Sensitive Skin (Canadian TV series)
Sensitive Skin is a Canadian black comedy television series. It is an adaptation of the British series of the same name, created by Hugo Blick.[2] The show's six-episode first season was written by comedian Bob Martin and directed by Don McKellar.[2] The series premiered on HBO Canada on July 20, 2014.[3] The series was renewed for a second season, with production resuming in spring 2015 in Toronto.[4] The second season, consisting of six episodes, premiered on May 15, 2016.[5] On May 7th, 2017, the show's official Twitter account informed fans that the show was not picked up for a third season.[6]
| Sensitive Skin | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Black comedy |
| Based on | Sensitive Skin (BBC series) by Hugo Blick |
| Written by | Bob Martin |
| Directed by | Don McKellar |
| Starring | Kim Cattrall Don McKellar Elliott Gould Colm Feore |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Kim Cattrall Don McKellar Bob Martin Henry Normal Hugo Blick[1] |
| Producers | Niv Fichman Sari Friedland |
| Camera setup | Single |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Rhombus Media Baby Cow Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | HBO Canada |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original release | July 20, 2014 – June 19, 2016 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Sensitive Skin (UK) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Plot summary
Season 1
Davina is a woman in her 50s who works in a gallery who has recently moved from the suburbs into an apartment in downtown Toronto with her neurotic husband Al, a pop-culture critic. She finds it difficult to adjust to life as she gets older, worried that her looks are fading and she has done nothing of substance with her life.
Season 2
Davina tries to adjust to life as a widow but her progress is hampered by frequent hallucinations of Al. She moves into a houseboat on the Toronto Islands and tries to forge new relationships.
Cast
- Kim Cattrall as Davina Jackson: a middle-aged woman who is having difficulty with aging having been a noted beauty in her youth. She frequently hallucinates conversations with other people in which they give her sage advice or tells her what she wants to hear. Despite caring for her husband Al, she feels as though she could have done better than marry him.
- Don McKellar as Al Jackson, Davina's husband: a neurotic pop-culture columnist who is also somewhat socially awkward.
- Nicolas Wright as Orlando Jackson: Orlando is Davina and Al’s only son. Neurotic and depressive he often blames his parents for the way he feels. He has no sperm count and feels as though his parents resent him for being unable to give them a grandchild.
- Bob Martin as Sam: Davina's friend and employer.
- Colm Feore as Roger: Davina’s brother-in-law who values money above all else but is fired from his well-paying job and turns to art as a way to express himself. As an artist he develops an obsession with Davina who he makes the subject of most of his work.
- Joanna Gleason as Veronica: Davina's conservative older sister who resents her for always getting what she wants.
- Clé Bennett as Theodore: a drug dealer who hangs outside the Jackson's apartment he is befriended by Al and later Davina. He also has his real estate license.
- Marc-André Grondin as Greg: a married archeologist that also teaches piano on the side and seduces his clients' wives. He initially tries to seduce Veronica, but after being fired by Roger is rehired by Davina to teach Al.
- Elliott Gould as Dr. Cass: Al’s opportunistic physician he encourages Al to have a series of expensive medical tests not covered by OHIP.
