''Metropia'' is a Canadian television

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, which aired on

Omni Television Omni Television (stylized as OMNI Television) is a Canadian television system and specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications. It currently consists of all six of Canada's conventional multicultural ...

from 2004 to 2006. The series focused on the lives and loves of a group of racially and sexually diverse young men and women living 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 anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

.Anthony Rinehart
"Sex and this city"
''

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 ...

'', October 9, 2004. The show also incorporated aspects of

interactive television Interactive television is a form of media convergence, adding data services to traditional television technology. It has included on-demand delivery of content, online shopping, and viewer polls. Interactive TV is an example of how new informatio ...

. One of the show's regular settings was the Hot Spot, a café decorated with the work of real Toronto-area artists whose pieces could be purchased from the show's website, and another was Bang, a nightclub at which a real Toronto-area musician or band would perform a song on each Friday night episode. The show originally aired weeknights at 10:30 p.m. on OMNI 2,Jim Bawden, "Acting gods smile on her; Jessica Heafey basking in having landed two television roles at the same time". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', January 31, 2005. and each week's episodes were repeated on Sunday nights on OMNI 1. However, the show's early episodes attracted low ratings, as it was competing in a time slot occupied on other channels almost entirely by the second half of hour-long drama series, and by January 2005 its weeknight airing had been shifted to 11 p.m. A total of 90 episodes of the show were produced before the show was cancelled in 2006. The show continued to air for some further time in repeats on Omni Television, and was later rebroadcast nationally on Super Channel and FX.

Cast

* Walter Alza - Andreas * Sean Bell - T.K. O'Neil * Claudia Besso - Chantal * Robin Brûlé - Sophie *

Kristin Fairlie Kristin Louise Fairlie (born April 22, 1985) is a Canadian actress. In 1998, she won a Young Artist Award for Best Ensemble for her lead role in the Showtime original movie ''The Sweetest Gift''. As a voice actress, Fairlie has voiced the roles ...

- Cyanne * Danielle Hampton - Jordan * Jessica Heafey - Aviva * Silver Kim - Lee * Kerry LaiFatt - Phoenix * Gino Marrocco - Salvatore * Tracy Michailidis - Marisa * Barna Moricz - Yuri * Zainab Musa - Jovi *

Zaib Shaikh Zaib Shaikh (born May 25, 1974) is a Canadian actor, writer, and director. He was named Canada's Consul General in Los Angeles, California in October 2018. Career Shaikh has appeared in '' Metropia'' and '' Little Mosque on the Prairie'', and as ...

- Jayesh * Yasin Sheikh - Rajeev * Jake Simons - Greg * James Dallas Smith - Garth *

Sugith Varughese Sugith Varughese (born 25 April 1957) is an Indian-born Canadian writer, director and actor. Background Born in Cochin, Kerala, India into a Syriac Saint Thomas Christian family ("Varughese," also sometimes spelled "Varghese" and "Verghese" an ...

- Palash * Mishu Vellani - Surabhi *

Wes Williams Wesley "Wes" Williams (born March 31, 1968) is a Canadian rapper, record producer, actor, and author. He is known professionally by his stage names Maestro Fresh Wes (formerly Maestro Fresh-Wes) or Maestro as a musician, and is credited by his ...

- Quincy * Dharini Woollcombe - Maya *

Deanna Dezmari Deanna or DeAnna is a feminine given name. People with the given name * DeAnna Bennett (born 1984), American mixed martial artist * Deanna Bogart (born 1959), American blues singer, pianist, and saxophone player * Deanna Brooks (born 1974), Americ ...

- Nina

Critical response

The show received mixed reaction from critics. Henrietta Walmark of ''

'' wrote that "A little bit '' Queer as Folk'', a little bit ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...

'', ''Metropia'' delivers a whole lot of gorgeous characters making for a whole lot of hotness and plenty of juicy plot threads. The language can be raw and the hookups are frequent, but there's also sweetness and a natural ambiance among the large ensemble cast. Watching this sudsy reflection of our very own boho culture is a delight even if it does qualify as a guilty pleasure." Jim Bawden of the ''

'' modestly praised the show as "a showcase for a dozen up-and-coming young Toronto actors". Conversely, Joel Rubinoff of the ''

Waterloo Region Record The ''Waterloo Region Record'' (formerly ''The Record'') is the daily newspaper covering Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, including the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, as well as the surrounding area. Since December 1998, the ''Re ...

'' called it one of the worst new shows of the year, claiming that it was "so inept it could set race relations back an entire century".Joel Rubinoff, "A naughty sock, a nipple and a nerd". ''

'', December 31, 2004.

References

External links

''Metropia''
* {{imdb title, 0434704

Canadian television soap operas 2004 Canadian television series debuts 2006 Canadian television series endings 2000s Canadian drama television series Television shows filmed in Toronto Television shows set in Toronto 2000s Canadian LGBT-related drama television series