Tag Archives: Discovery

Comments and queries for the week of December 9

Thank you, Canada’s Worst Driver

To Andrew Younghusband and Canada’s Worst Driver, I am not a bad driver but I am a frightened driver from a terrible car accident. I have watched your show since Season 3 and I want to thank you for the confidence your show has given me. Hints and instructions I have received while watching saved me the other night from another accident.

At first, when I returned to driving, I was probably a danger to myself and others from being so nervous. LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO is the key that saved me from hitting a huge buck while driving home after dark. If stressed while driving, I think of Andrew and your show to improve a positive thought pattern while I am driving in any weather or tense driving situation. I repeat only the secret to success, “look where you want to go.” When I returned to driving I pulled over on the shoulder every time an 18-wheeler was behind me. It took me a long time to get anywhere!

Your show changed my life and gave me freedom from fear and the ability to become a better driver. Your show has made a huge difference in my life and many others. Thank you sincerely from my heart. —Virginia


Is Heartland’s Gobi desert storyline a dud?

“Galvanizing” isn’t quite the word. It’s more like even a lot of the people who otherwise are enjoying the show think it outright stinks. It’s a dud. It’s nice that the actor is happy, but it’s pretty clear this was one of the worst story decisions, especially in timing, the show has ever made. —Kelly

The episode in which they introduced the Gobi bear storyline was horrendous. I like the show, but half the episodes are poorly written and eye rollingly idiotic. There’s probably four bad episodes for every one good episode. I think maybe certain writers think they have to dull things down for a family audience. I’ll watch this show to the end because it’s telling a rural Western Canadian story but it’s never been a favourite. It’s a shame too because in the episodes that are written well it is a great show. —Alicia

I love Heartland and the direction they are taking it into this season. It is great to see them stretch the relationship of Ty and Amy without breaking it. I love the reflections Amy places on her relationship with Ty over the past few seasons while driving to the doctor’s office. It would beautiful to see this from Ty’s end as well. Keep making a beautiful and enjoyable family show for all of us. —Steven

Great interview Graham, love your passion and commitment to Heartland. I work with dogs and the connection with animals is so very real, they struggle with emotions just like us, they have same medical problems we have, they have social issues, separation issues. For you wanting to show that hopefully next year will be awesome. I can see Ty working more in the reserve or more wild animals coming into the clinic. But whatever happens you are a great actor with a great love to telling the truth to every story. Hope you never leave Heartland. —Karen

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or @tv_eh.

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Link: Allan Hawco’s new Frontier

From Tony Wong of the Toronto Star:

Link: Allan Hawco’s new Frontier
Allan Hawco is Canadian television’s most prolific multi-tasker.

His latest venture has his production company helming Discovery Channel’s first scripted TV show, Frontier, in which he also has a substantial acting role.

But strangely, for someone as productive as Hawco his latest outing must feel like vacation, considering he starred in CBC’s now cancelled Republic of Doyle and was also showrunner, head writer and co-creator. Continue reading.

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Link: New epic Canadian series ‘Frontier’ shakes the dust and cobwebs from fur-flying history

From Bill Harris of Postmedia Network:

Link: New epic Canadian series ‘Frontier’ shakes the dust and cobwebs from fur-flying history
Historical dramas about the United States are commonplace, but they’re rare in Canada. I’ve often wondered why that is.

“I wonder that, too,” said Allan Hawco, one of the stars and executive producers of the epic new Canadian historical drama Frontier, which debuts Sunday, Nov. 6, on Discovery. “I wonder, is it our psyche as a nation?” Continue reading.

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Jessica Matten heads into a new Frontier for Discovery

Jessica Matten is grateful for the chance to co-star on APTN’s Blackstone, Ron E. Scott’s gritty series spotlighting the issues First Nations people face on a reservation. Though Blackstone is a fictional reservation, stories of alcohol and physical abuse, and land rights are certainly based on fact.

