October 17 (2005-10-17) – December 19, 2005 (2005-12-19)
Terminal City is a Canadian miniseries about a woman (Maria del Mar) diagnosed with breast cancer. She's brought in to star on a failing reality television show, turning it into a hit as her life and body begin to change.
Production
Angus Fraser, a native of Vancouver,[1] was the director-creator, with Rachel Talalay also brought in as a director.[2] As the writer, Fraser was partly inspired by a close call his mother had with cancer, and his own near-death experience when he was stabbed in the heart as a bouncer.[1] Originally conceived as a feature film, Terminal City was filmed in Victoria, British Columbia in 76 days and won 11 Leo Awards plus 2 nominations.
Fraser's plot follows a family woman who finds she has cancer and becomes the star of a reality show simultaneously.[3]
Critical reviews
Timeout says the show "prominently counts reality TV among its subjects, but its chief concerns—marriage, family and mortality—are timeless ones that are given fresh urgency by the way screenwriter Angus Fraser approaches them from odd angles."[4]
"Terminal City...A new breed (and calibre) of must-see Canadian TV." - Gayle MacDonald, The Globe and Mail
"World class writing and acting...HBO calibre." - John McKay, Canadian Press
"A challenging, deeply disturbing 10-part hour drama that raises the bar considerably." - Jim Bawden, Star Week
"Terminal City is one of the most original and intricate explorations of family dynamics ever created for television in this country." - Alison Cunningham, TV Times
"Morality comes calling: Terminal City is like Six Feet Under with a comic twist." - Bill Brioux, Toronto Sun