''Bomb Girls'' is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
television drama
In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...
that debuted on January 4, 2012, on
Global
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989
* ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015
* Bruno ...
and
Univision Canada
Univision Canada is a Canadian Spanish language specialty channel owned by TLN Media Group, in partnership with TelevisaUnivision USA, the leading Spanish-language media company in the United States. Univision Canada broadcasts a variety of prog ...
in Spanish. The plot profiles the stories of four women working in a Canadian munitions factory during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, beginning in 1941. Originally intended to be a six-part drama
mini-series
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
, two seasons have aired. The show began airing in the United States on
ReelzChannel
Reelz (formerly known as Reelz Channel) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. The network's programming was formerly devoted to entertainment-oriented programming focusing on the Hollywood ...
on September 11, 2012 and in the United Kingdom on
ITV3
ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel by ...
on November 10, 2012, in Ireland on
TG4
TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was formerly known ...
on 6 January 2013 and in Poland on
Fokus TV
Fokus TV is a Polish television channel launched on April 28, 2014. It was established for the purpose of the first DTT multiplex (MUX 1).
On December 4, 2017, Polsat announced that it had bought 34%, bought on February 2, 15.46%, reaching 49% of ...
on 10 June 2014.
Characters
Main
*Lorna Corbett (
Meg Tilly
Meg Tilly (born Margaret Elizabeth Chan on February 14, 1960) is an American-Canadian actress and writer.
For her role in the 1985 film '' Agnes of God'', she won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting ...
) – The Victory Munitions' Blue Shift floor matron. Lorna's relationship with her husband is strained. Her daughter works as a nurse's aide and her two sons are fighting in the war. Lorna tries to keep reins on the girls who work under her and often advocates for their best interests, being very moral and traditional. She has an affair with Marco after originally trying to get him fired, with the affair resulting in a pregnancy. Lorna later miscarries after her husband finds out about the affair.
*Gladys Witham (
Jodi Balfour
Jodi Balfour (born October 29, 1986) is a South African film and television actress, known for her role as Gladys Witham in the Canadian television drama series ''Bomb Girls'' and Ellen Waverly Wilson in the Apple TV+ space drama series '' For Al ...
) – The only daughter of a wealthy
Rosedale family, she originally began working in the office during Blue Shift but had her position changed so she could work on the floor. She has a one-night affair (petting and kissing only) with a soldier, Lewis, and accepts his marriage proposal out of guilt, despite already being engaged; she later discovers that her fiancé has been having an affair. She speaks her mind and works hard to be accepted by the other floor workers. Eventually, her fiancé enlists and is killed overseas. Gladys struggles with her future and not knowing her role.
*Betty McRae (
Ali Liebert
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
) – A tomboyish and skilled worker of German ancestry from the prairies, who thrives at the factory; their best worker, she is also in charge of training the Blue Shift's new girls. Because of this, she becomes the spokes-model for the factory in a war campaign film. Her hard, tough exterior masks her insecurity and feelings of being an outsider, due to her
hidden lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
ism. Betty slowly becomes best friends with Kate, with whom she falls in love. After being rejected romantically by Kate, Betty becomes romantically involved with a soldier named Teresa. She goes to jail for Kate after taking the blame for the accidental death of Kate's father, though eventually is released and returns to working at the factory.
*Kate Andrews (
Charlotte Hegele
Charlotte Hegele is a Canadian actress best known for her role as Kate Andrews on the Canadian television drama series ''Bomb Girls''.
Life and career
Charlotte Hegele is an Ontarian who was born in Toronto and spent most of her childhood in ...
) – Born Marion Rowley, she is one of the factory's newest floor workers. Kate is on the run from her abusive, street-preacher father. Viewed as sheltered, naïve, and very shy, Kate slowly begins to break out of her perceived "shell". A talented singer, she befriends Leon Riley, who introduces her to jazz and gets her a job singing for his band. In the season one finale, she returns home with her father, who has managed to track her down. She returns to work at Victory Munitions in the second season, where she begins dating Betty's ex-boyfriend, Ivan, and eventually becomes engaged to him (though they later break up). After a factory explosion kills Ivan, Kate decides to quit the factory and follow her dreams to be a singer.
Supporting
*Vera Burr (
Anastasia Phillips
Anastasia Phillips is a Canadian actress known for her work in the film '' Tammy's Always Dying'', and the TV series '' Lucky 7'' and ''Reign''.
Life and career
Phillips was raised in Etobicoke, Ontario, and obtained her bachelor's degree in Fi ...
