Heart-warmers, rom-coms and guilty pleasures on CBC Gem
12 romance stories you can watch on CBC Gem, for those cheesy, lovey-dovey days.
Love stories can be complicated yet exciting and exhilarating. They capture the essence of what rings true for most: the inherent desire for a deeper bond with that special someone who understands them better than they understand themselves.
From romantic dramas to rom-coms, CBC Gem has you covered with many different flavours of the most beautifully intricate romance stories.
Who doesn't love a romantic historical drama? This one has a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with critics consensus: "A rich period drama that tugs at the heartstrings as deftly as it satisfies the mind."
Brooklyn is based on the novel of the same name, set during a time when Irish migration to New York was booming. The story follows Eilis Lacey (played by Saoirse Ronan), an Irish immigrant who lands in 1950s Brooklyn and quickly falls in love with a local Italian man, Tony (Emory Cohen). Things get complicated when her past catches up with her and she finds herself having to temporarily return to Ireland. Lacey must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within.
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Cairo Time has the novelty and excitement of traveling and romance. It's a romantic drama about a brief, unexpected love affair that catches two people completely off-guard — and also a love letter to the city of Cairo.
The leading lady, Patricia Clarkson, delivers a performance that has the critics mesmerized. Moira MacDonald of the Seattle Times said "Clarkson lights up Ruba Nadda's stately drama Cairo Time like the moon on a summer night, making every moment luminous with quiet, resigned longing."
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This bittersweet drama, directed by Canada's Sarah Polley, might provoke mixed feelings. When Margot (Michelle Williams), a freelance writer and Daniel (Luke Kirby), a handsome artist, meet while on a business trip, there's an immediate chemistry and attraction.
But they soon realize that they are neighbours and Margot admits she's married. Her increasing fascination with Daniel starts getting to her, and Margot is no longer sure if she's happy in her marriage with Lou (Seth Rogen) or if she'd be happier with Daniel.
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When Calls the Heart (5 Seasons)
This is one of those heartwarming romances the whole family can enjoy. When Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow), a young teacher accustomed to her high society life, accepts a teaching position in the small town of Coal Valley, she struggles to adapt to the 19th-century coal town. Thatcher finds new purpose and love with a handsome Royal Canadian Mountie, Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing).
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A Canadian film — directed by Mina Shum, who also directed a couple of episodes of CBC's Murdoch Mysteries and Frankie Drake Mysteries — follows Jade Li (Sandra Oh) whose parents want her to marry a nice Chinese boy but she falls for a slightly awkward Caucasian university student, Mark (Callum Keith Rennie).
Li is caught between the traditional and modern worlds and has to figure out how to please her family, who would not approve of her choice, while also remaining true to herself. Naturally, something's gotta give and the facade of the perfect Chinese daughter begins to slip as she tries to achieve a happy medium — double happiness.
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What happens when a young couple rush into marriage too soon? This contemporary romantic comedy sees Franny (Eve Hewson, daughter of U2's lead singer Bono) and Noah (Avan Jogia) experience all the feels of a new romance and marriage but when Franny connects with a colleague at work, she spends her first year of marriage in a tricky situation and turns to her mother (Andie Macdowell) for advice.
Toronto Star noted Paper Year is "a fresh, modern and charming look at the messy nature of young love."
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A story of a bipolar woman (Orphan Black's Tatiana Maslany) and a grief-stricken man (Downton Abbey's Tom Cullen) who, after recently becoming exclusive, struggle to forge a simple life. It's a moving depiction — with rave reviews — of how mental illness can affect a relationship.
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Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe is Wallace in this 2013 rom-com which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and subsequently was named one of Canada's top ten by TIFF.
Burned out from a string of failed relationships, Wallace forms an instant bond with Chantry, who lives with her longtime boyfriend. The chemistry is undeniable and these "besties" start to wonder if your best friends can be the love of your life.
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If you're into rom-coms such as Love Actually and Crazy, Stupid, Love, then you'll like Dirty Singles. Jack (Paul Campbell) and Megan (Alex Paxton-Beesley), the perfect couple with a perfect house and perfect jobs, turn out to be anything but in this coming-of-age movie about young adults who take their first faltering steps toward maturity.
As the couple break up, the effect trickles down to the rest of the characters and they find themselves dealing with STDs and all kinds of shenanigans but in turn end up learning many lessons.
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All Benny (Dov Tiefenbach) wants to do is be more confident, stop thinking so much and fall in love. When he has a chance encounter with a woman (Zoë Kravitz) obsessed with the notion of fate and a magical kind of love, he may finally have the opportunity.
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Dr. Cabbie is the heart-warming journey of Deepak (Vinay Virmani), a young Indian doctor who immigrates to Canada and for bureaucratic reasons is forced to become a taxi driver alongside his friend Tony (Kunal Nayyar of the Big Bang Theory).
After having to deliver a baby in his cab he decides to turn it into a mobile clinic and continue illegally treating patients in it. Romance with his first patient Natalie (Adrianne Palicki) blossoms while it simultaneously becomes clear that he is on a collision course with the medical establishment.
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Last but not least, a story of a rebellious teenager, Claire (Tatiana Maslany), forced to repeat her last year of high school who is caught between adolescence and adulthood — and between two very different male admirers, Jim (Steven McCarthy) and Henry (Spencer Van Wyck from Degrassi: The Next Generation).
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