Gender roles in rural Canada are exposed again — in the Maritimes this time — as CBC’s The Week the Women Went returns on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

The second season of the reality series is set in Tatamagouche, NS, a town of 700 that sees its wives, mothers, sisters and daughters leave the men to deal with household chores, child-rearing and the fine balance of juggling a family/work schedule.

The first season was filmed in Hardisty, AB, and enjoyed ratings in the 900,000s.

‘The numbers show that urban viewers relate to it,’ says executive producer Cal Shumiatcher. ‘It may be true that gender roles are more clearly pronounced in smaller centers… but I think men and women in large cities also see themselves in these characters. That’s what’s nice about it — it’s universal.’ The show is aimed at young families and 25-54s, and is narrated by actor Art Hindle.

CBC has promoted the show on-air, and anticipation for the new season is brewing. ‘We’ve heard from Nova Scotia Tourism that their Tatamagouche site, which normally gets a couple of dozen hits a week, is getting hundreds of hits a day,’ Schumiatcher says.

From Media in Canada