The instant classics, Schitt's Creek and Kim's Convenience are there. Both are heartwarming, joyful family comedies. Blackberry is a great little movie about the Blackberry phone with Glenn Howerton (Dennis from it's always sunny in Philadelphia) and Jay Baruchel (Man Seeking Woman, basically that nerdy looking dude you'll recognize instantly.)
Ones I haven't seen but have heard really good things about (and are thus on my list):
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Reservation Dogs, Penny Dreadful, Britannia, Masters of Sex, Pen15
Haven't heard much but Natasha Lyonne is usually awesome, so Poker Face is on my list.
Kim's Convenience is such a good show! It toes the line perfectly between being an authentic representation of the struggles immigrant families can face while still being mostly lighthearted and fun.
If you like absurdist comedy (and you don't cringe at millennial comedy) you should check out Baroness von Sketch Show. It's not for everyone though; my wife's mom said she "didn't get it," which is totally understandable.
Oh dang, I do love me some Ayoade! (If anyone hasn't seen it, Garth Merenghi's Dark Place is one of the first things he wrote and is fantastic, trailer .
Zarqa, the funniest thing I've ever watched. A spiteful, middle-aged, Pakistani Muslim divorcee in Regina tries to manage/rehab her reputation and ego... With disastrously hilarious results. It's a short mini-series that can be watched in about two hours.
I just stumbled upon Gangnam Project. It's about two biracial Korean-Canadian teens who go to S. Korea to connect with their roots and get all caught up in the K-Pop making machine. It's meant for the tween market, but it's just so different than anything I've seen (maybe I haven't seen much) that I find it interesting. Plus who doesn't live an eternally optimistic lead when the real world is crazy times? Obviously it's dramatized, but I am kind of peripherally aware that idol-culture is a very serious deal in Asia, esp Korea. (Last year some K-Pop star publicly apologized for having a boyfriend?!) I wonder how much of it is based in reality and how much is just made up.
I’m enjoying Kim’s Convenience and North of North. Also looking forward to the next season of Short Film Face-off and The Great Canadian Potery Throw-down
Republic of Doyle is a great Newfie show. Plus Allan Hawco is great. I met him at a Costco in St. John’s once, buying peaches with Mark Critch. Both awesome people, super friendly.
Small Achievable Goals has promise, only a couple episodes in though. North of North had been mentioned and I like it way more than I thought I would. Children Ruin Everything is a really good Canadian show, but I don't know if it's on Gem.
Luther. If you've not seen this twisty police procedural starring Idris Elba, give it a good go. Short seasons, great pacing, some of the best British TV I've seen.
The only other show I've gone to Gem for was Schitt's Creek. I want to watch Station Eleven and Poker Face (b/c Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne).
Films currently on Gem worth the watch:
Incendies
Snowpiercer
Parasite
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Moonlight
And I hear good things about:
Call Me By Your Name
Captain Fantastic
Anyway, this a pretty good start for the non comedy side of Gem.
I'm a fan of Family Feud for kinda mindless trivia questions, and Family Feud Canada ain't bad. The questions aren't real trivia, but survey results, so trying to get in the heads of the average Canadian is fun.