Fresh off yesterday’s disappointing news that saw Bell Media confirm that they will not be moving forward with a much-deserved third season of THE L.A. COMPLEX, theTVaddict.com thought now might be as good a time as any to offer up five reasons why Netflix Canada should consider saving this national treasure.
Since ratings would indicate that most of you reading this didn’t exactly take the time to check out THE L.A. COMPLEX, allow us to fill you in on a little secret: Thanks in no small part to creator Martin Gero and his writing staff’s ability to take traditional TV tropes and turn them on their head coupled with a fearless cast’s penchant for leaving it all out on the screen, THE L.A. COMPLEX was far and away the summer’s best show you weren’t watching. What’s more, we’re not the only ones who think so. In fact, in bemoaning the disappointing decision by Bell Media to pass on picking up a much deserved third season of the show, Executive Producer Stephen Stohn sited that “THE L.A. COMPLEX drew some of the best critical reviews of any series in Canadian television history.”
Since Netflix entered the Canadian market a little over a year ago, a debate has raged as to whether or not the popular streaming service should adhere to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s requirements that “radio and television broadcasters air a certain percentage of content written, produced, presented or otherwise contributed to by persons from Canada.” And while this TV Addict in no way believes that the internet (and by extension Netflix) should be subjected to the antiquated rules governing our public airwaves, Netflix taking an active role in saving one of the country’s most acclaimed dramas in recent memory would do wonders for the company’s public perception.
While THE L.A. COMPEX didn’t exactly set the [traditional] ratings world on fire — holding the dubious distinction for being the lowest rated U.S. drama debut ever — the show did exceptionally well in the world of streaming. According to The CW President Mark Pedowitz, “[THE L.A. COMPLEX] actually does really well for us both digitally and socially.” According to us, what better way for Netflix Canada to target its digital savvy streaming customer base than to produce a show that speaks directly to them. Plus, with the sets already built and the show already licensed across 170 territories across the globe, one can’t imagine that it would be that costly a pick-up for Netflix Canada.
During a week in which Bell Media complete failed to recognize that it might not be the best of ideas to let news leak out that the company opted to not pick up a third season of a fantastically original high quality Canadian produced series while at the same time announcing plans for yet another “Canadian version” — [Editor’s Note: “Canadian version” is code for cheaply produced and exponentially less entertaining] of an American reality franchise in THE AMAZING RACE: CANADA, Netflix would all but guarantee some fantastically positive press coverage. Particularly in contrast to the increasingly evil and monopolizing ways of Bell Media… that if anyone from the CRTC happens to be reading this… must be stopped.
Take Jewel Staite for example. Her winning portrayal of Hollywood has-been Raquel Westerbook proved to casting directors — once and for all — that she is capable of handling so much more than her science-fiction infused resume might indicate. Which, if you ask this loyal Browncoat [Editor’s Note: That’s nerd speak for FIREFLY fan] is reason enough to continue the series! 
