TV, eh?

From The Sydney Morning Herald:

• The Guide Tuesday: Durham County

From Jonathan Storm of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

• TV series shows Canada in a dark, new light
  “Ah, our friends to the north. Rosy cheeks, cute toques, friendly and cooperative. Durham County, returning Sunday on the hard-to-find ION Network, will erase those stereotypes forever. It might be the grimmest thing on TV, and that includes HBO and Showtime.” Read more.

From a media release:

Principal Photography Begins on the Third Season of Durham County

Principal photography on the third season of the award-winning series Durham County has begun in Montreal. Nominated for 13 Gemini awards, winner of 5, and praised by the New York Times as “entirely addictive,” this six-part, one-hour drama series features returning stars Hugh Dillon (Flashpoint), Hélène Joy (Murdoch Mysteries), Laurence Leboeuf (Human Trafficking) and Greyston Holt (Smallville) and new cast member Michael Nardone (Rome) as Detective Ivan Sujic.

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From Thomas Francis of the New Times Broward-Palm Beach:

• Can a Serial Killer Save a West Palm-Based Television Network?
  “Durham County has a sneaky way of getting under your skin. Maybe it’s the familiar anytown where it’s set. Or the way the characters line up along a moral spectrum that gets so blurry that even the serial killer seems human. Or at least not the monster that serial killers are in other movies and TV shows.” Read more.

Why yes, I am bribing people to chat up Canadian TV right now. Join the fun and blog, email, or Twitter your thoughts for the chance to win some great prizes, courtesy The Movie Network/Movie Central/HBO Canada, CBC, and TV, eh? Click here for all the details.

Here’s a small sample of what people are saying so far:

Alex Epstein at Complications Ensue:

• Divorced, Beheaded, Died
  “I really enjoyed the first two seasons of (The Tudors); but not on the CBC. The BBC version clocks in at about 51 minutes, the CBC version had to be edited down to 44 or so. I found the CBC version to be quite choppy, if you’ll pardon the expression, with odd priorities. So I watched Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD.” Read more.

• This is What I’m Talking About
  “Shows like DURHAM COUNTY are worth making just because they’re fun, scary, creepy detective shows; and if you like the dark, Laurie Finstad and director Adrian Mitchell ladle out darkness enough for any appetite. But, together with FLASHPOINT and CORNER GAS and the other exports, they go a little way towards giving the rest of the world a sense of who we’ve become. And that’s a value in its own right. Okay, Steven Harper?” Read more.

From Groove Kittie:

• Teeeeeeeeee Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, eh!
  “The Border: OH MAN! Talk about a cliffhanger! I’m a bit anxious about this one being a bit of a Gray/Layla shipper. :S On the upside, my favourite characters (Gray and Slade and Maggie) were untouched by the blast. Hey. I’m trying to keep positive here. *trembles* And just to make things a little bit worse, the premiere isn’t until October 8th. Way to drag out the suspense, CBC. *flail* Evil bastards! October 8, 2009 / CBC” Read more – she talks about Flashpoint, Murdoch Mysteries, and Sanctuary, too.

Check out #tveh on Twitter for even more Canadian TV chatter.

And enter the contest – deadline’s Monday!

From Curt Wagner of Chicago Now:

• ION brings moody, marvelous ‘Durham County’ to U.S.
  “Thank the ION network for bringing this moody Canadian drama to U.S. audiences. A winner of several awards up north, “Durham County” will have you looking under your bed before you go to bed and over your shoulder when you venture outside the next morning. It’s that unsettling.” Read more.

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From Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times:

• You Think Life Is Mild North of the Border?
  “Any lingering illusion that Canada is a milder, blander version of the United States is dispelled by “Durham County,” a Canadian-made crime series that begins on Monday on the Ion network. It takes a while to realize that this scary, well-made thriller was not made in America. Durham County has all the signposts of a Hollywood production: lush theme music and stark cinematography, a brooding homicide detective, barbaric rapes and murders, philanderers, sociopaths, yoga moms and alienated teenagers.” Read more.

From Elizabeth Jensen of the New York Times:

• Network’s New Energy Source: The Dark
  “If the series succeeds in the United States, Ion plans to take a greater creative role in Season 3, which will start shooting for Canadian television in October, said Leslie Chesloff, Ion’s executive vice president for programming.” Read more.

From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:

• Sophisticated and sinister drama was made for adults
  “It’s not easy to classify Durham County (TMN, Movie Central 9 p.m.). Much has been written about the series, and sometimes attempts to define the genre to which it belongs invoke the term ’suburban malaise.’ That’s fine, but the series, which reaches its second-season conclusion tonight, is not really about the suburbs. If there’s any tincture of truth in that definition, then Durham County is about a suburb of the mind, and a sick mind at that. It is great, grown-up TV (it will air later on conventional TV). Let’s classify it as that. It’s disturbing and bleak, and it’s wrong to reduce it to a drama about the suburbs. It’s about angry, unhappy people who could be anywhere.” Read more.

In honour of Durham County’s season two premiere tonight, here’s a link to my November interview with the actress:

• Michelle Forbes Delves Into The Darkness Of Durham County
  Forbes found herself “riveted” by the first season of the series. “I was really seduced by the darkness of it, by the truth of it. Laurie Finstad (Knizhnik), our writer, has this extraordinary ability to hold up this frail, human dark side of ourselves and confront it. That was what was so compelling to me and made me jump at the chance to be a part of it.” Read more.

