Can Being Erica, in its third season, become the Canadian Felicity?

By Lorenço Menezes Vieira

The fall season of the United States and also in Canada started. It`s interesting because in Brazil the TV’s season starts in March and here in September. But, there is a reason, in September kids came back to school and it`s the beginning of fall and, then, in a few months, it will become winter, in these two seasons people watch more television because it`s cold and they prefer to stay at home, instead of going out and facing the snow and the wind. In Brazil, it is the same thing. March is the end of Canarval and everybody starts to work and to study, and of course, is the beginning of fall, but, fortunately, we don`t have to deal with low temperatures like people who live in Canada and United States.

I had the opportunity to watch the new season of Glee, I liked it and I could notice that this show is very famous all over the world. In it`s second year, the TV show has two new characters, one of them is a Filipino singer. Other programs that caught my attention was The Event. But something, that I disappointed me, was the fact that there are only few Canadian`s series. I thought that when I arrived in Canada I would see a lot of local productions, because Canada is known as a country that produces a lot of films and series for the United States.

So, the only Canadian show that I have been watching until now is Being Erica, a program that I started to watch in Brazil, I downloaded the first two seasons. I liked the show a lot because I could know Toronto before I had my trip, but I also liked the plot and I think the characters look like some people that I`ve already met here in Canada.

Being Erica tells the story of a thirty year old woman that has a lot of regrets about her life. And things got worse, when she lost her job and also her boyfriend, these events made her think that her life was insignificant and that she would not achieve her dreams. Fortunately, she found a different therapist, he had the power to send her to the past and there, she could try to solve her problems.



The first two seasons, Erica built a new life, she got a good job in a big publishing company and she found what she thought would be her perfect love, she started to date with her best friend. At the end of the second season, the author of the TV show surprised everybody... She destroyed the perfect world that Erica built! Erica lost her job, broke up with her boyfriend, but; at least, in the end, she was secure about her choices and about herself. She is mature compared with the woman that the audience knew in the pilot episode.

I think that the author made the right decision, because Erica`s world was too perfect and also it would be very difficult to continue with the show without this big twist, without drama. But, as we know, big changes, big choices, usually, they also bring a lot of risks.

I remembered that a few years ago, J.J Abrams, the man that created “Lost”, created a TV show called “Felicity” and in the middle of the second season, he had a twist... The main character, Felicity Potter, broke up with her boyfriend and cut her hair. These changes turned into a disaster, the show lost viewers and also, the writers couldn`t keep a good story and started to create situations and new characters that made “Felicity” lose its identity. I think that J.J Abrams learned his lesson and, fortunately, he didn`t commit the same mistakes on “Lost”, he knew how to do the changes and, also, to deal with Lost`s audience.

The first two episodes of the third season of Being Erica presented new characters, new scenarios and also a new dynamic. To be honest, I didn`t like it so much, but usually when we like a soap opera or a TV show, we need some time to get used to new elements. But, some thing that I am sure about is that they have to take care not to commit the same mistakes that J.J. Abrams committed with Felicity.

But, instead of telling all the reasons that I think the author must be careful of, I will not concern about it, as a good audience, I will wait for, time will bring the answers, I will wait the next episodes... I`ll see if Erica will be continuum “Being Erica” or, in this new season, Erica will be the Canadian`s Felicity!