Tag Archives: Amazon Prime

Links: The Lake, Season 2

From Heather M. of TV Goodness:

Link: Julian Doucet talks The Lake Season 2
Hey there, campers. Cottage season starts this Friday when Prime Video’s ridiculously silly, in the best possible way, summer series The Lake returns for Season 2. Continue reading.

From David Friend of the Canadian Press:

Link: Arson and marriage: Actor Jordan Gavaris takes risks in new season of ‘The Lake’
Jordan Gavaris says he knew returning to “The Lake” for a second season of summertime madness could’ve meant his character got tangled in the same conflicts as the first time around. Continue reading.

From Bill Brioux of Brioux.tv:

Link: Jumping into The Lake with Jordan Gavaris
With summer just over a week away, it’s time to jump back into The Lake. The Prime Video series has just returned for a second season. Continue reading.

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Links: Three Pines

From Murtz Jaffer of the Toronto Star:

Link: For Alfred Molina, playing Armand Gamache in ‘Three Pines’ is a privilege
Alfred Molina is used to playing just about every kind of character imaginable over an impressive 44-year career, but his latest project presented a different type of challenge. Continue reading.

From Johanna Schneller of The Globe and Mail:

Link: Three Pines, based on Louise Penny’s wildly successful novels, arrives on screen
Three Pines, the new Prime Video series premiering Dec. 2, began as ought-to-be-Canadian and ended up yes-Canadian-enough. Continue reading.

From Elisabetta Bianchini of Yahoo:

Link: ‘Three Pines’: Alfred Molina’s most affecting work comes in Canadian drama focused on Indigenous stories
Alfred Molina may be best known for his work in films like Spider-Man 2 and Boogie Nights, but it’s a new Canadian-based Prime Video series from Amazon Studios, Three Pines (premiering Dec. 2), adapted from Louise Penny’s best-selling books, that may be his most affecting piece of work yet, co-starring Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. Continue reading.

From Brian Tallerico of Roger Ebert.com:

Link: Alfred Molina Grounds Smart Mystery Series on Prime Video
The latest in the genre is a pleasant little surprise at the end of 2022, a very solid procedural that hands the inspector’s notebook to the great Alfred Molina, who steps into the role of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, a character made famous in a series of prevalent novels by Canadian Louise Penny. Continue reading.

From Michael Hogan of The Telegraph:

Link: Three Pines, review: humdrum Canadian crime drama is thawed by Molina’s kindly sleuth
Radiating intelligence and looking soulfully out at the world from beneath those beetling brows, Molina was born to play a shrewd-but-kindly sleuth. Continue reading.

From Rosemary Counter of Vanity Fair:

Link: This Time, Louise Penny Thinks She Got It Right
But nobody loves the character more than Penny herself, as Chief Inspector Gamache is based on her late husband. No wonder, then, that she wasn’t quick or keen to give up (some) creative control of the character to Left Bank, producer of The Crown. Continue reading.

From Derek Lawrence of Vanity Fair:

Link: Alfred Molina Thinks He May Have Found the Best Role of His Career
“I fell in love with the books. I think what mainly drew me was the complexity of the character, how multi-layered he was, and how very different he was from a lot of detectives that we see on TV.” Continue reading.

From Brendan Kelly of the Montreal Gazette:

Link: Three Pines adapts Louise Penny’s bestselling detective novels
It will be interesting to see if Québécois viewers will take issue with the fact that a British actor was chosen to play Chief Inspector Armand Gamache in the Amazon Prime adaptation of Quebec author Louise Penny’s bestselling detective novels. Continue reading.

From Michael Pickard of Drama Quarterly:

Link: Deer in the spotlight
Now, for her latest project, Deer has joined the directing roster of Three Pines, a Prime Video series based on Louise Penny’s novels about Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Filmed in Montreal and Quebec, the show stars Alfred Molina as Gamache, who is called upon to investigate a spate of murders in the seemingly idyllic village of Three Pines, where he must uncover long-buried secrets and face up to a few ghosts from his own past. Continue reading.

