The Associates is a Canadian television drama series that aired on CTV in 2001 and 2002.[1] The show centred on the professional and personal lives of five junior associate lawyers at the Toronto office of the multinational law firm of Young, Barnsworth & King.[2]
| The Associates | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Legal drama |
| Created by | Greg Ball Steve Blackman Alyson Feltes |
| Starring | Demore Barnes Shaun Benson Tamara Hickey Gabriel Hogan Jennie Raymond R. H. Thomson |
| Composer | Robert Carli |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Alyson Feltes |
| Producer | Brian Dennis |
| Production locations | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Alliance Atlantis Communications |
| Original release | |
| Network | CTV |
| Release | January 16, 2001 – May 17, 2002 |
The show's cast included Demore Barnes as Benjamin Hardaway, Shaun Benson as Jonah Gleason, Tamara Hickey as Robyn Parsons, Gabriel Hogan as Mitch Barnsworth and Jennie Raymond as Amy Kassan, as well as R.H. Thomson as Angus MacGregor, the firm's senior partner, and Sean Sullivan as Dale Friesen, the associates' supervising partner.[3] The show also sometimes made differences between Canadian and American law into plot points, notably by writing both Robyn Parsons and Benjamin Hardaway as American transplants who sometimes ran into trouble because of their greater familiarity with U.S. courtroom procedure.[3]
The series was co-created by Greg Ball and Steve Blackman, themselves former associates at a law firm in Edmonton who based it on some of their own experiences.[4]
The show was successful in its first two years of ratings, but due to tax cutbacks from the government, the show could not continue into a third season.[5]
Critical response
John Doyle of The Globe and Mail panned the first episode, but wrote that the series improved significantly thereafter. He criticized Hogan's performance as Mitch, writing that "his accent wobbles and wanders all over the United Kingdom and Ireland and he looks nothing like anyone's picture of an upper-class, well-connected Brit lawyer. Instead he looks like the younger sibling of one of the Gallagher brothers from Oasis, with a bad, blond dye job." He opined that the show's real saving grace was Hickey's portrayal of Robyn, whose brashness in the first episode was gradually revealed as a front for insecurity and shyness, making her the show's most relatable character and grounding it the same way Patrick McKenna's Marty had served as the "everyman" anchor in Traders.[6]
Dan Brown of the National Post criticized the characters of Benjamin Hardaway and Amy Kassan as unsympathetic, writing that Barnes played Benjamin like he was auditioning for the role of Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager.[7]
Tony Atherton of the Ottawa Citizen similarly wrote that the first episode was weak, but that the series improved over the course of the season.[8]
Awards
| Award | Year | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini Awards | 2001 | Best Dramatic Series | Brian Dennis, Anne Marie La Traverse, Steve Blackman, Greg Ball, Alyson Feltes, Maureen McKeon | Nominated | [9] |
| Best Actor, Drama Series | Gabriel Hogan | Nominated | |||
| Demore Barnes | Nominated | ||||
| Best Actress, Drama Series | Tamara Hickey | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor, Drama Series or Program | Sean Sullivan | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress, Drama Series or Program | Marnie McPhail | Nominated | |||
| Best Photography in a Dramatic Program or Series | Philip Earnshaw | Nominated | |||
| 2002 | Best Actor, Drama Series | Demore Barnes | Nominated | [10] | |
| Best Actress, Drama Series | Tamara Hickey | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress, Drama Series or Program | Marnie McPhail | Nominated | |||
| Rebecca Jenkins | Nominated | ||||
| Best Guest Actor, Drama Series | Michael Riley | Nominated | |||
| Best Direction in a Dramatic Series | Kelly Makin | Nominated | |||
| Best Writing in a Dramatic Series | Maureen McKeon | Nominated | |||
| Best Makeup | Marilyn O'Quinn, Cindy Lou Tache | Nominated |
Episodes
Season 1: 2001
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Headfirst Into Hell" | David Wu | Greg Ball | January 16, 2001 | |
Five young lawyers are starting their first day as junior associates at Young, Barnsworth & King, on the same day that three of the firm's senior partners are arrested for stock fraud. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Disclosure" | George Bloomfield | Greg Ball | January 23, 2001 | |
| 3 | 3 | "Ten" | Scott Smith | Paul Aitken | January 30, 2001 | |
| 4 | 4 | "Encumbered" | George Bloomfield | Maureen McKeon | February 6, 2001 | |
| 5 | 5 | "CYA: Cover Your Ass" | Michael DeCarlo | Greg Ball | February 20, 2001 | |
| 6 | 6 | "Sue Everybody" | E. Jane Thompson | Paul Aitken | February 27, 2001 | |
| 7 | 7 | "E Pluribus Unum" | Eli Cohen | Michelle Lovretta | March 6, 2001 | |
| 8 | 8 | "Don't Ask Don't Tell" | Unknown | Alyson Feltes | March 13, 2001 | |
| 9 | 9 | "Family Values" | George Bloomfield | Unknown | March 27, 2001 | |
| 10 | 10 | "Care & Control" | Jerry Ciccoritti | Michelle Lovretta | April 3, 2001 | |
| 11 | 11 | "Killing the Rat" | E. Jane Thompson | Paul Aitken | April 10, 2001 | |
| 12 | 12 | "Sirens" | Unknown | Unknown | April 10, 2001 | |
| 13 | 13 | "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" | David Wu | Alyson Feltes | April 17, 2001 | |
Season two
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Go Heart or Go Home" | George Bloomfield | Maureen McKeon | January 18, 2002 |
| 2 | "Your Place or Mine?" | E. Jane Thompson | Unknown | January 25, 2002 |
| 3 | "Take This Job..." | Unknown | Unknown | February 1, 2002 |
| 4 | "The Hitler Paradox" | Kelly Makin | Unknown | February 8, 2002 |
| 5 | "Walking the Line" | Unknown | Unknown | February 15, 2002 |
| 6 | "Soulmates" | Paul Fox | Gregory Nelson | February 22, 2002 |
| 7 | "Revelations" | E. Jane Thompson | Unknown | March 1, 2002 |
| 8 | "Mea Culpa" | Kelly Makin | Unknown | March 8, 2002 |
| 9 | "Liar, Liar" | Gary Harvey | Unknown | March 15, 2002 |
| 10 | "Parents: Who Needs 'Em?" | Unknown | Unknown | March 22, 2002 |
| 11 | "Freedomia" | Philip Earnshaw | Paul Aitken | March 29, 2002 |
| 12 | "Spare the Rod" | Paul Fox | Gregory Nelson | April 5, 2002 |
| 13 | "Heart's Desire" | Unknown | Unknown | April 12, 2002 |
| 14 | "Definitely Maybe" | Unknown | Unknown | April 19, 2002 |
| 15 | "Winner Take All" | Gary Harvey | Unknown | May 3, 2002 |
| 16 | "All About C" | Unknown | Michelle Lovretta | May 10, 2002 |
| 17 | "Something About Love" | Kelly Makin | Unknown | May 17, 2002 |
