Four in the Morning (TV series)

Four in the Morning is a Canadian television comedy-drama series, which premiered on CBC Television on August 26, 2016.[2] Starring Lola Tash, Michelle Mylett, Daniel Maslany and Mazin Elsadig, the series focuses on four friends in their 20s who regularly get together at 4 a.m.[3]

Four in the Morning
GenreDark comedy[1]
Comedy drama
Science fiction[1]
Fantasy[1]
Magical realism[1]
Written byIra Parker
Directed byPavan Moondi
StarringLola Tash
Michelle Mylett
Daniel Maslany
Mazin Elsadig
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producersAri Lantos
Mark Musselman
Ira Parker
Jeff Sagansky
Matt Geller
Running time22 minutes (approx.)
Production companySerendipity Point Films
Release
Original networkCBC Television
Original releaseAugust 26 (2016-08-26) –
October 8, 2016 (2016-10-08)

The series was produced by Robert Lantos's Serendipity Point Films, on a low budget model of $300,000 per episode.[4] The series was not renewed for a second season.[5]

Development

Creator and show-runner Ira Parker wrote the pilot script, which was meant to feel like a play, when he was in graduate school c. 2011. He had a season mapped out in his mind,[6] and loosely based some of the characters and storylines on his own experiences.[7] Parker was surprised that CBC picked up the show with its sex scenes, drug use and profanity, and that the public broadcaster allowed them to make the show without creative limitations.[7]

Parker wrote all the episodes, then spent a week with playwright Daniel Goldfarb refining the scripts for the season.[6]

Cast

Production

The series was produced by Serendipity Point Films, on a low budget model of $300,000 per episode.[4] It was set and filmed in Toronto,[8] including the Patrician Grill on King Street East[9] and Massey Hall.[10]

The majority of filming was done overnight, between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.[7] Maslany said this helped develop a surrealist mindset.[7]

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal
air date
1"Pig"Pavan MoondiIra ParkerAugust 26, 2016 (2016-08-26)
Bondurant makes a romantic overture toward Jaime in front of Mitzi and William. Mitzi tells Jaime that she's having Bondurant's abortion, and tells the story of her conversation with her dying pig. Turned down by Juilliard, Bondurant tells William of his introduction to jazz, and gains William's help breaking into Massey Hall.
2"Day Kids"Pavan MoondiIra ParkerSeptember 2, 2016 (2016-09-02)
Rapidly aging day-kids in footsie pajamas are abandoned in the diner, and the foursome try to fulfill the mayflies' wishes while reflecting on their own lives.
3"Blow"Pavan MoondiIra ParkerSeptember 9, 2016 (2016-09-09)
Bondurant loses his blow before an audition and tells Jaime that he loves Mitzi. Mitzi tells William that their partners are cheating on them, and they consider payback.
4"Chemistry"Pavan MoondiIra ParkerSeptember 16, 2016 (2016-09-16)
Bondurant accuses Mitzi of being conflicted, but invites her for Thanksgiving with his family in Manitoba. Jaime tells of her past lovers who killed themselves trying to satisfy her as a sexual contrarian.
5"Moon"Pavan MoondiIra ParkerSeptember 23, 2016 (2016-09-23)
The nightlife shifts to the University of Toronto observatory, where the science-fiction department prepares to blow up the moon. Bondurant walks away from a performance before the jazz elite to save the source of his sometimes-brilliance. The couples fight: William and Jaime over his repressed emotions, while Mitzi deduces that Bondurant lied about getting into Juilliard.
6"Folklore"Pavan MoondiIra ParkerSeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)
Jaime takes William to a mysterious party, where prominent literati have read his work – which seems to be an examination of Jaime's empty life. Meanwhile, in Manitoba, Bondurant fails to stop his parents from reuniting; they drug Mitzi who admits to sleeping with William.
7"Four Christs"Pavan MoondiIra ParkerOctober 8, 2016 (2016-10-08)
After the affairs come to light, William considers what Jaime means to him and visits his father for relationship advice. The gang go their separate ways.
8"The Music"Pavan MoondiIra ParkerOctober 8, 2016 (2016-10-08)
A few weeks later, discouraged by a Juilliard rep, Bondurant breaks into Massey Hall before leaving. Jaime dates Roman Roman who similarly uses her as his muse. William writes a note for Jaime and contemplates suicide. Mitzi has a mistaken carriage [sic].

Themes

The series considers in-between times when anything can happen. Journalist Bill Harris wrote that 4 a.m. marked the behavioural dividing line between "people heading to work rather than staggering home".[8] He noted that the plot is suited to this transitional time, when the characters are both "tired and wired."[8] David Berry of the National Post noted that experiences at this hour are more definitive for being beyond daily routines.[10] Journalist Melita Kuburas wrote that the show is about the moments when the effects of alcohol wear off which "reveal tender, sweet and sad aspects of young adulthood."[9] Actor Maslany felt the characters are escaping the frustrations of their daily lives and seeking the unexpected.[8] He noted that social codes don't seem to apply in a time when most people are asleep.[9]

Creator Ira Parker called it a "genre-bending show", more drama than comedy, with elements of fantasy, science fiction,[8] and twists of the absurd which Parker calls "magical realism".[6] Harris described it as "a televised stage play [...] more artsy than raw."[8] Kuburas noted that the characters are "unreliable narrators" of the story that includes moments of magical realism.[9] Maslany stated that these elements show how "anything feels possible" at that hour.

Jealousy is a major theme, talked about in the first episode and left to build through the season.[6] This is exacerbated by a lie told to Mitzi by the ghost of her pet pig, and shakes-up the group.[10]

References
  1. "CBC's 'Four in the Morning' inhabits an hour that's both early and late".
  2. "Taking a gamble on a middle-of-the-night drama series: Knelman" Archived 2016-06-17 at the Wayback Machine. Toronto Star, March 23, 2016.
  3. "Production underway on Four in the Morning" Archived 2016-06-01 at the Wayback Machine. Playback, April 28, 2016.
  4. "Making TV with an indie film prowess" Archived 2016-05-26 at the Wayback Machine. Playback, March 29, 2016.
  5. David, Greg (May 24, 2017). "CBC sets 2017-18 primetime schedule; plus new, returning and cancelled series". Archived from the original on May 24, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  6. David, Greg (25 August 2016). "Ira Parker's "magical realism" comes to CBC's Four in the Morning". tv-eh.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  7. Ahearn, Victoria (24 August 2016). "Four in the Morning creators surprised CBC-TV picked up edgy series". The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  8. Harris, Bill (24 August 2016). "CBC's Four in the Morning inhabits an hour that's both early and late". Toronto Sun. Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  9. Kuburas, Melita (24 August 2016). "Four in the Morning is an uncensored look at after-the-bar conversation". metronews.ca. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  10. Berry, David (29 August 2016). "The CBC explores places it previously didn't seem to know existed with offbeat comedy Four in the Morning". National Post. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
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