| Creator: | Elsa Franklin |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Executive Producer: | John Ross |
| Producer: | Elsa Franklin |
| Runtime: | 30 minutes |
55 North Maple was a Canadian afternoon television series which aired on CBC Television in the 1970-1971 television season. The programme was a fusion of talk show, how-to and situation comedy.
A magazine author (Max Ferguson) lives in a house at 55 North Maple with his sister (Joan Drewery) and her husband who was not cast but whose presence is implied. This premise provides a pretext to host various guests to demonstrate food preparation, redecoration or other how-to topics. In one episode, Ferguson described how to make carrot whiskey for guest Harry Freedman, while Drewery hosted other guests to illustrate interior decoration and fashion. A CBC statement described the production as "an information show in semi-dramatic form."
55 North Maple was produced by Elsa Franklin in Toronto at the studios of Robert Lawrence Productions.[1] John Ross was the programme's executive producer who allowed Ferguson "full scope for his inventive genius" and intended that the episodes would be unscripted.[2] This marked a rare television production for Ferguson.[3]
The 1973 Canadian series The Real Magees was a subsequent attempt to produce another talk show which was structured around storyline elements.[4]
The half-hour programme aired weekday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. (Eastern).