Watchable on CBC, Apple, Disney Feb. 27 to March 5, 2023

SHOW OF THE WEEK: Plan B (Feb. 27, 9 p.m., CBC/CBC Gem)

If the path to true love never runs smooth, the path after one finds that love can be just as rocky, if not more so, as anyone in a long-term relationship knows.

That’s the crux of this drama, a remake of a French-language version that ran for three seasons in Quebec.

We first meet Philip (Patrick J. Adams) and Evelyn (Karine Vanasse) in the first blush of passion after they’re introduced by Evelyn’s brother — and Philip’s business partner — Patrick (Francois Arnaud, “Blindspot”).

Six years later, they’re living together in a house that’s a construction zone, and Evelyn has sidelined her aspirations of being a professional cellist to act as a paralegal for Philip and Patrick’s fledgling law firm, which is trying to land a major contract. Philip is concerned with building a successful life; Evelyn feels unseen and unheard, so she leaves.

When pleading can’t win her back, a drunken Philip takes drastic measures, calling the phone number for Plan B, a service that promises second chances. Next thing you know, he’s being whisked two days into the past by a pair of solemn-faced identical twins in a white van that drives backwards.

So yes, this is a time travel drama, but the supernatural element is not the main point of the show, at least not in the three episodes made available for review.

Philip figures that by going back in time to just before the tense morning that precipitated Evelyn’s departure he can save the relationship. And it seems to work at first but, as any sci-fi aficionado knows, you can’t change future events without consequences. So getting Evelyn to stay has unexpected repercussions, not just on the relationship but on the business and on Philip’s alcoholic brother, Andy (Joshua Close).

That leads to another trip into the past and yet more unforeseen consequences, and it remains to be seen what Philip will salvage out of the growing mess by the end of the first six episodes.

“We plan, God laughs,” the old Yiddish saying goes. And it becomes clear that Philip’s desire to control and fix everything is at the root of his problems.

“Plan B” invites viewers to reflect on the unpredictability of life; on the difficulty of really knowing even the people we’re closest to; and the tendency of human beings to assume a level of control over their circumstances that’s really just an illusion.

Adams and Vanasse are both highly skilled actors (you can read my Toronto Star interview with them here). Toronto-born Adams is probably best known for “Suits,” but I also very much enjoyed him in “The Right Stuff,” in which he played astronaut John Glenn. Quebec actor Vanasse is known for American series “Revenge” and the movie “Polytechnique” but, for me, will forever be intertwined with the Ontario-made detective drama “Cardinal.”

Although Philip and Evelyn are not always sympathetic, Adams and Vanasse make them relatable.

We in English Canada don’t value our homemade TV shows the way Quebecers do, so I’ll be interested to see how this is received amid all the American stuff dominating our schedules.

CBC Gem also has the documentary “Geographies of Solitude” (March 3), about a naturalist and environmentalist who is the only full-time resident of Sable Island in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean; and acclaimed lesbian love story “Carol” (March 3), directed by Todd Haynes, and starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.

The Reluctant Traveler (Now on Apple TV+)

(I couldn’t review “The Reluctant Traveler” in last week’s post due to an embargo, so here’s what I wrote about it before I remembered that there was an embargo.)

When you think of Hollywood stars — and Eugene Levy, despite his Canadian roots, is arguably a star — you imagine something of a jet-set lifestyle, of flying all over the world in a comfort the rest of us can only dream of.

Levy, known for everything from “SCTV” to “Schitt’s Creek,” from the “American Pie” films to Christopher Guest mockumentaries like “Best in Show,” has undoubtedly experienced a taste of that, but he also describes himself as a genuinely reluctant traveller: someone who doesn’t really like anything that takes him out of his comfort zone.

And yet, here he is as the host and star of “The Reluctant Traveler,” an eight-part series in which Levy visits eight countries and sometimes ventures out of that self-described zone.

To be sure, this isn’t an extreme travel show. The man is 76 years old after all; 75 when he was shooting the series. 

The things that make Levy uncomfortable can be as simple as going horseback riding in Utah or taking a night hike through the Costa Rican jungle (I’m with him on that one, spiders and snakes, no thanks!). But he also experiences luxuries few of us can hope to replicate without a TV show budget behind us: stays in sumptuous hotels and meals at exclusive restaurants. 

What makes “The Reluctant Traveler” stand out from other travel shows is simply the presence of Eugene Levy. Despite his insistence that he is uncomfortable playing himself on camera (you can read what Levy had to say about the show in my Toronto Star story here), the man is funny when he’s being himself. 

“No cars for old men,” he jokes when he has to climb into a very low sports car in Tokyo.

“The sheep ran as soon as they saw me. Did they see a movie they didn’t particularly care for?” he quips as he helps guide Milo corral critters on a Navajo homestead in Utah.

“This is the last time I have five vodkas with a Finn,” he declares before climbing into a frozen Finnish lake, albeit in a flotation suit.

Somebody on Twitter suggested this series was a ripoff of the Ricky Gervais creation “An Idiot Abroad”; someone at a media Q&A thought it was meant to be like “Travel Man,” hosted by British comedian Richard Ayoade.