From Andrew Ryan of the Globe and Mail:

• Something wickedly good comes from these suburbs
  “The great Canadian suburb is revisited in tiny little shadows and creepy little thoughts with the return of Durham County (tonight, Movie Central at 8 p.m., and The Movie Network at 9 p.m.). Life in the big city has never looked safer.” Read more.

From Rob Salem of the Toronto Star:

• Forbes’ list is filled with variety
  “If an actor can be judged by their choice of roles – keeping in mind that choice isn’t always an option – then Michelle Forbes was bound to be a fascinating, formidable and fearless woman.” Read more.

From Bill Harris of Sun Media:

• Laurence Leboeuf’s career takes off
  “Tonight on The Movie Network and Movie Central, Leboeuf will continue her role as Sadie Sweeney in the second-season debut of the dark and acclaimed Canadian drama Durham County.” Read more.

DURHAM COUNTY – SEASON 2 (CANADIAN ORIGINAL SERIES)

Premieres Monday, July 13 at 9 p.m. on The Movie Network (8 p.m. PT on Movie Central in Western Canada)

The Gemini Award-winning series returns to follow Detective Mike Sweeney who is on a career high after capturing serial killer Ray Prager, but whose personal life is coming apart at the seams as his wife pleads for a divorce and his daughter struggles to come to terms with the anguish left behind by a killer. While investigating a new murder, Sweeney finds himself caught in a game of cat and mouse as he finds himself increasingly emotionally bound to a villain who is ruthless and cunning. Starring Hugh Dillon, Michelle Forbes, Hélène Joy, Laurence Leboeuf and Greyston Holt.

From Chris Lackner of Canwest News Service:

• A career flashpoint: Hugh Dillon returns with acclaimed Durham County
  “Hugh Dillon’s single-handedly saving Canadian television. ‘The shallow part of me would like to take all of the credit,’ he says jokingly of the success of Durham County, his award-winning and critically acclaimed series that returns for a second season Monday on The Movie Network and Movie Central.” Read more.

From Bill Harris of Sun Media:

• Hugh Dillon enjoying success
  “Two hit shows and a new CD — it’s a win/win situation for Kingston actor-musician Dillon.” Read more.

• Two Solitudes helps Dillon with dark role
  “Not speaking French while working in Montreal has helped Hugh Dillon formulate the isolated, brooding character that is Mike Sweeney of Durham County.” Read more.

From Cassandra Szklarski of the Canadian Press:

• Summer season offers bright future for new scripted-TV shows
  “Still, a summer slot is a great way for a show to distinguish itself from established fare and get a leg up in an increasingly tough landscape, says “Flashpoint” co-creator Mark Ellis, whose Toronto-based cop drama was a ratings hit when it debuted last summer on CTV and CBS.” Read more.

From Muse Entertainment:

More betrayal and terrifying secrets are unleashed when Durham County returns for another electrifying season. In season two, newly promoted homicide Detective Mike Sweeney struggles to keep his family together as they try to come to terms with the anguish left behind by a serial killer. He also develops an intense bond with a brilliant but deeply troubled forensic psychiatrist who works in his department.

From a media release:

Same Town. Darker Secrets. Durham County Returns for a Second Season on Movie Central and The Movie Network

• Starring Hugh Dillon, Hélène Joy, Laurence Leboeuf, Greyston Holt and new to season two Michelle Forbes
• Premieres Monday, July 13 at 8 p.m. PT/ 9 p.m. ET

Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central (Western Canada) and Astral Media’s The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) visit Durham County for a second season. Winner of five Canadian Gemini Awards, two Directors Guild of Canada awards and the CFTPA Indie Award for Best Series, the cinematic, unflinching and darkly sophisticated series is back with more betrayal and terrifying secrets from the bleak landscape of suburban life. The six-part new season premieres Monday, July 13, 2009 at 8 p.m. PT on Movie Central and 9 p.m. ET on The Movie Network.

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From a media release:

MOVIE CENTRAL AND THE MOVIE NETWORK GREENLIGHT SEVEN NEW ORIGINAL PRODUCTIONS

Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central (Western Canada) and Astral Media’s The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) today announced that seven new Canadian original projects have been greenlit for production. Featuring some of Canada’s top creative talent, this new slate includes original series Bloodletting, Phantom, The Pillars of the Earth, Living In Your Car, Meet Phil Fitz, Durham County and the made for television movie Fakers.

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Premieres Monday, July 13 at 9 p.m. (8 p.m. PT on Movie Central in Western Canada)

The Gemini Award-winning series returns to follow Detective Mike Sweeney who is on a career high after capturing serial killer Ray Prager, but whose personal life is coming apart at the seams as his wife pleads for a divorce and his daughter struggles to come to terms with the anguish left behind by a killer. While investigating a new murder, Sweeney finds himself caught in a game of cat and mouse as he finds himself increasingly emotionally bound to a villain who is ruthless and cunning. Starring Hugh Dillon, Michelle Forbes, Hélène Joy, Laurence Leboeuf and Greyston Holt.