''Red Serge'' 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

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- ...

in 1986 and 1987."Red Serge Wives: history with the fun intact". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', January 4, 1986. A

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

set in the 1880s, the series starred

Ed McNamara Ed McNamara (21 June 1921 – 11 October 1986) was a Canadian film actor."Ed McNamara"
'' ...

as Abe Farwell, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

expatriate with criminal ties running a saloon in a small town near the

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 T ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

border with the help of Lily (

Nicola Cavendish Nicola Cavendish (born 11 November 1952) is an English-born Canadian theatre and film actress. Early life Cavendish was born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England and brought up in British Columbia, Canada. She began her acting career in ...

), Emma (Brenda Robins) and Maisy (Hilary Strang) Chadwick, the adult daughters of his deceased former business partner. The series also starred

Tom McBeath Tom McBeath is a Canadian actor. He is the winner of three Jessie Awards best known for playing Col. Harold Maybourne on ''Stargate SG-1''. In 2017, he started playing Smithers on '' Riverdale''. Biography He appeared in an episode of ''Street ...

, C. David Johnson, Bruce McMillan, Terence Kelly, Greg Ellwand and David Matheson as officers with the local

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

detachment, and

Gordon Tootoosis Gordon Tootoosis, (October 25, 1941 – July 5, 2011) was a First Nations actor of Cree and Stoney descent. Tootoosis was a descendant of Yellow Mud Blanket, brother of the famous Cree leader Pîhtokahanapiwiyin. He was acclaimed for his comm ...

as the chief of a nearby

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

reserve. Each of the Chadwick sisters was also in a romantic relationship with one of the RCMP officers, complicating Farwell's attempts to hide the saloon's forays into illegal bootlegging and

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

. Produced under the working title ''Red Serge Wives'', the series went to air under the title ''Red Serge''. It premiered on CBC Television in January 1986 for a six-episode run, and was renewed for a second six-episode season which aired in winter 1987. The series garnered

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 ...

nominations for Best Dramatic Miniseries at the 1st Gemini Awards in 1986, and for Best Drama Series at the

2nd Gemini Awards The 2nd Gemini Awards were held on December 8, 1987, to honour achievements in Canadian television. It was broadcast on CBC. Awards Best Comedy Program or Series * '' Seeing Things'' * ''Hangin' In'' Best Dramatic Series * ''Night Heat'' * ''Re ...

in 1987. Although at least 13 more episodes had been planned, a combination of budget cuts at the CBC and McNamara's death in late 1986, shortly after having completed filming the episodes which aired in 1987, led to the series being cancelled after its second season."B.C. CBC starts job cuts, as gloomy future feared". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', March 4, 1987.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0387771 1986 Canadian television series debuts 1987 Canadian television series endings 1980s Canadian comedy-drama television series CBC Television original programming Television shows set in Alberta Television shows filmed in British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police in fiction Canadian Western (genre) television series 1980s Western (genre) television series