) – A worker on the Blue Shift, disfigured in an accident at the factory. Vera develops a close relationship with Archie while they're both in the hospital. At the end of season one, she sleeps with Harold Akins to secure the position of an office girl. It's implied that she had an abortion. She and Carol develop a rivalry in the office. During the second season, she and Marco have slowly been growing closer as well. Vera eventually starts picking up soldiers for casual encounters, as she enjoys the attention they give her and the gifts with which they shower her. Soon she becomes engaged with Marco but later dies.
*Marco Moretti (
Antonio Cupo
Antonio Cupo (born January 10, 1978) is a Canadian film and television actor.
Early life
Born in Vancouver on January 10, 1978, into a family of Italian immigrants who arrived in Canada in 1968, Antonio Cupo is the youngest of three children. Hi ...
) – Italian-born factory worker who originally clashes heavily with Lorna. He is often discriminated against due to his family's heritage. He lives at home with his mother, his father being sent away to an internment camp. He falls in love with Lorna and has an affair with her with results in a pregnancy. Lorna leads him to believe that her husband is the baby's father. Marco struggles with how his Italian heritage colors him in the eyes of others because of the war.
*Ivan Buchinsky (
Michael Seater
Michael Seater (born January 15, 1987) is a Canadian actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. From 2005 to 2009, he starred as the titular role in the Canadian sitcom ''Life with Derek''. He later portrayed James Gillies in ''Murdoch Myster ...
) - An engineer at Victory Munitions who works during the Blue Shift, he is unable to serve in the military because of asthma. He bonds with Betty and becomes her
"boyfriend". Betty later dumps him and he begins to date, Kate. The two eventually become engaged. But then Ivan calls off the wedding finding out about Kate, despite still being in love with each other. Ivan then dies without ever telling Kate that they he still wanted to marry her, even though he was with another girl, Helen, who was a Nazi spy.
*James Dunn (
Sebastian Pigott
Sebastian Pigott (born February 14, 1983) is a Canadian singer and actor. He was a contestant on the sixth season of ''Canadian Idol,'' in 2008. He has guest-starred on numerous television series, including ''Murdoch Mysteries'' and ''Revenge'' ...
) – A wealthy American citizen and Gladys' fiancé. He has an affair with Hazel which results in an
STD
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral sex ...
. He is recruited into the army after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and is later killed by German bombing in England in June 1942.
*Bob Corbett (
Peter Outerbridge
Peter Outerbridge (born June 30, 1966) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Ari Tasarov in the CW action series ''Nikita'', Dr. David Sandström in the TMN series ''ReGenesis'', Henrik "Hank" Johanssen in ''Orphan Black'', Bob Corbett ...
) – Lorna's husband. Bob is a veteran of the first World War and was left crippled. He struggles to connect emotionally with his family. He develops a close friendship with Edith. Later he finds out about his wife's affair and pregnancy. He decides to remain at her side after she miscarries.
*Eugene "Gene" Corbett (
Brett Dier
Brett Jordan Dier (; born February 14, 1990) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Michael Cordero Jr. on ''Jane the Virgin''. He is also known for his recurring roles on the Canadian TV shows ''Bomb Girls'' and '' The L.A. Complex ...
) – Son of Lorna and Bob. Ace gunner promoted to sergeant. Had several close brushes with death in the war. He's an arrogant ladies man who develops an attraction for Gladys and suffers from PTSD.
*Harold Akins (Richard Fitzpatrick) Plant supervisor; the boss at Victory Munitions.
*Edith McCallum (Lisa Norton) – A widowed floor worker at Victory Munitions who is close friends with Lorna. She has a young son and daughter at home. She befriends Bob while dealing with the aftermath of her husband's death and unknowingly informs him of Lorna's pregnancy.
*Hazel MacDougall (
Brittany Allen
Brittany Allen (born February 5, 1986) is a Canadian actress. Her first notable role was as Marissa Tasker, Marissa Chandler on ''All My Children'' from 2009 to 2010, for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in ...
) – A factory girl on Red Shift (formerly Blue) who dislikes and causes trouble for Gladys. She has an affair with Gladys's fiancé, James, and gives him
gonorrhea
Gonorrhea, colloquially known as the clap, is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium '' Neisseria gonorrhoeae''. Infection may involve the genitals, mouth, or rectum. Infected men may experience pain or burning with ...
.
