From Sean Sullivan of The Gauntlet:
Screen Time: Why we should be excited about Canadian television
Two years ago, if I listed off my favourite shows, not one of them would have been Canadian. As a Canadian, I would still have rather watched American television than Canadian television. But that has changed recently. A handful of Canadian shows have been getting attention, two science fiction shows in particular.
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It’s a reality-show heavy podcast much to Anthony’s delight, as we talk about all things Orphan Black, the amazing ratings of The Amazing Race Canada, Rookie Blue’s renewal, Mr. D and Being Human in production, a new Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir series, W Network’s fall season, and the Food Wars.
Episode 144: Listen or download or subscribe via iTunes or with any other program via the TV, Eh? feed.
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From a media release:
CTV Presents World Broadcast Premiere of Space Original Series ORPHAN BLACK Beginning Aug. 16
CTV announced today that it will present the world broadcast premiere and first-ever network run of the hit conspiracy thriller ORPHAN BLACK later this summer. The Space original series from Temple Street Productions, produced in partnership with BBC America, will be introduced to new viewers on Friday, Aug. 16 when it begins its first-ever run on a conventional network, leading to a Season 1 finale on CTV in the heat of the fall season in mid-October. The 10-episode, one-hour series will air in primetime Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times) and on the CTV Mobile channel on Bell Mobile TV. Season 2 of ORPHAN BLACK was ordered by Space and BBC America in May, with production on 10 new episodes set to begin this September in Toronto.
The CTV broadcast comes following series star Tatiana Maslany’s (Picture Day) Critics’ Choice Award win for Best Actress in a Drama Series, and a recent Television Critics Association Award nomination for Individual Achievement in Drama. As Maslany’s star continues to rise, she is currently featured on one of four covers for Entertainment Weekly’s Comic-Con issue on stands now. ORPHAN BLACK cast members Maslany, Jordan Gavaris (Felix), and Dylan Bruce (Paul), along with series co-creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett will also be appearing at Comic-Con in San Diego, with a panel tomorrow evening.
Anchored by Maslany, at its core ORPHAN BLACK (Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT) centres on English punk and streetwise hustler Sarah who returns home after being separated from her daughter. But her homecoming isn’t exactly what she expected. After witnessing the suicide of a woman, Beth, who looks just like her, Sarah takes over Beth’s life, including her job as a cop as well as her boyfriend Paul (Dylan Bruce, NCIS). Sarah soon discovers that she and Beth are clones, and as she becomes embroiled in the mystery, she learns that there are more of them out there – all genetically identical individuals nurtured in completely different circumstances. As Sarah begins to unravel the mystery surrounding their identities, she also ends up fighting for her life when an assassin begins killing the clones one by one.
ORPHAN BLACK also stars Jordan Gavaris (UNNATURAL HISTORY) as Felix, Sarah’s foster brother, a struggling artist worldly beyond his 23 years; Gemini Award-winner Maria Doyle Kennedy (DOWNTON ABBEY) as Mrs. S, Sarah and Felix’s hard-nosed working class foster mother; Kevin Hanchard (REPUBLIC OF DOYLE) as Art, a veteran detective who works alongside Beth; Michael Mando (THE KILLING) as Vic, Sarah’s sporadically violent ex; Skyler Wexler (ALPHAS) as Kira, Sarah’s seven-year-old daughter; Matt Frewer (50/50) as Dr. Aldous Leekie, an academic with an edge and philosopher of the human organism; and Evelyne Brochu (MIRADOR) as Delphine, a student working on her Masters in Molecular and Cellular Biology who becomes intertwined in the mystery.
In the series premiere of OPRHAN BLACK entitled “Natural Selection†(Friday, Aug. 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV), Sarah (Maslany) witnesses the suicide of a stranger who looks just like her, and assumes Beth’s identity. Planning to clean out Beth’s savings to buy a new life for her and her daughter, Kira (Wexler), Sarah’s simple score turns deadly when she finds out that Beth was caught in the middle of a deadly conspiracy, making Sarah the next target.
ORPHAN BLACK is produced by Temple Street Productions in association with Space and BBC America. Executive producers are Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier (BEING ERICA) at Temple Street Productions, and co-creators Graeme Manson (Cube, FLASHPOINT), and John Fawcett (SPARTACUS, THE SECRET CIRCLE). Manson also serves as writer and Fawcett as director. Production Executives are Trish Williams and Gosia Kamela. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Catherine MacLeod is Senior Vice-President, Specialty Channels, Bell Media. Rick Brace is President, Specialty Channels and Bell Media Production. Phil King is President, CTV Programming and Sports. BBC Worldwide is distributing the series internationally.
From Jaime Weinman of Maclean’s Magazine:
Come on, Tatiana Maslany plays the entire female cast: Can Orphan Black beat the sci-fi curse to win an Emmy?
Can Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany get an Emmy award nomination for Orphan Black? When the first season of the show aired earlier this year, the answer would have seemed to be no: Major awards don’t go to series about women cloned from the same genetic material. “Our show is a little weird and a little bit niche, and that’s what I love about it, but it’s definitely not for everybody,†says Maslany, who has played seven different clones so far and may have more to come. But recently, there’s been what Ivan Schneeberg, co-president of the show’s production company, Toronto-based Temple Street Productions, describes as “a groundswell of support for her.†Maslany won best actress at the recently established Critics’ Choice Awards, beating out better-known actresses such as Claire Danes—and various critics and celebrities, such as comedian Patton Oswalt, are calling for Emmy nominators to recognize her work. “The showrunner of Lost is writing about it,†Maslany says happily. “People with industry cred are backing it. It’s awesome.†Continue reading.
