Vancouver: They are calling it the ‘Love Set.’ These Arms of Mine – one of a trio of cbc prime-time series in production in Vancouver – is populated by a behind-the-camera community of couples, kids and geriatric dogs. Among the many happy twosomes: producers Phil Savath and Susan Duligal; actor Babz Chula and her paramour Larry Lynn, the director of photography; and Ben Derrick, the transportation captain, and his wife Laurie Morris, the transportation coordinator.

But more than just added evidence that Canadians weaned on American service production can pull together a viable, contented crew for homegrown work, These Arms of Mine uses its on-set culture as the spark for the show itself. In fact, the line between on-set life and on-camera life is more than a little blurry.

The series , from Forefront Entertainment, is inspired partly by a Christmas-Hanukkah dinner party hosted by Savath and Duligal a few years ago at which guests reflected on the complex relationships ordinary people live with – exes, stepkids, new spouses, gay singles, second families, May-December romancers, not to mention the Jewish guy and the Scottish lass manning the kitchen.

‘Susan asked: Why can’t we write about this?’ Savath remembers. ‘We realized that our complicated lives are not reflected on television. The majority of us are not emergency room doctors. There are small examples of heroism in our everyday lives.’

So they developed a six-part one-hour drama that, as Savath puts it, ‘makes the mundane fabulous.’

These Arms of Mine is about people searching for sustenance in their lives and being open to finding it anywhere. The ongoing story lines of several Vancouver couples and friends are interwoven and resolved in surprising ways, promise the producers. It’s a pitch that worked with the cbc.

‘This show is a total gift,’ says Savath. ‘cbc doesn’t have any money. Nobody has any money. There are already two major cbc series here and they’ve picked up Edgemont Road, too.’

On this misty morning in Vancouver’s Trimble Park, the opening sequence for the fourth episode called ‘Something Wonderful’ is simple enough. Directed by Stuart Margolin (who also plays coffee baron and civic-politician-in-waiting Miles), a group of Tai Chi practitioners glide slowly through their routines against the backdrop of the North Shore mountains. One, the high-powered magazine publisher Esme (Babz Chula), is grounding herself, as she’s approached by her much-younger, much-Asian husband Amos (Byron Lawson), a high-end restaurateur, and their five-year-old son Henry (Ryan Hirakida).

‘Esme and Byron have their age difference, their cultural differences and a child,’ says Chula, who describes the show’s working atmosphere as ‘a goddamned Be-In’ where ‘we are encouraged to bring our personal lives to the set.’

‘Susan and Phil have given me a triple hit,’ she says with a laugh. ‘But there are a lot of people like Esme.’

Chula says a key difference on the set of These Arms of Mine is that she’s been asked by the writers for clues about how Esme might develop. ‘Working with friends and loved ones, there is a whole new level of respect and caring. Hopefully it reads up there on the screen the way it feels on the set.’

Other members of the ensemble cast include Claire (Shauna MacDonald) and David (Alex Carter) who live out another story line about a Toronto new wave singer who moves to Vancouver to build her romance with a photographer.

Steven (Conrad Coates) plays the black, gay drama teacher. Kevin Knight – the show’s black, gay costume designer and one of the many on-set personalities to call Savath and Duligal their friends – was the inspiration for Steven.

For Knight, These Arms of Mine is his first gig as costume designer after credits as a costume assistant in shows such as Viper, Mantis, Sliders and MacGyver.

‘Being friends with Susan and Phil makes it easier for me to get what their characters are about,’ he says outside his trailer at a nearby Chinese restaurant where the Trimble Park crew was set to move next. ‘This is a big cast – 20 people in each episode.

‘Vancouver people are more casual, sporty [in their attire],’ Knight adds. ‘So Claire, being from Toronto, is more severe and wears blacks and greys.’

As for transportation captain Ben Derrick, he says: ‘This set has the magic. It’s cohesive from the producers down. It doesn’t have the corporate feel of u.s. shows.’

Derrick, who works with his wife on the set, previously organized the transportation logistics on Romeo Must Die and Tail Lights Fade. ‘Another difference is that there are a lot more women on set who are working as Teamsters and in lighting,’ says Derrick.

A prime example is Cindy Cleator, the number one lamp operator on the show and one of very few female lamp ops at IATSE Local 891. She is lighting a large round table in the Chinese restaurant in preparation for a coming dim sum scene.

‘This is my first show call,’ Cleator says, explaining that previously she was hired for day calls on shows such as Outer Limits, Detox, Duets and Romeo Must Die. As a lamp op, she works directly with the gaffer and director of photography to light sets.

‘There are a lot of new people on this set – people who are just breaking into the business. For me it’s going really well. I’m well respected on this show. I’m having a really great time. I’m going to be sad to leave it.’

Production wraps Aug. 13.