This final season has felt like a victory lap – but has had some all-time episodes, like the one on AI. It’s ending with the perfect timing of its jokes.
The Four Seasons, Netflix
Tina Fey, Kerri Kenney-Silver and Colman Domingo star in The Four Seasons, Season 2.Emily V. Aragones/Netflix
This Tina Fey dramedy’s first season was a slow-burn, eight-part adaptation of Alan Alda’s 1981 film, which followed vacationing couples on quarterly holidays. Its second season again starts at a stately pace as its characters grapple with (spoiler alert, if you’ve not started the show) the death of Nick (so long, Steve Carell), who’s left behind an unfinalized divorced to Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver) and a pregnant younger girlfriend in Ginny (Erika Henningsen).
The total disconnect from economic reality remains almost a punchline in itself (the production design for a down-market hotel the crew get stuck at for a night is baffling). But I like hanging out with Fey’s, Colman Domingo’s and Marco Calvani’s characters – and Will Forte makes me howl with laughter as Fey’s depressive DIY husband.
Canadian Screen Awards, CBC, CTV, Global, Gem, Crave and STACKTV
Three Canadian networks and their associated streaming services have teamed up to all show this final two-hour gala, which is the culmination of Canadian Screen Week, on Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET. (Rogers is the only party pooper, airing The Price is Right Tonight on Citytv instead.)
Andrew Phung (Run the Burbs, Kim’s Convenience) is the host and, thanks to an unexplained, last-minute tweak of the eligibility rules, Crave’s Heated Rivalry is nominated for best drama. The hope seems to be that the reflected heat from Hudson Williams (up for lead performer in drama) will spill over to other Canadian films and show competing for awards.
In the TV department, I’m rooting for Heated Rivalry, which, all hype aside, is the best Canadian drama of the moment. In the best comedy category, it’s a tougher choice. I expect the CBC, APTN, Netflix Nunavut-set co-production North of North will take it, even though Crave’s Sikh influencer dramedy Late Bloomer’s second season is just as worthy.