''H₂O'' 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 ...

political drama A political drama can describe a play, film or TV program that has a political component, whether reflecting the author's political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events. Dramatists who have written political dramas in ...

two-part

miniseries 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 ...

that first aired on the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

October 31, 2004. It starred

Paul Gross Paul Michael Gross OC (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian actor, director, writer, producer, and musician born in Calgary, Alberta. Gross is known for his lead role as Constable Benton Fraser in the popular Canadian television series ''Due So ...

and

Leslie Hope Leslie Ann Hope is a Canadian actress and director, best known for her role as Teri Bauer on the Fox television series '' 24'' and prosecutor Anita Gibbs on ''Suits''. Personal life Hope was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Ann and Frank Hop ...

, with then-politician

Belinda Stronach Belinda Caroline Stronach (Born May 2, 1966) is a Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist and a former Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2008. Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the fl ...

making a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

. Written by Gross and

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 directed by

Charles Binamé Charles Binamé (born May 25, 1949) is a Quebec director. He was born in Belgium and came to Montreal with his family at a young age. He joined the National Film Board of Canada as an assistant director in 1971, but soon left for the private sect ...

, it was nominated for five

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

s and four

DGC Craft Award DGC can refer to: Businesses and organizations * Darlton Gliding Club, Nottinghamshire, England * Daybreak Game Company, an American video game developer * Delhi Golf Club, Delhi, India * Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chronometrie, a German organiz ...

s. It won one

Golden Nymph Award The Golden Nymph Award(s) are the prizes awarded to the winners of the Official Competition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. History Prince Rainier III of Monaco created the Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo in 1961 to "encourage ...

for best actor (Paul Gross).

Plot

In the midst of negotiations with the

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

, the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

dies in a canoeing accident. His son Tom McLaughlin (Paul Gross) returns from overseas to deliver the eulogy at his father's

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

. The attention it receives propels him into politics and he ultimately becomes prime minister. The investigation into his father's death, however, reveals that it was no accident and raises the possibility of assassination. McLaughlin accepts the U.S.

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

's plan to develop the

Great Recycling and Northern Development Canal The Great Recycling and Northern Development (GRAND) Canal of North America or GCNA is a water management proposal designed by Newfoundland engineer Thomas Kierans to alleviate North American freshwater shortage problems. It proposed damming J ...

to help the United States with its water shortage. Sgt. Leah Collins (Leslie Hope) and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

Marc Lavigne (

Guy Nadon Guy Nadon, CM (born August 28, 1952 in Montreal, Quebec) is a French-Canadian actor. Though his most notable English-language role was arguably in '' H2O'', his other works have been in his first language of French. In 2010, he was appointed a M ...

) slowly piece together evidence of a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

that threatens Canada's existence.

Cast

Location

Filming took place all over the city of Ottawa. Some of the bigger locations included

Earnscliffe Earnscliffe is a Victorian manor in Ottawa, Ontario, built in the Gothic Revival style. During the late 19th century, it was home to Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Since 1930, it has served as the residence of the Brit ...

and the Parliament Buildings of Canada.

Sequel

'' The Trojan Horse'', featuring McLaughlin's continuing political ambitions and struggles in the wake of the events of ''H₂O'', premiered on CBC on Sunday, 30 March 2008.

References

External links

*
CBC Television Official site

CBC Television official site for the sequel mini-series, ''The Trojan Horse''

{{DEFAULTSORT:H2o (Miniseries) 2000s Canadian television miniseries 2004 television films 2004 films Television shows set in Ottawa Canada–United States relations in popular culture CBC Television original programming Canadian political drama television series Television series about prime ministers 2000s English-language films