*Carol Demers (Carlyn Burchell) – Gladys' best friend. She works during the Blue Shift as an office girl. She keeps Gladys' secret about working on the floor until her father finds out with a surprise visit. She is somewhat of a snob and often looks down on the other factory girls as a lower class and enjoys her position in the office away from danger.
*Archie Arnott (Billy MacLellan) – A factory worker who becomes disabled after an explosive testing accident. He befriends Vera while at the hospital and later commits suicide with her help while suffering a painful death from sepsis.
*Leon Riley (Jim Codrington) – An
African-Canadian
Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though t ...
man who works in the warehouse at Victory Munitions. A jazz musician and singer, he saves Kate from an attempted assault. The two slowly become friends, with Leon offering Kate advice and encouraging her musical abilities.
*Rollie Witham (
James McGowan) – Gladys' father and the wealthy owner of a large chain of grocery stores.
*Adele Witham (
Kate Hennig
Kate Hennig is a Canadian actress and playwright, currently the associate artistic director of the Shaw Festival.
Early life and education
Hennig was born in Harlow, Ontario near London. Her father was a Lutheran minister. She and her family m ...
) – Gladys' mother. A socialite who masks her pain with alcohol, she convinces Lorna to help get Gladys fired in an attempt to control her daughter. She has yet to recover from her son's death and is prone to bouts of depression in which she disappears from her wifely duties as hostess.
*Sheila Corbett (Natasha Greenblatt) - Bob and Lorna's daughter, who works as a nurse's aide at the local hospital and is training to be a nurse. She eventually develops feelings for her colleague Dr. Patel.
*Narendra "Ned" Patel (Gabe Grey) - A doctor at the local hospital who treats Lorna when she is admitted, and later starts dating her daughter, Sheila.
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2012)
Season 2 (2013)
On February 7, 2012, ''Bomb Girls'' was renewed by Shaw Media for a second season consisting of 12 episodes. The second season premiered on Global Canada January 2, 2013.
Production
The series was created by
Michael MacLennan
Michael Lewis MacLennan (born June 5, 1968) is a Canadian playwright, television writer and television producer, best known as a writer and producer of television series such as '' Queer as Folk'' and ''Bomb Girls''.
As a playwright he is a two ...
and
Adrienne Mitchell Back Alley Film Productions is a television production company founded by Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell and based in Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec Canada. Founded in 1989, Back Alley is a creator and producer of original content for t ...
and based on a concept by Debi Drennan and
Maureen Jennings
Maureen Jennings (born 1939) is a British Canadian writer, most well known for the ''Detective Murdoch Series'', the basis for the television series ''Murdoch Mysteries''. She is credited as a Creative Consultant and occasionally writer for the ...
. Although set at the fictional Victory Munitions plant in Toronto, the series was based on the real accounts of workers from the
DIL Ajax and the
GECO Scarborough plants.
The first season was written by Michael MacLennan,
Esta Spalding
Esta Alice Spalding is an American author, screenwriter and poet who won the Pat Lowther Award in 2000 for ''Lost August''.
Biography
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Phillip Spalding and Linda Spalding, she grew up in Hawaii and currently resid ...
,
John Krizanc
John Krizanc (born 1956) is a Canadians, Canadian playwright who established an international reputation with his non-linear work, ''Tamara (play), Tamara''. Exploring the rise of Fascism in 1920s Italy, the play was one of the first non-linear, i ...
, and Shelley Eriksen and directed by Adrienne Mitchell,
Ken Girotti
Ken Girotti is a Canadian television director who was nominated for a 2006 Gemini Award in the category "Best Direction in a Dramatic Series" for the TV series ''ReGenesis''.
Career
He directed episode 9 of the first season of ''Supernatural''. ...
, and
Anne Wheeler
Anne Wheeler, OC, (born September 23, 1946) is a Canadian film and television writer, producer, and director.
Biography
Graduating in Mathematics from the University of Alberta she was a computer programmer before traveling abroad. Her years o ...
. The executive producers are Janis Lundman, Michael MacLennan, Adrienne Mitchell, and Michael Prupas. The first season producer is Wendy Grean. The editors are Teresa De Luca and Tad Seaborn. Éric Cayla does cinematography on the show. Aidan Leroux is the production designer, Joanne Hansen is the costume designer, Valentine Prokop is in the sound department, and Marie Nardella is in makeup department. Mario Rachiele adds visual effects to the program. The score is composed by Peter Chapman, and music supervision is by Andrea Higgins of Arpix Media.
