Review: 'X Company'

It only takes about six hours to drive to Canada from my front door, but in television terms I might as well be living in Finland. There aren''t a lot of legal ways to watch Canadian-produced TV shows in the U.S., if you discount the small number that are eventually picked up by an American network to fill some open spot in their summer schedule.

Which is a shame, because there are some really well-made shows coming out of Canada and a perfect example of that is "X Company," a well-made and action-packed drama that premieres Wednesday night on the CBC.

"X Company" is an eight-part series set in World War II and it focuses on the work done at Camp X, a secret spy facility built in Canada on the shores of Lake Ontario. It was the first training facility of its kind in North America and it was the place where Canadian, American and even British agents were taught the skills they'd need to survive behind enemy lines.

Episode one is split between the camp and a group of agents who are scrambling to survive in a French village occupied by a brutal Nazi commander. They learn of a plan to kill everyone in the town as a way of revenging a recent attack. The agents have an idea that might stop the massacre, but they risk exposing other agents and bringing German attention to the spies living among them in France.

The premise alone is promising but creators Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern have crafted a taut and pared down show that barely gives viewers a chance to take a breath. TV shows set during WWII can often get lost in period feel. But while the story takes place seventy years ago, the action is as fast-paced and unexpected as the most current of television dramas.

The idea for the show has apparently been kicking around for more than a decade, but Ellis and Morgenstern spent much of the past few years with their successful police drama "Flashpoint." That circumstance probably helped "X Company," which shares a lot of its style with that show. In  fact, "Flashpoint's" Hugh Dillon is also in "X Company," playing Duncan Sinclair, the commander of Camp X. The tightly-written scenes pull you along at a breakneck speed and while the acting is solid it never gets in the way of the story.

The ensemble is first-rate and it includes some actors you might have seen in other shows. Lara Jean Chorostecki ("Hannibal") plays Krystina, the leader of the all-female communications department at Camp X. The five agents are played by Evelyn Brochu ("Orphan Black"), Warren Brown ("Luther"), Connor Price ("Being Human"), Warren Brown ("Luther") and Dustin Milligan ("90210"). And there's Alfred (Jack Lasky), who is an unsettling mix of a near-perfect memory and an aversion to violence, surprises, loud noises or pretty much anything else you would find in a normal war environment. He's in the midst of being recruited in episode one and it'll be interesting to see how he fits into the show in later episodes.

"Flashpoint" did do fairly well in the U.S. once it was picked up by CBS and here's hoping the same thing happens with "X Company." This is a really well-made, adventure-packed drama that offers viewers a glimpse into a world that they probably never knew existed. "Agent Carter" is one of the few American television action dramas that has a period setting, but

its solid ratings show there's a willingness by audiences to give those type of shows a try. Let's hope they get the chance with "X Company," which is already one of my favorite new dramas.