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Prime Video announces the premiere date for Canadian Amazon original series The Kids in the Hall

From a media release:

Today, at the Prime Video Presents Canada showcase event, Prime Video revealed the premiere date and official trailer for the new Canadian Amazon Original series The Kids in the Hall, produced by Broadway Video. The iconic Canadian comedy troupe—Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson—is back with a new season of their groundbreaking sketch series, featuring a fresh batch of fun offbeat characters and beloved favourites, with sketches that pack a satirical punch, laced with the hilarious, edgy, and fearless comedy The Kids are famous for. The Canadian Amazon Original series The Kids in the Hall will be available exclusively on Prime Video on May 13 in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

First premiering in 1989, the original Emmy-nominated The Kids in the Hall was an alternative comedy sensation that developed a die-hard fanbase while influencing countless comedians and performers. The new season marks the return of The Kids, with eight new episodes featuring all-new sketches from the beloved comedy troupe. The season’s guest stars include Paul Bellini, Pete Davidson, Catherine O’Hara, Kenan Thompson, Brandon Ash-Mohammed, Will Forte, Catherine Reitman, Samantha Bee, Fred Armisen, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Jay Baruchel, Eddie Izzard, Tracee Ellis Ross, Mark Hamill, and Colin Mochrie.

The Kids in the Hall is produced by Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video and Canadian production company Project 10. The Kids in the Hall is created, written, and executive produced by Foley, McCulloch, McDonald, McKinney, and Thompson, with executive producers also including Michaels, Britta von Schoeler, and Andy Garland for Broadway Video, Andrew Barnsley and Ben Murray for Project 10, and Garry Campbell. Kelly Makin and Julie Klausner are co-executive producers. Mark Valdez serves as producer for Broadway Video. Other producers include Jen Goodhue, Colin Brunton, Jen Kirkman, Matt Watts, and Norm Hiscock.

Joining the revival series on Prime Video will be the previously announced The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks, a two-part documentary produced by Blue Ant Studios, which recently premiered at SXSW and will screen at the Hot Docs Festival in May. The Canadian Amazon Original The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks will launch on May 20 in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

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Amazon Prime Video and Left Bank Pictures begin production on the scripted Canadian Amazon original drama series Three Pines

From a media release:

Amazon Prime Video and Left Bank Pictures today announced the start of production on the Canadian Amazon Original drama series, and second original scripted series, Three Pines. Filming in Montreal and rural Quebec, the series stars Alfred Molina and is based on Canadian author Louise Penny’s New York Times- and Globe and Mail-best-selling Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. The eight, one hour episode drama will film from August to December and launch exclusively on Prime Video in Canada, U.S., UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Greenland. Sony Pictures Television will handle all other international sales.

The series follows Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (Alfred Molina) of the Sûreté du Québec, a man who sees things that others do not: the light between the cracks, the mythic in the mundane, and the evil in the seemingly ordinary. As he investigates a spate of murders in Three Pines, a seemingly idyllic village, he discovers long-buried secrets and faces a few of his own ghosts. Additional cast members include Rossif Sutherland, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Tantoo Cardinal, Clare Coulter, Sarah Booth, Anna Tierney, Julian Bailey, Frédéric-Antoine Guimond, Pierre Simpson, Tamara Brown, Marie-France Lambert, Frank Schorpion, Marcel Jeannin, Georgina Lynn Lightning, Crystle Lightning, Isabel Deroy-Olson, and Anna Lambe.

Louise Penny’s highly acclaimed, best-selling mystery series has won the CWA New Blood Dagger award, as well as multiple Agatha, Anthony, Dilys, and Arthur Ellis awards. In 2021, a reader survey conducted by The Washington Post ranked Chief Inspector Armand Gamache the most beloved fictional detective, beating out such characters as Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.

