CBC
Unspeakable, the CBC-produced mini-series about the infamous Canadian tainted-blood scandal that infected tens of thousands with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C in the 1980’s, is making its way to US television, premiering on Thursday, April 4, at Midnight ET/9 p.m. PT on Sundance TV.
If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of Sundance TV on your computer, phone or streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
Sundance TV is one of 85-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Sundance on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch episodes of Unspeakable up to three days after they air even if you forgot to record them.
Sundance is included in Philo’s main 44-channel bundle, which is the cheapest among all streaming services if you plan on keeping it long-term.
You can start a free 7-day trial of Philo TV right here, and you can then watch Sundance live on your computer via the Philo website, or on your phone (iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV or or other supported device via the Philo app.
If you can’t watch live, Philo also allows you to DVR programs and watch them up to 30 days later. And even if you forget to DVR something, Philo comes with a 72-hour rewind feature, which allows you to replay any show or event that has aired within the last three days.
PlayStation Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages, while the upper three bundles all include Sundance.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Sundance on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PlayStation Vue comes included with cloud DVR.
‘Unspeakable’ Preview
Unspeakable is an eight-part mini-series that explores Canada’s tainted-blood scandal in the 1980’s. Here’s the synopsis of the show, per the CBC:
In the early 1980’s, AIDS emerged and quickly became an epidemic. Those responsible for public safety failed. Thousands died. A second virus, hepatitis C, infected tens of thousands more. People were kept in the dark, afraid to speak out. Ignorance, arrogance, politics and economics all lead to betrayal, to cover-up, to scandal. Unspeakable is told from the perspective of two families caught in a tragedy that gripped a nation, as well as the doctors, nurses, corporations and bureaucracy responsible. The series follows the decades long saga as people struggled to survive, change the system and battle for compensation for those who desperately needed it.
Later investigations found that more than 1,000 people were infected with HIV and more than 20,000 contracted Hepatitis C from blood transfusions given by the Canadian Red Cross between 1986 and 1990. According to the Krever Commission, 85 percent of the cases of Hepatitis C during that time period could have been avoided.
Four doctors, the Canadian Red Cross and an American drug company were all criminally charged as a result.
The series was created by Robert C. Cooper, who has a unique perspective on the scandal. Cooper, who needed blood transfusions to treat hemophilia, contracted Hepatitis C from tainted blood sometime during the 1980’s. For a long time he was uneasy talking about it, but he explained why he was now comfortable helping tell the story.
“I grew up at a time when you didn’t talk about yourself, and didn’t talk about your involvement in the story,” he said. “I have a bracelet, which I often didn’t wear because I didn’t want people to know that I had hemophilia, because of the stigma and prejudice that was being leveled at people at that time.”
He continued: “I think it was probably being cured that caused me to stop feeling so much like a victim and start looking at this story from the point of view of a storyteller, which is another part of who I am.”
Cooper’s credits as an executive producer, writer and director also include Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe.
Unspeakable stars Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead), Shawn Doyle (Bellevue, Big Love), Michael Shanks (Stargate SG-1, Saving Hope) and Camille Sullivan (The Disappearance, The Man in the High Castle).
After originally airing in Canada in January, it will premiere in the United States with the first episode on Thursday, April 4, at midnight ET, and then the second episode will air Friday, April 5, at midnight ET. New episodes will then air the following Thursday and Friday nights at the same times.