Posted on 21 September 2020

Robert Lloyd in the LA Times:

It’s only speculation on my part, but that its origins are modest rather than muscular, in the industrial sense, may have been to the series’ ultimate advantage, keeping it free from Hollywood glossiness and crushing expectations. If the show had been picked up by ABC or AMC or HBO, rather than Pop, its early numbers might have not been enough to keep it alive. 

It’s origins in Canada probably helped, too, as CBC was going to keep making it.

Lloyd’s description of what sets this apart from the typical rich fish out of water story is also exactly right.

The Roses remain very much themselves; the bemusement and frustration with which the family and the townsfolk regard one another is there until the end. But they are less toxic, more trusting, no longer entitled. They are not reformed, because they never needed reforming, only enlarged, deepened and enlightened.

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