My impression is that it’s not meant to be an imitation of anything, but that executive producer David Brindley, as he told the Television Critics Association, saw potential during a phone call in which Levy tried to explain why he was the worst choice for a travel show host and ran with it. 

Speaking personally, although I’m not a reluctant traveller, I felt a kinship seeing some of the things that make Eugene Levy uncomfortable, like heights (although, for the record, I did not close my eyes at the start of my one and only helicopter ride like he did).

Watching an episode set in Venice made me want to fulfil my long held intention of visiting that city; ditto with the one set in Tokyo, a city I merely took a train into and flew out of during a long ago trip to Japan.

There’s a little something for everyone here: beautiful natural views, lively urban sights, gorgeous hotels, enticing food and attractions on which we get perspectives that the average tourist might not experience.

The most affecting part — and what seemed to touch Levy the most deeply — are the human connections he makes. Whether or not we get a second season of “The Reluctant Traveler,” I suspect those are the memories that he’ll savour when he looks back on the experience. 

Short Takes

Hoarders Canada (March 4, 8 p.m., Makeful)

Once you get over the shock and awe of a home so full of stuff that the occupant is essentially unable to live in the house, you see the pain and suffering of the mental disorder behind the hoarding. At least that was my impression based on the two episodes made available for review of this Canadian version of the popular American reality show. Both the episodes deal with just one case, that of Rosella, or Roz, a former public health nurse in Winnipeg whose house is so full that she has nowhere to sit, sleeps on half of a double bed and cooks on a couple of hot plates because her stove is under a mountain of stuff. Oh and she has to turn the water on and off each time she uses her leaking toilet, which seems like a tall order for an 80-year-old, not to mention the tripping and fire hazards, and the poor air quality from mould. But as the cleanup begins, with the help of Roz’s daughters and granddaughters, psychologist Murray Anderson and organizer Kim Diamond, there are times it seems like Roz is beyond help. Then Anderson finds an item amid all the junk that enables him to breach her defensiveness and get her to open up about the emotional toll of her hoarding. What it comes down to for viewers is that humanity, in its many variations, is a fascinating subject for other humans and hoarding certainly fits into that.

Odds and Ends

I have not yet seen the new episodes of hit “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian” (March 1, Disney+) but, judging from the trailer, Din Djarin, a.k.a. Mando, is getting introspective about his Mandalorianness and returning to Mandalore to “be forgiven for my transgressions.” And Grogu, a.k.a. Baby Yoda, is right there by his side, which is as it should be. Plus, you know, there’s danger out there in the universe to be handled. Particularly exciting for Canadian fans is that Captain Carson Teva, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee of “Kim’s Convenience,” is back.

Reviews are embargoed for “Daisy Jones & the Six” (March 1, Prime Video), based on the bestselling book about the rise and fall of a world famous 1970s rock band. I think it’s fair to say the series is highly anticipated given the success of the book. Riley Keough (“The Girlfriend Experience”), granddaughter of Elvis Presley and daughter of the recently deceased Lisa Marie Presley, plays Daisy. Sam Claflin (“Peaky Blinders,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”) is Billy Dunne.

The biggest deal on Netflix this week is “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage” (March 4, 10 p.m.), a live-streamed standup special by the comedian. Of course, the big question for everyone is whether Rock will address “the Slap,” when Will Smith struck him during last year’s Oscars for making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair. Netflix also has the U.K. quiz show “Cheat” (March 1), in which contestants are encouraged to do exactly that; Season 2 of “Framed! A Sicilian Murder Mystery” (March 2); Season 2 of love triangle drama “Sex/Life” (March 2); true crime series “Monique Olivier: Accessory to Evil” (March 2); Season 2 of Gigi Hadid and Tan France’s “Next in Fashion” (March 3); and South Korean drama “Divorce Attorney Shin” (March 4).

Paramount+ has a treat for fans of Hugh Dillon, the Canadian star of its drama “Mayor of Kingstown.” “Durham County,” a TV show that put the rock star on the map as an actor, debuts on the streamer Feb. 28. It stars Dillon as a homicide detective matching wits with a neighbour and possible serial killer in the first season. It’s worth noting that all three seasons are also on CBC Gem, where you can watch free if you don’t mind some ads.

Crave’s main release this week is the documentary “The Grizzlie Truth” (Feb. 27), which looks at why the Vancouver Grizzlies basketball team only lasted six seasons in Canada before relocating to Memphis.

Speaking of treats, here’s one for BritBox subscribers. The first two seasons of “Staged,” the pandemic comedy in which David Tennant and Michael Sheen played themselves trying to work over Zoom, comes to the streamer March 1. Fair warning: the first season is much better than the second. There’s also a third season, which I have not yet seen, coming to BritBox on March 28.

Fans of HGTV Canada stars Scott McGillivray and Bryan Baeumler will want to know that they’re teaming up for Renovation Resort (March 5, 10 p.m., HGTV), a competition series in which teams of designers and contractors are tasked with renovating cabins at a resort owned by McGillivray.

NOTE: The listings here are in Eastern Standard Time and I’ve verified the times where possible, but it’s always best to check listings for your own area. The selection of programs reviewed reflects what I’m given access to by networks and streamers, whether reviews are embargoed, how many shows I have time to watch and my own personal taste. The Odds and Ends section includes shows that I have not watched.