22 Minutes

I'll start the ball rolling:

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 and schitts creek

North of North is a cute lighthearted show I'd recommend.

A good tool to find what's well rated or popular is just watch

https://www.justwatch.com/ca/provider/cbc-gem

I'm really enjoying Son of a Critch. It's a coming of age / family comedy. It's a really cute show.

We love Schitt’s creek

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

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.

I have a soft spot for corner gas

Lana Longbeard is great if you are looking for an Adventure Time-esque cartoon

I wish there was a Canadian option for watching old school Trailer Park Boys, but I think Netflix has the monopoly on that right now.

And no one recommended Murdoch Mysteries yet???

Canadian: Saint Pierre, Canada's Ultimate Challenge, Schitt's Creek, Kim's Convenience

International: Colin from Accounts, Families like Ours

My mom is a huge fan of Still Standing - the stand-up comedy guy, not the sitcom.

I like documentaries, so I'd like to recommend Canada: A People's History and Stuff the British Stole.

Not your question, but you may have Kanopy access as well through your public library.

Along with other suggestions above, I’ve really enjoyed Travel Man - travel show with Richard Ayoade (IT Crowd, and many other credits).

Tall Boyz: absurdist sketch comedy somewhat evocative of Kids in the Halls (which makes sense Bruce McCulloch was executive producer). Or hell just watch old Kids in the Hall.

Haven't gotten around to seeing it myself but I've heard North of North is pretty good. It's a sitcom set in Nunavut

Das Boot is also really good. A very raw and suspenseful Second World War drama set both in occupied France and inside a German submarine. There's also no "pretend this guy isn't speaking english" thing which is pretty cool. The actors actually speak German when their characters speak German, French when they speak French, etc. So most of the show is subtitled.

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.

"Please like me"

I loved Sort Of, wholesome and funny queer comedy if you're into that sort of thing.

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.

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.

Dragon's Den

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.