Episodes
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 6 | July 20, 2014 | August 24, 2014 | |
| 2 | 6 | May 15, 2016 | June 19, 2016 | |
Season 1 (2014)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Other Davina" | Don McKellar | Bob Martin | July 20, 2014 | |
| Davina tries to adjust to life in her new ultra-modern apartment and struggles with the feeling that she is aging. Her husband Al strikes up a friendship with Theodore, the drug dealer who deals outside their tenement building. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Old Woman" | Don McKellar | Bob Martin | July 27, 2014 | |
| Davina learns her mother has suffered a fifth stroke and wonders what she wants out of life. Al meets a former fling, Sara Thorn, who is the host of a popular radio show. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Three Sisters" | Don McKellar | Bob Martin | August 3, 2014 | |
|
At a networking event for Al, Davina meets Bob Ringwald, a culture critic who becomes infatuated with her, and contemplates having an affair. Al thinks he has a brain tumour after his doctor. Dr. Cass (Elliott Gould) notices that his blinking is asymmetrical. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Mummy" | Don McKellar | Bob Martin | August 10, 2014 | |
| On a double date with Veronica and Roger, Davina learns that Roger quit the piano lessons that Davina gave him for Christmas because the instructor, Greg, was hitting on Veronica. She then persuades Al to complete the remaining seven lessons. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Not the Haitian Corpse" | Don McKellar | Bob Martin | August 17, 2014 | |
| Davina's mother dies causing the family to react oddly and for Davina to begin avoiding Roger because she thinks he might want to start an affair with her. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Return of the Other Davina" | Don McKellar | Bob Martin | August 24, 2014 | |
| Al catches Davina kissing Greg. Davina moves out of their apartment and into Veronica and Roger's house. | ||||||
Season 2 (2016)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "Episode 201" | Don McKellar | Rosa Labordé | May 15, 2016 | |
| Six months after Al's death Davina has difficulty adjusting to life as a widow. She contemplates moving from her apartment. | ||||||
| 8 | 2 | "Episode 202" | Don McKellar | Rosa Labordé | May 22, 2016 | |
| Davina runs into Sara Thorn who persuades her to take her voice class. She also struggles to unlock Al's password protected laptop. | ||||||
| 9 | 3 | "Episode 203" | Don McKellar | Lynn Coady | May 29, 2016 | |
| Davina tries to live out her life according to the advice Al left her in a note he wrote before he died. She tries to move on with a fashion consultant named David (Rick Roberts) she meets on the island. | ||||||
| 10 | 4 | "Episode 204" | Don McKellar | Lynn Coady | June 5, 2016 | |
|
Davina begins receiving mysterious calls she thinks are Al trying to contact her from beyond the grave. Orlando returns and Davina has difficulty adjusting to his new girlfriend. | ||||||
| 11 | 5 | "Episode 205" | Don McKellar | Susan Coyne | June 12, 2016 | |
|
Davina reacts badly to the news that Orlando plans on marrying Cheryl. As Roger's case goes to trial Veronica reconnects with Lenny Gordon (Tom McCamus) an old flame. | ||||||
| 12 | 6 | "Episode 206" | Don McKellar | Susan Coyne | June 19, 2016 | |
| Davina's island neighbour Lizzie commits suicide by drowning and leaves Davina her house boat. Orlando and Cheryl marry. | ||||||
Awards
The first season of Sensitive Skin was nominated for 6 Canadian Screen Awards and won four, including Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role and Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series for Don McKellar. The show also won two awards in the Craft Categories for Best Photography (Douglas Koch, "The Three Sisters") and Best Picture Editing in a Comedy Series (Matthew Hannam).[7][8]
References
- "Production Begins in Toronto on Movie Central and The Movie Network's New Original Comedy Series Sensitive Skin, Starring Kim Cattrall and Don McKellar". Corus Entertainment. October 31, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- Vlessing, Etan (October 31, 2013). "Kim Cattrall to Play Lead in Canadian Adaptation of BBC Dramedy 'Sensitive Skin'". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- "New Canadian Dramedy SENSITIVE SKIN Premieres Sunday, July 20 at 8 p.m. ET/MT, on HBO Canada". CNW Group. June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
- "Sensitive Skin Season 2: Kim Cattrall TV Show Renewed". The Huffington Post. December 5, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
- "Kim Cattrall Returns to HBO Canada with Season 2 of Award-Winning, Emmy®-Nominated Original Series SENSITIVE SKIN, May 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET". Bell Media. April 5, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- "SENSITIVE SKIN CANCELLED BY HBO CANADA". TV,eh?. May 8, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
- "2015 Canadian Screen Awards Television Winners". ACCT. March 1, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
- Playback Staff (13 January 2015). "Canadian Screen Awards '15: Craft category nominees". Playback. Retrieved 17 April 2017.