Series that take us back to kinder, gentler TV

Since the debut of The Sopranos in 1999, the era of “peak television” is often associated with antiheroes, ethical ambiguity and the erosion of institutions.

Prestige dramas such as The Wire, Breaking Bad and Succession have charted moral collapse and corruption at the heart of modern life, while sprawling hits such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead trade in a worldview so relentlessly bleak it could have you reaching for a Xanax.

And let’s be honest, we love them for it.

But at a moment when reality often feels like it’s imitating prestige TV in all the worst ways, audiences may find themselves craving something different. Not necessarily lighter, but more humane.

Obituary: John Fefchak always intent on doing the right thing

Even from his hospital bed, nearing the end of his life, army veteran and environmentalist John Fefchak was writing letters to the editor on issues involving the environment and water quality. His focus? Justice.

For the father, grandfather, storyteller and tireless advocate giving his heart and soul and time, it was all about doing what was right.

“John was not only a frequent letter-to-the-editor writer, but also one who was passionate about that section where readers got their say,” said Paul Samyn, Free Press editor. “He would often let me know what he had submitted in hopes that letter would soon be published. I was so touched when I realized that passion never dimmed even when he was hospitalized and he was nearing death, as he was still submitting letters and asking for my help to get them published.”

Fefchak died on June 10, 2025, at age 91.

How high is the Red River today? Check this graph.

Water levels in Winnipeg are measured in “feet James,” the level above the normal winter ice level as measured at a gauge on the Red River east of James Avenue in the Exchange District, just downstream of The Forks where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet.

Wooden elevator reduced to rubble after towering over Austin for 75 years

With the demolition of the wooden grain elevator in Austin, a community about 130 kilometres west of Winnipeg, the Manitoba Historical Society estimates there are only 114 such structures remaining in the province.

Opera season finale offers a fresh take on Figaro

Unlike their characters, the cast members of The Marriage of Figaro have been getting along famously.

“We’ve had way too much fun during rehearsals because everybody’s so talented and funny,” says Alberta-born soprano Caitlin Wood, who makes her Manitoba Opera debut Saturday night during the company’s season finale.

The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart’s beloved ensemble comedy, was last presented locally in 2015.

A sequel to The Barber of Seville, the opera unfolds during the fraught wedding day of Figaro (Robert Mellon), the former barber-turned-valet, and Susanna, a fellow servant to the Count (Phillip Addis) and Countess (Miriam Khalil) Almaviva.

Dramedy Mile End Kicks captures 20-something angst, confusion

Canadian writer-director Chandler Levack is becoming an auteur of spiky, self-aware, semi-autobiographical nostalgia.

Her 2022 feature debut I Like Movies related the awkward coming-of-age story of a teenage video store clerk in Burlington, Ont., in 2003.

In this deliberately loose dramedy, which debuted at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Levack sets her wayback machine to the summer of 2011 in Montreal. Grace (Euphoria’s Barbie Ferreira), a 24-year-old music critic, has just got off the bus, determined to do important work, have sex and possibly learn French.

Low rents on cool apartments in the neighbourhood of Mile End are drawing young artists, writers and musicians from all over Canada, Grace explains in an article she’s writing about the city’s indie music scene.

What's up: Sheepdogs, Maple-infused meals, Props N Hops, WMC McLellan Competition, Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra: An 8-Bit Big Band

The SheepdogsBurton Cummings Theatre, 364 Smith St.Friday, 8 p.m.Tickets $47 to $119 at TicketmasterThey’re called the Sheepdogs, but the Roaddogs would have been an appropriate name for the band led by frontman Ewan Currie.

Since 2022, the Saskatoon rockers have played nearly 300 shows across North America, Europe, the U.K., and Australia, including an arena tour in support of Bryan Adams last fall. Now, they are on their Out All Night headlining tour in support of their latest album, Keep Out of the Storm, which will stop by the Burt on Friday.

Those who were quick on the draw for tickets know the band is also in town tonight to celebrate the Times Change(d)’s 25th anniversary. That show is sold out; limited tickets to the Burt show remain.

— Jen Zoratti

Wealth of musical talent providing the sounds of silents

The score will be settled in real time on Saturday at the inaugural Winnipeg Silent Movie Festival, with local musicians set to provide live, improvised soundtracks to 10 films released between 1912 and 1929.

MCO’s new season sure to delight

Had the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra trotted out that classic cliché of marketing speak — “a season full of surprises!” — about its upcoming lineup, it would have rung true.

The MCO’s 2026-27 season takes a cinematic turn, with works by such Hollywood film-score heavy hitters as Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt and even Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. It’s a treat whenever we hear Winnipeg’s cosy churches resonate with the best of these composers.

Though this isn’t really the surprising thing. The MCO has always been one of the Prairies’ leading champions of contemporary Canadian classical, and the upcoming season is especially adventurous in this respect.

In three concert programs, guest performers are also composers — acclaimed contralto Rose Naggar-Tremblay on Sept. 23, Florian Hoefner Jazz Quartet on Nov. 4 and flutist and hoop dancer V. J. Sparvier-Wells on March 17 — breaking down one of classical music’s traditional divisions.

Story of first women to cycle around the world a freewheeling, perilous trek

In Ride, the musical that closes the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre season, a Latvian-born American woman with an unmistakably Jewish surname attempts to circumnavigate the globe on two wheels in 15 months or less just before the sharp turn of the 20th century.

But as she speeds toward renown on her Columbia bicycle, pedalling her way toward becoming a proto-feminist model for women’s independence, Annie Cohen Kopchovsky — born in 1870, died in 1947 — faces a fork in the road: to retain her heritage, or to ease her passage across borders through the all-too-common sacrifice of acceptance through anglicization.

For director-choreographer Lisa Stevens, the production is relevant in 2026 for the same reasons that the story of “Annie Londonderry” was captivating in 1894.

“We’re still asking the same questions: who gets to be seen, who gets to be heard, who gets to be believed and how one needs to reinvent themselves, or hide, to be able to survive,” says Stevens. “Who has to change their persona in order to thrive?” As the rider asks, “How far do I have to go in order to move forward?”

Fest’s films inspire dialogue about space, community

Architecture + Design Film Festival surely boasts some of Winnipeg’s sleekest festival branding.

Unique distribution model benefits local filmmaker’s found-footage flick

Sneaking into Winnipeg’s Scotiabank Polo Park cinema last weekend like a cunning, silent demon, the low-budget horror film Hunting Matthew Nichols managed to succeed, reaping more than double its budget throughout North America thanks in large part to actor-director Markian Tarasiuk.

New series offer comfort of escapist fare

A new lineup of recommended viewing leans heavily toward escapism. Except for the latest from Baby Reindeer creator and star Richard Gadd, from which some further escapism might be welcome. Onward!