“It was awesome to be a part of a show alongside a lot of people from my childhood,” Matten says of her character, Gina. “It was a full-circle thing. And to talk about issues that really matter to me and are close to my heart was really cool to be a part of.” Blackstone was one of her first major acting roles for the actor and Aboriginal fitness company owner and paved the way to her biggest gig to date in Discovery’s Frontier.

Debuting Sunday at 9 p.m. ET, Matten plays Sokanon, a skilled warrior, hunter and tracker in Declan Harp’s (Jason Momoa) Black Wolf Company, a small fur trade outfit taking business from the faltering Hudson’s Bay Company in 1700s Canada. Co-created by Rob and Peter Blackie, Frontier‘s six-episode first season (it’s since been picked up for a sophomore go-round) is a sprawling, violent adventure outlining the founding of Canada. As Matten describes it, it truly was an ordeal to work next to Momoa as his right-hand. Not.

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(l-r) Momoa and Matten

“It was gruelling,” she says with a laugh. “All my girlfriends were like, ‘Did he take off his shirt?'” She wouldn’t confirm whether her co-star doffed his top, but does say he’s one of the most down-to-earth people she’s met and has nothing but good things to say about production and everyone involved. Sokanon is an Ojibway character alongside Momoa’s Declan, a Métis, and the Black Wolf Company consists of First Nations’ members coming together under his rule. A situation that occurs in Sokanon’s life causes her to join the gang, who are as much out to protect the land from Lord Benton (Alun Armstrong) and the HBC as they are to make money trading pelts. Matten likens Frontier to a Canadian Game of Thrones in that everyone is fighting for land rather than a throne.

While her fellow co-star, Shawn Doyle—he plays fur trader Samuel Grant in Frontier—is used to being part of period pieces (he assumed the role of John A. Macdonald in CBC’s 2011 TV-movie John A.: Birth of a Country), Matten never thought she’d perform in a historical project because of what she calls a “contemporary First Nations look,” and recalls the irony in being cast because of her lineage.

“I’m actually a direct descendant of the first Métis leader, Cuthbert Grant and Louis Riel, the nephew of Cuthbert Grant,” she says. “In a lot of ways, I feel as though I’m honouring my ancestors and this is a full-circle experience for my family. Things happen for a reason, and I really believe in that.” The battle over land rights has been an issue since the days in which Frontier is set and continue today, and Matten uses that in her portrayal of Sokanon.

“As much as Sokanon is a warrior, she struggles with what Harp is doing and what is right and what is wrong,” she says.

Frontier airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Discovery.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Shawn Doyle channels Donald Trump in Discovery’s Frontier

Though Donald Trump has very much become a punchline for many, Shawn Doyle is dead serious when he says the presidential hopeful influenced his latest TV character.

“There is something about the guy’s sense of entitlement and narcissism and overwhelming ambition and greed that was fun to play,” Doyle says. “There is an impetuousness and even childishness to him that sort of comes up as the season goes on.” The Newfoundland native is referencing Trump, but also describing Samuel Grant, a rich entrepreneur in Frontier, Discovery’s stunning dramatization of Canada’s history via the fur trade.

Debuting Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on Bell Media’s specialty channel, Doyle’s Samuel comes up against Declan Harp (Jason Momoa), a violent, wild fur trader who is gaining control of the land as the Hudson’s Bay Company begins to crumble. The high-profile actors are just two of nearly two-dozen, including Landon Liboiron as Michael Smyth, an Irish lad who stows away in a ship and ends up in the New World; Lord Benton (Alun Armstrong), a high-ranking officer at the HBC; Sokanon (Jessica Matten), a critical member of Declan’s group; Douglas Brown (Allan Hawco) an independent trader; and Cobbs Pond (Greg Bryk), Samuel’s right-hand man. (Check out the key cast via our photo gallery.)

Co-created by Rob and Peter Blackie, Frontier has already been renewed for Season 2 by Discovery ahead of Sunday’s six-episode first season debut; we spoke to Doyle about the role and what viewers can expect from the series.

