| A Montreal woman of Indian descent has a nice professional life and a sexy Icelandic boyfriend. Then, at the urging of her parents, she agrees to meet an Indian man hand-picked by mom and dad as her potential husband.
Determined to defy the conventions of arranged marriages, she is hostile to the handsome gentleman at first. Then, partly through his charm and persistence, she slowly finds herself intrigued, then attracted to her would-be suitor. Soon she is passionately kissing him in a restaurant kitchen and well… anything more would spoil the fun.
The scenario described is from "The Arrangement," a recent episode of the made-in-Canada series Bliss. Erotic stories told from a woman’s point of view make this series a unique spin on the adult TV territory previously covered by The Red Shoe Diaries and The Hunger. Seen in this part of the country on Movie Central and Showcase, Bliss is also heating things up south of the border on the Oprah Winfrey-backed Oxygen Network.
Now in its third season, Bliss is the brainchild of Canadian filmmakers Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell who serve as executive producers of the show, among other roles.
"It came about as Janis and I were reading all this great erotic literature written by women," says Mitchell, explaining the origins of the show. "We soon realized how there was this incredible quality of writing. The stories were really interesting – they challenged stereotypes and were focused on experiences from a female perspective."
A realization that these kinds of stories weren’t being told on television led Mitchell and Lundman to successfully pitch an idea to Showcase for an erotic anthology series written, produced and directed by women.
"We are looking for people who really want to invest in the story," says Mitchell, describing the general philosophy behind the casting of Bliss’s all-important female leads. Considering that almost all the episodes feature ample onscreen nudity, one might assume that special attention is paid to physical attributes, but Mitchell stresses that is not the case.
Although she’s heard reports that previous adult anthologies have required female actors to strip naked in their casting calls, Mitchell says Bliss doesn’t even come close to doing that. "That is not at all what we are about," she says. "The body is not the first thing to us. It’s the actor’s acting ability and their passion for their role that we are looking for."
That’s not to say that the performers on the program are not striking – they certainly are. It’s just that on this show, the stars possess a natural beauty that helps to ground the stories in reality. Take, for example, Robin Brule and Allan Hawco, the female and male leads of the upcoming Mitchell-directed episode "Steph’s Life." Both performers are undeniably attractive, but they are the sort of people you imagine catching your attention in a real-life setting like a bank or a C-Train platform. They don’t resemble the artificially enhanced, unobtainable fantasy denizens of adult magazines.
Putting these two actors in a far-from-outlandish, webcam-voyeurism storyline makes it easy for the viewer to start fantasizing about donning the role of her or his choice. In other words, the turn-on factor is amply achieved. Making its debut in early April, "Steph’s Life" is poised to provide a satisfying climax to the current crop of stories.
While Bliss is targeted at women, Mitchell says she’s been gratified to learn that many men also enjoy the series. "I think there are a lot of men out there that are interested in learning about female sexuality," she says.
"A lot of couples like to watch our show together," she adds. "I have had e-mails from people thanking us because they said they have had a great night after watching our show." Bliss the erotic series becomes Bliss the marital aid – for a show eager to defy convention, why the hell not?
Bliss airs Fridays at 10 p.m. on Showcase. New episodes currently debut on the Movie Central premium cable channels. See your listings for broadcast days and times. |
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