''Strange Empire'' is a Canadian

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series that aired on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

in the 2014–15 television season. Created by Laurie Finstad-Knizhnik, the series is a serialized drama set in Janestown, near the

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

border in the 1860s, in which three women band together for survival after their husbands are murdered. The cast includes

Cara Gee Cara Gee (born July 18, 1983) is a Canadian film, television, and Theatre, stage actress. She is known for her roles in the television series ''Strange Empire'' and ''The Expanse (TV series), The Expanse''. She is described by Forbes as "one of ...

Melissa Farman Melissa Farman (born 1990) is an American actress. She is known for playing a young Danielle Rousseau in '' Lost'' (portrayed by Mira Furlan as an adult) and for her role as Bristol Palin in HBO's ''Game Change''. Early life After being born ...

and

Tattiawna Jones Tattiawna Jones is a Canadian television and theatre actress. Early life and education Jones was born in Manitouwadge, Ontario, Canada. She graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a stand ...

. The first season began airing on 6 October 2014 and consists of 13 episodes. CBC cancelled the series in March 2015 after one season. ''Strange Empire'' was broadcast on LMN in the US and was renamed ''Strange Empire: Rise of the Women'', it premiered on May 29, 2015.

Cast and characters

as Kat Loving, a

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

woman who loses her child and her husband and struggles to protect her surrogate family. *

as Rebecca Blithely, an autistic woman who was previously institutionalized and who now works as a doctor. *

as Isabelle Slotter, a madam who is grieving after the loss of her child. *

Aaron Poole Aaron Poole (born March 17, 1977) is a Canadian actor. Early life Poole grew up in Barrie, Ontario and attended Barrie Central Collegiate. He is a graduate of the Etobicoke School of the Arts and George Brown College. He is of Italian descent. ...

as John Slotter, a violent mine owner, who is married to Isabelle. * Michelle Creber as Kelly and Matreya Scarrwener as Robin, sisters who are rescued and adopted by Kat Loving after their gambling father sells them to Slotter for use in his bordello. *

Terry Chen Terence Chen (born February 3, 1975) is a Canadian actor. Early life Chen was born on February 3, 1975, in Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the ...

as Ling, a Chinese man looking to take over Slotter's coal mine. * Anne Marie DeLuise as Mrs. Briggs, a widow who runs a cantine. *

Tahmoh Penikett Tahmoh Penikett (; ; born May 20, 1975) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Karl "Helo" Agathon on SyFy's 2004 television series '' Battlestar Galactica''. He has appeared in TV series ''Supernatural'', '' Dollhouse'', the Showcase ti ...

as Marshal Caleb Mecredi, a

lawman who is attracted to Kat and determined to bring John Slotter to justice. * Joanna Boland as Morgan Finn, a miner in the town who begins a relationship with Rebecca, while trying to hide that he's

assigned female at birth Sex assignment (also known as gender assignment) is the discernment of an infant's sex, typically made at birth based on an examination of the baby's external genitalia by a healthcare provider such as a midwife, nurse, or physician. In the ...

Episodes

Reception

The series premiere was watched by 319,000 Canadian viewers. John Doyle of

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

called it "a remarkable, rugged western drama" and praised the cast. Doyle concluded "Strange Empire wobbles a bit in episodes two and three, but never falls down. Watch and you are carried through on the freshness and zest of it, this dose of hard, rugged TV storytelling."

Canadian Screen Awards

Joey Awards

Leo Awards

Young Artist Awards

Home media release

eOne Films Lionsgate Canada is a Canadian entertainment company and a subsidiary of Lionsgate Studios. Based in Toronto, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition and production of films and television series. The company began on June 1, 1973 ...

released season 1 on DVD on May 12, 2015.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 3920814 2010s Canadian drama television series 2014 Canadian television series debuts CBC Television original programming 2010s Western (genre) television series 2015 Canadian television series endings Canadian Western (genre) television series Autism in television First Nations television series