The series was filmed in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
with a converted furniture factory in
Etobicoke
Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...
standing for the Victory Munitions Factory. Season 1 was filmed from September 12 to November 16, 2011.
Muse Entertainment
Muse Entertainment is a Canadian producer of films and television programs founded by Michael Prupas in 1998. The company gained press attention in 2011 for their production of the multi-Emmy winning and nominated miniseries '' The Kennedys'' in as ...
and
Back Alley Film Productions Back Alley Film Productions is a television production company founded by Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell and based in Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec Canada. Founded in 1989, Back Alley is a creator and producer of original content for t ...
are the production companies. In Canada, the series is distributed by
Shaw Media
Shaw Media was the television broadcasting division of Shaw Communications. Shaw Media owned the Global Television Network, which broadcasts nationally via 13 television stations, as well as 19 specialty channels including Slice (TV channel), Sli ...
; internationally the series is distributed by Muse Distribution International.
In April 2013, Global TV and Shaw Media announced that Bomb Girls would not return for a third season.
They did, however, suggest that a two-hour TV movie serving as a series finale was in the works and was planned air in 2014.
Disappointed viewers launched an internet campaign in an effort to get this decision reversed.
''Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy''
In October 2013, Shaw Media announced that production had begun on a two-hour
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
. The original cast, including
Meg Tilly
Meg Tilly (born Margaret Elizabeth Chan on February 14, 1960) is an American-Canadian actress and writer.
For her role in the 1985 film '' Agnes of God'', she won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting ...
,
Jodi Balfour
Jodi Balfour (born October 29, 1986) is a South African film and television actress, known for her role as Gladys Witham in the Canadian television drama series ''Bomb Girls'' and Ellen Waverly Wilson in the Apple TV+ space drama series '' For Al ...
,
Charlotte Hegele
Charlotte Hegele is a Canadian actress best known for her role as Kate Andrews on the Canadian television drama series ''Bomb Girls''.
Life and career
Charlotte Hegele is an Ontarian who was born in Toronto and spent most of her childhood in ...
,
Ali Liebert
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
,
Antonio Cupo
Antonio Cupo (born January 10, 1978) is a Canadian film and television actor.
Early life
Born in Vancouver on January 10, 1978, into a family of Italian immigrants who arrived in Canada in 1968, Antonio Cupo is the youngest of three children. Hi ...
,
Anastasia Phillips
Anastasia Phillips is a Canadian actress known for her work in the film '' Tammy's Always Dying'', and the TV series '' Lucky 7'' and ''Reign''.
Life and career
Phillips was raised in Etobicoke, Ontario, and obtained her bachelor's degree in Fi ...
,
Michael Seater
Michael Seater (born January 15, 1987) is a Canadian actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. From 2005 to 2009, he starred as the titular role in the Canadian sitcom ''Life with Derek''. He later portrayed James Gillies in ''Murdoch Myster ...
, and
Peter Outerbridge
Peter Outerbridge (born June 30, 1966) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Ari Tasarov in the CW action series ''Nikita'', Dr. David Sandström in the TMN series ''ReGenesis'', Henrik "Hank" Johanssen in ''Orphan Black'', Bob Corbett ...
reprised their roles. The film was shot in Toronto and Hamilton until November 20, 2013. This was confirmed by Ali Liebert. The film, titled ''Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy'', premiered on Global TV in Canada on March 27, 2014 and was later aired on Reelz in the United States on May 26, 2014.
See also
*
Canadian Industries Limited#World War II, munitions industry in WWII
*
List of awards and nominations received by Bomb Girls
''Bomb Girls'' is a Canadian television drama that profiles the stories of four women working in a Canadian munitions factory during World War II, beginning in 1941.
ACTRA Awards
Canadian Cinema Editors Awards
Canadian Screen Awards
Bomb G ...
*
List of programs broadcast by Global
This is a list of television programs currently, formerly, and soon to be broadcast by the Global Television Network, a national broadcast network owned by Corus Entertainment. Current programming
Original series
Drama series
* '' Departure' ...
References
External links
* on
Global Television Network
The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...
Production website*{{IMDb title, 1955311
*
''Bomb Girls'' at The TV IV
English-language television shows
2012 Canadian television series debuts
2013 Canadian television series endings
2010s Canadian television miniseries
Canadian aviation films
Lesbian-related television shows
World War II television drama series
Television series set in the 1940s
Television shows filmed in Toronto
Television series by Corus Entertainment
Television series by Muse Entertainment
Global Television Network original programming
2010s Canadian LGBT-related drama television series
Canadian women in World War II