EYES ON THE PRIZE

• Published in: Winnipeg free press
• Main Author: Brad Oswald / Watching TV
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Winnipeg, Man FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership 29.12.2015
• ISSN: 0828-1785

Sunnyside: Citytv's homegrown sketch-comedy series, which was shot in and around Winnipeg's Wolseley neighbourhood in 2014 and 2015, debuted in prime time in January and immediately demonstrated a unique brand of weird-but-smart humour that harkened back to the late-'80s arrival of this country's best-ever sketch shows, Codco and The Kids in the Hall. The cast is tremendous, and the local granola-belt enclave provides a perfect setting. Transparent: One of the truest signs of television's changing nature is the fact one of the year's best shows wasn't actually made for TV -- Transparent, which explores a man's late-in-life gender transition, was created for Amazon's online-content platform (and became available to Canadians on Shaw/Rogers' fledgling Shomi service). Smart, funny and deftly nuanced, Transparent provided TV veteran Jeffrey Tambor with the role of a lifetime. American Idol: It's fair to say that Idol is no longer the pop-culture juggernaut it once was, and Fox's decision to end the series after its 15th season is probably a year or two too late. But Idol's impact on TV and pop culture can't be denied, and its final campaign (which premires Jan. 6 and 7 on Fox) is sure to be filled with tributes and reminiscences. One more curtain call for William Hung, perhaps?