APTN is betting on two small-town dramas – with twists of comedy and mystery – with premiere dates on the specialty net’s fall programming grid.
Mixed Blessings is a drama/comedy exploring the lives of a blended family – a Ukrainian man with two teens and a Cree woman with four kids – in a small northern Alberta town, premiering November 6 at 9 pm ET/PT. Rabbit Fall is about a big-city female police officer working in a small town where ordinary crimes lead to grave secrets, premiering November 9 at 7:30 pm ET/PT.
The net will also unveil Closer to Home, hosted by First Nations actor and home builder Wayne Baker. The series explores reserves across Canada, giving a First Nations POV on housing issues and ‘how-to’ advice, and premieres November 6 at 9:30 pm ET/PT. Fish Out of Water, premiering November 9 at 8 pm ET/PT, will send Ojibway comedian Don Kelly to various Aboriginal communities to try and fit in. The Mix, a half-hour performance showcase of Métis musicians, will premiere Nov. 8 at 10 pm ET/PT.
The well-known series Northern Exposure will debut November 6 on APTN, while Remote Area Nurse, an Australian series about a woman who provides medical services in the remote Torres Strait Islanders community, is also on the fall programming slate (premiere date TBA).
APTN also has a new French series set for a world premiere. Wlipogwad, premiering Nov. 6 at 7 pm ET/PT, teams a young Abenaki chef with an emerging Quebec chef to create meals that unite their respective cultures. Other French-language programming will include Desti-Nations, season two (Nov. 5, 7:30 pm ET/PT), and a new season of Regards sur la Nature (Nov. 6).
On the aboriginal-language programming slate are new seasons of the Inuit traditional cooking show Nigitsiat (Nov. 6), Yukon culture show Haa Shagoon (Nov. 7), Inuvialuit culture preservation show Tamapta (Nov. 7), and the fast-paced Qaujisaut (Nov. 9), which deals with issues and opportunities faced by Inuit youth caught between two cultures.
Other returning series on the sked will include: Rez Bluez (Nov. 10, 7 pm ET/PT), Desti-Nations (French-language, Nov. 6, 7 pm ET/PT) and season two of New Canoe (Nov. 7).
The net’s 2007 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards, live from Winnipeg, will air November 2.