Congratulations on Season 2 of Frontier being ordered before Season 1 has even aired. I wasn’t surprised, really. There is such a big cast and so many stories to tell, six episodes just aren’t enough.
Shawn Doyle: I’ve also got The Expanse and Bellevue, so I’ve got a pretty full slate at the moment.

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(l-r) Shawn Doyle and Greg Bryk

Let’s talk about your Frontier character, Samuel Grant. He’s a powerful man in the fur trade and seems destined for a collision course with Declan Harp. What can you tell me about Samuel?
Samuel Grant is actually loosely based on two figures: John Jacob Astor who was, at the time, the richest American and the richest man in North America and who became connected with the fur trade out of Montreal and ultimately made his first fortune with the fur trade when the trade situation was such that he could capitalize on Canadian-American trade. And then he went ahead and bought up all the real estate in Manhattan.

Samuel is also based on another guy by the name of Simon McTavish who was one of the central figures of the North West Company, which was the Hudson’s Bay Company’s only real rival at the time. Both of these guys are well-documented. For me, John Jacob Astor was the template that I jumped off with an as I started to play it, he kind of morphed into Donald Trump. There is something about the guy’s sense of entitlement and narcissism and overwhelming ambition and greed that was fun to play. There is an impetuousness and even childishness to him that sort of comes up as the season goes on.

Something I noticed about your portrayal of Samuel is his smooth movements, no wasted energy with this guy. Was that a conscious decision as well?
Thanks for saying that, because that was a big part of finding that character through the movement. It certainly had a lot to do with the clothes because they fit you in a certain way and restrict movement and there are heels in the shoes, etc., etc. I really wanted to get a sense of danger and for me, that was about stillness and conservation of movement and I hope that, throughout the season, there will be moments that are surprising and that you see another side to him that is in direct contrast to that.

It’s all about those contrasts. It’s what makes these characters worth playing.
For me, I always try to look at—and I’m not always successful at it—to try and find the danger in a character. Danger doesn’t necessarily mean physical danger. It can mean an unpredictability in emotion or movement or tone … it can be anything. I know I’m successful when I surprise myself. Then I know other people will be surprised. That’s what the goal is, and with Samuel Grant, it’s about finding this very rooted place to go from that can send me in all sorts of different directions.

How did you get involved in Frontier? Did Allan Hawco and the Take the Shot guys get in touch because you were on Republic of Doyle and because you’re from Newfoundland?
They contacted me and asked me to do it. I’ve known them from Republic of Doyle and I’m originally from Newfoundland and I’ve done a number of projects there both producing and acting. They were wanting to get me on the show in one way or another, which I was very appreciative of. At the time, I couldn’t really commit to a role that was going to take a lot of time because I was optioned to The Expanse and Samuel Grant was one of a couple of roles they approached me about originally. I don’t even know that I can tell you why, in particular, this one was the one I gravitated towards.


I’m really interested in any project that tries to show a much more balanced and nuanced version of the relations between the various First Nations and Europeans.


As a Canadian, I’m excited to see these stories told and many in Frontier are based on fact. 
For me, a guy who recently got his First Nations status as Mi’kmaq, that all happened after I played John A. Macdonald—one of the most horrendous people against First Nations people in the history of Canada—I’m really interested in any project that tries to show a much more balanced and nuanced version of the relations between the various First Nations and Europeans. It’s one of the things that really excites me about this.

This cast has something like 20 players in it and yet the writing doesn’t feel cluttered or rushed at all. What can you say about the writing that Rob and Peter Blackie have done?
I think they accomplish something that not a lot of people are able to accomplish, and that’s being able to take such a comprehensive view of the world and put it all together in a seamless way. That’s an amazing feat, I think, particularly when you’re trying to honour the truth and the subtleties of so many different factions and how they interplay with each other. I know they did a lot of consulting with various First Nations groups and that has made a big difference in the writing. I wouldn’t be able to make it as compelling as possible. I think the danger with a show like this is that it can often come off as dry. Their genius and the reason why this show will, hopefully, be a tremendous success is because they have dramatized it and made it really, really exciting.

Frontier airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Discovery.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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