TV series

Power Play

1998–2000 · 2 seasons

A grounded, talky workplace drama where boardroom manoeuvres and personal grudges simmer beneath the surface of professional sports.

Overview: Power Play was a Canadian television drama series, which aired on CTV from 1998 to 2000. The series was filmed at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario. The show starred Michael Riley as Brett Parker, a former New York City sports agent who became the general manager of a National Hockey League franchise, the Hamilton Steelheads. One of the throughline plots of the series dealt with Parker's ongoing love–hate relationships with the sport, the team and his superior at McArdle Industries, corporate executive Colleen Blessed, played by Kari Matchett. The cast also included Gordon Pinsent as team owner Duff McArdle, Jonathan Crombie, Jennifer Dale and Al Waxman. The show's theme song was a modernized version of the Stompin' Tom Connors classic, "The Hockey Song", performed partly by Connors himself, and then transitioning to the performance of the band Rusty. The show was briefly aired on the US network UPN, starting in 1999, but was pulled after just two episodes. The second episode aired in the US has the distinction of being the lowest-rated episode of any prime-time TV series ever aired by any US network.
How it feels: Tense, earnest and melancholic. Measured and needs your attention.
About: Work, power, ambition, loyalty
Content: Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown