Jennifer Whalen of CBC’s ‘Small Achievable Goals’ says show had more to explore

TORONTO – The co-creator of CBC’s cancelled series “Small Achievable Goals” says the menopause comedy still has life left in it.

Jennifer Whalen says she would be interested in writing more about her character, a podcast host undergoing middle-age hormonal shifts alongside a similarly upended colleague, played by Meredith MacNeill.

“I would love to show what happens when you get to the other side — when you kind of really integrate it all and that there’s like a wonderful life after the worst part of perimenopause. To show that, that would be fantastic,” Whalen said earlier this week as she and MacNeill walked the red carpet at the Canadian Screen Awards.

Whalen and MacNeill, whose characters each swing through wild life turns that fuel raunchy gags and moving realizations, said they were proud of the series’ two-year run but Whalen was unclear on why CBC didn’t renew the show.

“I have heard other people say that our show maybe is a little niche. I would argue that, you know, women are 51 per cent of the population. So as niches go, it’s rather large,” said Whalen.

“We said so much with those two years and you know the broadcaster, that’s a decision that they can make.”

In confirming the cancellation last month, CBC’s general manager of entertainment, factual and sports said that the show was focused on a “very specific subject matter,” and explored it beautifully.

“Series today don’t have to last multiple years,” Sally Catto said.

“You can have limited series, you can have shorter runs. We’re kind of looking at: What do we need to tell this story to our satisfaction and to audience satisfaction?”

The workplace comedy nabbed 12 Canadian Screen Award nominations this year, including for best ensemble performance, writing and lead performance for Whalen and MacNeill.

The comedians have been central to CBC’s comedy lineup for years. Their work on the all-female sketch series “Baroness Von Sketch Show” won Whalen and MacNeill numerous Screen Awards, including for best writing, best sketch comedy program and best comedy series between 2017 to 2021.

Before that, the two wrote for the satirical news show, “This Hour Has 22 Minutes.” Each also worked on other CBC projects, with MacNeill starring in the cop comedy “Pretty Hard Cases.”

“Small Achievable Goals” aired its last episode March 17, and MacNeill said she’s interested in seeing what CBC does to fill that TV slot – the program aired Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET. She said she hopes to see “more stories that can talk about women and what they’re going through.”

When asked about the future of the series and if another broadcaster or streaming service could save the CBC original that was produced by Sphere Media, Whalen smiled and coyly said: “We don’t know.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2026.