Well, I had the utmost respect for CBC's sitcom, Little Mosque on the Prairie, but all that was lost when I visited their website and found it made heavy use of the Comic Sans font. Come on guys, Comic Sans? Let's get with the 21st Century...Comic Sans loathing aside, this CBC sitcom is another example of how Canadians do an excellent job at creating television programming that contatins a clear message. In case you don't know exactly what I'm talking about here, Little Mosque follows a group of Muslims living in a small Saskatchewan town as they start their own mosque and struggle for acceptance. While the bigotry the group faces is used as a comedic device in each episode, the show's message of tolerance resonates soundly.
It's clear that Canadians are watching, too. The series premiere attracted more than 2 million viewers--in Canada, a show that draws in 1 million viewers is considered a huge success.
While 2 million viewers doesn't exactly spell success for shows on American television networks, its success north of the border has caused networks here to stand up and take notice. Fox, interestingly enough, has picked up the rights to develop a U.S. version of Little Mosque. When, or if, this show will ever make it to air here in the U.S. is pretty uncertain. If the Canadian version is any indication, Little Mosque will need to make a few improvements--namely in the acting and storyline--if it is to prove popular with American audiences.
But Little Mosque isn't the first "show with a message" that has proven popular in Canada. Over on CBC's rival network, CTV (who successfully wrestled the Canadian rights to air the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games from CBC), Degrassi: The Next Generation is one of Canada's highest-rated dramas that frequently addresses issues like coming out, teen pregnancy and more. Issues that, until recently, American shows didn't want to touch with a ten-foot pole. Degrassi has enjoyed moderate success south of the border in the United States, where it is the highest-rated show on The N cable network.
The Fox deal doesn't rule out the possibility of the orginal Canadian version of Little Mosque ending up on American cable TV, however, so it is completely possible that we might see an American version competing with the Canadian version for the attention of U.S. television viewers.
