Sophie (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = Sophie


caption =
genre = sitcom
camera =
picture_format =
runtime = 30 minutes (including commercials)
creator = Richard Blaimert
developer =
executive_producer = Jocelyn Deschênes
starring = Natalie Brown
Sebastian Spence
Amy Lalonde
Jeff Geddis
Mimi Kuzyk
Sara Botsford
Chantelle Chung
Catherine Bérubé
narrated =
country = CAN
network = CBC
first_aired = January 9, 2008
last_aired = present
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 13
list_episodes = List of Sophie episodes
website = http://www.cbc.ca/sophie/
imdb_id = 0947080
tv_com_id =

"Sophie" is a Canadian television sitcom starring Natalie Brown as Sophie Parker, a harried single mother and talent agent. The show is an English language adaptation of the French language "Les Hauts et les bas de Sophie Paquin". The show premiered on CBC Television on January 9, 2008.

The show was created by Richard Blaimert and its executive producer is Jocelyn Deschênes, the same creative team behind the original SRC series. It was the CBC's second attempt in as many years to create an English adaptation of a successful series from its French sister network, following the less successful "Rumours".

Characters

* Sophie Parker (Natalie Brown) is a businesswoman and single mother, who runs her own talent agency. Just hours after being told by a psychic that she was about to have the worst year of her life, her boyfriend Rick ran off with her best friend Melissa while Sophie was still pregnant with what she and Rick thought was Rick's baby. Soon afterwards, she gave birth and discovered that baby Robbie couldn't be Rick's child after all: he's black. It turns out Robbie was conceived in a one-night stand Sophie had with Andre (played by Lyriq Bent in flashbacks), whom she met in a cab in New York City. At first, she did not have any contact with him and went as far as shredding his business card, but the first season finale he would later show up to see her, and upon learning that he was a father, he walked out on Sophie and left her devastated, only to return hours later to see Sophie with her ex, Rick, at her apartment.

* Rick Ryder (Sebastian Spence) is Sophie's ex-boyfriend and former business partner, who now runs his own competing talent agency which stole most of Sophie's clients. Despite the end of their relationship, however, they can't seem to get away from each other, in part because Sophie's mother is constantly plotting to reunite them. His continued presence in Sophie's life also complicates her efforts to find a new boyfriend — in one episode, he accidentally sees Melissa giving Sophie's current love interest a few pointers on how Sophie likes to be flirted with, mistakes him for someone "Melissa" is seeing behind his back, and later punches him in the face at a gallery show. In the first season finale, he almost asked Melissa to marry him, but when that failed he saw Sophie crying over being rejected by Andre, and as they were about to go get a drink, he sees Andre walking towards the two.

* Melissa Bryant (Amy Lalonde) is Sophie's former best friend and Rick's current girlfriend. A bit ditzy, she still thinks of Sophie as a dear friend — even helping her to line up dates and begging her to dogsit — and is unaware of how much she hurt Sophie by stealing Rick. She dotes on her dog like a baby, sometimes giving it more attention and TLC than she gives Rick. In the first season finale Rick tried to ask Melissa to marry him, only to have the two argue, resulting in Rick leaving and Melissa furious.

* Matt Scott (Jeff Geddis) is Sophie's gay best friend and confidant. Although in a relationship with Verner, a Swiss immigrant, he is not entirely committed to it and also has an eye for Bernard, a waiter at the café where he and Sophie hang out, and eventually slept with. In the end he did confess to Verner and eventually made up by going off to Switzerland together.

* Judith Parker (Mimi Kuzyk) is Sophie's manipulative, control freak mother. She is determined to reunite Sophie and Rick, faking a suicide attempt so that she can insist that they take care of her together and deliberately interfering when Sophie dates anyone who isn't Rick.

* Estelle Burroughs (Sara Botsford) is a pretentious and flighty actress who affects a Received Pronunciation English accent, and the only client of Sophie's agency who didn't defect to Rick's new firm. She was also the mistress of Sophie's late father for many years (As Sophie tells Judith about why she was signed to the agency, "She came with the deal. He put it in the will."), complicating her professional relationship with Sophie, but at times comes through for her. In one episode Estelle played a part in getting Sophie a sought-after client after she recognized Estelle from in a play called "Learning Rainbows" and was a fan of Estelle.

* Ophelia Burroughs (Chantelle Chung) is Estelle's teenage daughter, whom Estelle adopted from China. Ophelia has no love for Estelle whatsoever.

* Bridget (Catherine Bérubé) is Sophie's scheming receptionist, constantly trying to angle her way into a more senior job with the agency.

* Christian Parker (Tyler Hynes) is Sophie's younger brother. Recently paroled from prison, he is determined to exploit his family connections to launch his own reality show.

Episodes

See List of Sophie episodes.

Production

On February 5, 2008, it was announced that "Sophie" will be joining the ABC Family lineup in the United States, where it is slated for a 2009 airing. [ [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20080501abcfamily01 From The Futon Critic (May 2 2008)] ]

On March 7, 2008 it was announced that CBC has ordered another season of the show. [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080308.CBC08/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Television/"CBC axes Hockey Wives, jPod"] , Globe & Mail, March 8, 2008.]

References

External links

* [http://www.cbc.ca/sophie/ CBC Television: "Sophie"]
*
* [http://www.publicairwaves.ca/index.php?page=1967&PHPSESSID=94e09c9. Our Public Airwaves.ca - CBC TV tries again to adapt French comedy]