Series Overview

Modern Day “Clans” on the Fringes of Civilization

Each episode in this documentary anthology series takes an in-depth look at a “tribe” that lives within and yet at the fringes of modern civilization.

Members of this tight knit community are defined by their shared occupation, interest or habit… something that pushes them outside the mainstream. They have an intense loyalty to their group. Some “tribes” are hidden in plain sight… others stand out from the crowd.

We will look at cops, Harley Davidson enthusiasts, military wives, firefighters, car tuners and surgers. We will go across Canada looking for the “tribes” with the most interesting stories to tell: East Coast Fisherman, Alberta tar sands roughnecks, Bay Street stock brokers and the strippers in Montreal.

In each episode we will follow 3 members of the “tribe” to weave their stories into a dramatic arc that feeds both emotional connection and intellectual curiousity.

We will see how the “tribe” lives and works. What keeps them together as a “tribe”? What sets them apart? What are they like to live with for their families? What have they gained and what have they lost? What will the future hold for them?

We will talk to sociologists, anthropologists and other scientists to understand the context for the behaviours that we observe and to see how the “tribe” functions as a living, growing organism.

“Tribes of the 21st Century” is for the explorer and voyeur in all of us.

3 x 60 minutes.