''Mixed Blessings'' is a Canadian television

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

series, which aired on APTN. The show was created by Ric Beairsto, Ron E. Scott and

Drew Hayden Taylor Drew Hayden Taylor (born 1 July 1962) is a Canadian playwright, author and journalist. Life and career Born in Curve Lake, Ontario, Taylor is part Ojibwe and part Caucasian. About his background Taylor says: "I plan to start my own nation. Bec ...

, from an original concept by Ric Beairsto. The series stars

Gary Basaraba Gary Basaraba (born March 16, 1959) is a Canadian actor. He appeared as Sergeant Richard Santoro on Steven Bochco's ''Brooklyn South'' and Officer Ray Hechler on the critically acclaimed but short-lived ''Boomtown''. He has worked for Martin S ...

and Tina Lameman as Hank Kowalchuk and Josie Fraser, two widowed single parents in

Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significant ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

who fall in love and are faced with the challenges of successfully blending their families despite their significantly different backgrounds: Kowalchuk is

Ukrainian Canadian Ukrainian Canadians ( uk, Українські канадці, Україноканадці, translit=Ukrayins'ki kanadtsi, Ukrayinokanadtsi; french: Canadiens d'origine ukrainienne) are Canadians, Canadian citizens of Ukrainians, Ukrainian desce ...

, while Fraser is

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

. The show's cast also includes Kirklin Maclise, Jesse Frechette, Emma Duncan, Big Daddy Tazz,

Michelle Thrush Michelle Thrush (born February 6, 1967) is a Canadian actress and First Nations activist for Aboriginal Canadians and the other Indigenous peoples of the Americas. She is best known for her leading role as Gail Stoney in '' Blackstone'', for which ...

Wilma Pelly Wilma Pelly (March 5, 1937 – December 28, 2020) was an Aboriginal Canadian film and television actress, best known for her roles as Elsie Tsa'Che in the CBC Television drama ''North of 60''Bob Remington, "Subtle humor helps North of 60; Char ...

, Emma Ashbaugh, Allen Belcourt and Griffin Powell Arcand. Following some criticism that the first season of the show wasn't particularly funny despite it having been marketed as a comedy drama, the second season was not as tightly scripted, and instead featured some opportunities for the actors to incorporate some aspects of

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

into their dialogue.Sara Ditta, "Cast of Mixed Blessings give comedic skills a workout". ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'', August 26, 2008.

References

External links

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''Mixed Blessings''
2007 Canadian television series debuts Aboriginal Peoples Television Network original programming Television shows filmed in Edmonton Television shows set in Alberta 2000s Canadian comedy-drama television series 2008 Canadian television series endings First Nations television series {{Canada-comedy-tv-prog-stub