Three Pines comes from Amazon Studios and is produced by Left Bank Pictures, the Sony Pictures Television-owned production company behind The Crown, with Canadian production company Muse Entertainment providing production services. The series is executive produced by Andy Harries, Sharon Hughff, and John Phillips for Left Bank Pictures. Additionally, Sam Donovan, Emilia di Girolamo, and Alfred Molina serve as executive producers. The series is written by Emilia di Girolamo, who adapts the novels as lead writer, and Catherine Tregenna will pen two additional episodes. Directors on the series are Sam Donovan, serving as lead director, Mohawk director Tracey Deer, and Daniel Grou. John Griffin will series produce. Tracey Deer also serves as Indigenous consultant, alongside Katsitsionni Melissa Fox. IllumiNative will also consult on the series.

The series is part of Prime Video’s continued investment in Canada, following the revival of the sketch comedy The Kids in the Hall, docuseries All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs, comedy-variety series LOL: Last One Laughing Canada, scripted comedy The Lake, and special Rupi Kaur Live. Since 2015, Amazon Studios has filmed 24 Amazon Original series and films in Canada, including The Man in the High Castle and Upload in Vancouver, The Boys and The Expanse in Toronto, Tales from the Loop in Winnipeg, as well as parts of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and The Voyeurs in Montreal.

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Amazon Prime Video begins production on the first scripted Canadian Amazon original comedy series – The Lake

From a media release:

Amazon Prime Video today announced the start of production of the first scripted Canadian Amazon Original series, The Lake. Set in cottage country, the 30-minute episodic comedy will film in northern Ontario from August to September. The Lake stars Jordan Gavaris (Orphan Black), Julia Stiles (Hustlers, The Bourne Identity) and Madison Shamoun (#blackAF, Black-ish). The series will launch in 2022 and be available exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

The Lake centres on the quintessential Canadian cottage experience, and one man’s attempt to recreate his childhood memories in an effort to re-connect with his biological daughter. Produced by AMAZE and filmed in northern Ontario, the series taps into the family bonding, relaxing in nature and the peacefulness of cottage country then turns it on its head, with petty rivalry, strained relationships, day drinking, and mosquito-ravaged sunburns.

In The Lake, Justin (Jordan Gavaris) returns from living abroad after a break-up with his long-term partner, in the hope of reconnecting with the biological daughter that he gave up for adoption in his teens. His plans to create new memories with his city-loving daughter Billie (Madison Shamoun) at the idyllic lake from his childhood go awry when he finds out his father left the family cottage to his “picture-perfect” stepsister, Maisy-May (Julia Stiles). Additional cast include Jon Dore (Funny As Hell, Humour Resources), Carolyn Scott (Pushing Tin, Goosebumps), Natalie Lisinka (Orphan Black, The Expanse), Travis Nelson (Tucker and Dale vs Evil) and Declan Whaley (Criminal Minds).

The Lake is produced by AMAZE, with Michael Souther and Teza Lawrence serving as executive producers for AMAZE (Carter, Call Me Fitz), and is written and executive produced by Julian Doucet (Killjoys, St Nickel). The Lake comes from Amazon Studios and is part of Prime Video’s continued investment in Canada. The Lake is the fourth announced Canadian Amazon Original series following the revival of the sketch comedy The Kids in the Hall, docu-series All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs, and comedy-variety series LOL: Last One Laughing Canada. Since 2015, Amazon Studios has filmed 24 Amazon Original series and films in Canada, including The Man in the High Castle and Upload in Vancouver, The Boys and The Expanse in Toronto, Tales from the Loop in Winnipeg, as well as parts of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and The Voyeurs in Montreal.

The Lake will join the thousands of TV shows and movies from Hollywood and worldwide in the Prime Video catalog including award-winning and critically acclaimed Amazon Originals like The Tomorrow War, The Underground Railroad, Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm, The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, and Emmy and Golden Globe award winners Fleabag and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, all on Prime Video, which is available at no extra cost for Amazon Prime members.

Prime members will be able to watch all episodes of The Lake anywhere and anytime on the Prime Video app for smart TVs, mobile devices, Fire TV, Fire TV stick, Fire tablets, Apple TV and stream online.

Image courtesy of Peter Stranks.

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