Let’s keep this short and sweet.  Michael Seater/Stacey Farber sitcom 18 to Life will air on American networklet The CW.  A two-episode block will air from 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT every Tuesday for six weeks, starting August 3, 2010.

18 to Life was originally set for both ABC and CBC.  ABC bowed out after the pilot, leaving CBC to go it alone.  An average of 553,000 viewers watched 18 to Life in first run on CBC earlier this year.

I’m a bit surprised The CW will air 18 to Life, even if it is filler for a relatively minor program service.  18 to Life hasn’t drawn great ratings for CBC Television.  Then again, The CW’s normal summer ratings suck, and The CW needs a low-cost summer strategy beyond reruns of The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl.

I like how American sites and magazines note how four Canadian shows will grace American network prime-time schedules this summer.  It’s cheaper for an American network to buy a Canadian program than to launch an American one.  American cable’s learned to live with this reality for years, and it still puts out series like White Collar and True Blood.  What’s the big deal?

18 to Life‘s (CBC: premiered January 4, 2010, 8:00 PM ET/PT) grand concept is simple.  Two 18-year-olds marry on a dare.  One family’s conservative, the other liberal.

It’s a standard, well-worn sitcom premise, but 18 to Life at least does something with it.  While the first episode has problems, 18 to Life has the promise most debuting CBC shows don’t.

Stacey Farber is merely okay as Jessie Hill, while Michael Seater nails awkwardness very well as Tom Bellow.  They’re veterans of Canadian kids’ television, Farber playing Ellie Nash on Degrassi: the Next Generation and Mary on Dark Oracle.

Michael Seater’s big role was as Derek Venturi on Life with Derek, although he’s been on Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, The Zack Files and ReGenesis.  Both Farber and Seater can handle adult roles, although 18 to Life feels like an aged-up teen drama at times.

As Tom’s father Ben Bellow, Peter Keleghan doesn’t stray from the aloof authority figure he’s made a trademark.  Ellen David isn’t horrible as mother Judith, but she and Peter don’t have good chemistry.  Maybe it’s due to them playing conservatives, although Keleghan only breaks out of Jim Walcott Mode when he’s doing voiceovers for Ruby Gloom and Producing Parker.

Angela Asher and Alain Goulem are better as Tara and Phil Hill.  They actually complement each other, making for a believable married couple.  They’re right for their roles the way Keleghan and David aren’t.  The Hills and the Bellows initially fight, but decide to work together in order to destroy the dare-based marriage.

18 to Life‘s chief strength is that it’s slicker than the average CBC sitcom.  There’s the usual awkwardness common to Canadian sitcoms, but 18 to Life doesn’t incessantly tell the viewer how Canadian and open-minded it is.

18 to Life isn’t that funny, but it’s not actively bad.  It’s miles beyond whatever Little Mosque on the Prairie‘s trying to be.

18 to Life is the only show that could do well for CBC Television this winter.  Michael Seater has had prior exposure on the Disney Channel, thanks to Life with Derek.  TeenNick won’t let Degrassi: the Next Generation die.  If nothing else, 18 to Life is aiming for a specific demographic.  That’s something I can’t say for Republic of Doyle.

I know, CBC’s midseason 2010 lineup is day-old news by now.  Weirdly enough, the news is still current.  Odd, that.  Program highlights from CBC’s Winter 2010 schedule:

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New Shows

Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town | Tuesday, January 12: 9:00 PM
18 to Life | Monday, January 4: 8:00 PM
Republic of Doyle | Wednesday, January 6: 9:00 PM
Best Recipes Ever | Monday, January 4: 3:00 PM (weekdays)

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Miscellany

The Border will end its current season January 7 and 14 in the Thursday 9:00 PM timeslot.  Doc Zone will move to The Border‘s Thursday timeslot starting January 21.  Frankly, I like Doc Zone much better than The Border.

Marketplace will debut its 37th season Fridays at 8:30 PM, after a rerun of Tuesday’s Rick Mercer Report.  The Nature of Things will move to Thursdays at 8:00 PM by January 7.  Steven and Chris will return with new episodes, starting January 4 at 2:00 PM.

There will be a few specials.  Test the Nation: IQ will air Sunday, January 24 at 8:00 PM.  Gordon and Leah Pinsent’s Love Letters will air in the timeslot the following week.  Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story, a miniseries, will air March 28 and 29 at 8:00 PM.

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CBC’s midseason prime time shows sound better than usual, in that I don’t automatically hate any of them.  There’s no sure-to-fail idea like MVP: The Secret Lives of Hockey Wives or The One.  There’s no surefire hit, but not everything on CBC can be Dragons’ Den or…ugh…Battle of the Blades.

I “love” the comments at CBC.ca’s site.  Life with Derek is a “never heard of canadian drama”?  Life with Derek was on Disney Channel for four seasons, and that’s in the Hannah Montana/Jonas/Wizards of Waverly Place hypermarketing-to-tweens era.  What an obscure show.

Also, nothing’s good on CBC Television save hockey, Canadian content is shit, yammer yammer yammer.

The trailer for 18 to Life isn’t that bad.  It’s certainly more engaging than Little Mosque on the Prairie.  Peter Keleghan plays his patented WASPy Dumbass^™ character, but 18 to Life doesn’t seem forced like Republic of Doyle.  Watch some trailers and judge for yourself.