Tag Archives: Vinessa Antoine

Plan B

Vinessa Antoine, Vincent Leclerc and Sarah Booth to star in the second season of the CBC original drama series Plan B

From a media release:

CBC today announced a second season of the time-bending original drama series PLAN B (6×60) from KOTV. An adaptation of the popular French-language drama series of the same name (now in its fourth season for Radio-Canada), season 2 will focus on a completely new story, starring Vinessa Antoine (Diggstown, Interrogation), Vincent Leclerc (lxe-13, The Revenant), and Sarah Booth (Three Pines, Heartland).

The new season follows Mia Coleman (Antoine), a Montreal police officer. Mia is approaching her fortieth birthday and grieving the end of her relationship with her ex, and her ex’s son, whom she embraced as her own. At work, the constant injustice she faces gnaws at her own sense of purpose. Mia’s already tumultuous life is turned upside-down when a seemingly routine intervention in a family crisis involving Paul (Leclerc) and Keri Whitman (Booth) results in the worst imaginable outcome. What if Mia and her partner Tyler had the evidence that would have prevented this life-altering event? Through Plan B, a strange agency that can take her back in time, Mia will stop at nothing to prevent a family tragedy, and will embark on a journey during which she’ll delve deep into her own psyche, confronting buried emotions and an unresolved past. Could Mia’s chosen path be a desperate but subconscious attempt to heal her own wounds? Season 2 of PLAN B explores the mind of a woman who, in her efforts to change a family’s destiny, discovers her own.

A CBC original production, PLAN B is produced by Quebec-based production company KOTV, with international distribution by Red Arrow Studios International. Jean-François Asselin, who co-created the original French-language series, directs and also co-writes, with Celeste Parr, this English adaptation. Asselin also serves as Showrunner and Executive Producer, alongside Louis Morissette. For KOTV, Louis-Philippe Drolet, Celeste Parr, Mélanie Viau, Jacques Drolet and Aisling “Ash” Chin-Yee are Executive Producers. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports; Trish Williams is Executive Director, Scripted Content; Sarah Adams is Director of Current Production, Drama; and Nicola Makoway is Executive in Charge of Production.

Plan B Internationally
The French series is enjoying great success on the international market. Adapted and broadcast by TF1 in France in May 2021, the made-for-France adaptation of the series starring Julie De Bona rose to the top of the charts. In Flemish Belgium, the adaptation broadcast in March 2021 was also a great success. Additionally, Season 2 won Best Scripted Format at the 2020 C21 International Format Awards.

Pier-Luc Funk (Genesis, Matthias & Maxime) stars in Season 4 of the original Quebecois version of the series. This new season is available in the Vero.tv section of ICI Tou.tv Extra and currently airing on ICI Télé.

About KOTV
For over a decade, Montreal-based company KOTV has partnered with renowned creators to bring a multitude of programs in fiction, documentary, variety, magazine and youth to the screen. A leader in the field of production, adaptation and television distribution, KOTV is distinguished by its ability to renew itself. Its ambitions know no borders and the company continues to ascend by opening up to new markets via original English-language productions through international co-productions, and by exploiting its drama and variety formats around the world.

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Diggstown

Marcie Diggs’ fight for justice to end in Season 4 of Diggstown

From a media release:

Season 4 of DIGGSTOWN will offer audiences a dramatic final chapter for titular character Marcie Diggs (Vinessa Antoine), starting on Wednesday, October 12 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem. The six-episode finale season will be a tumultuous ride filled with searing emotional battles and transitions driven by trauma, where even though the victories are few and hard fought, Marcie and her team continue to be relentless in their fight for justice right until the very end. The series finale will air on Wednesday, November 16.

“For four seasons we’ve had the pleasure of bringing Marcie Diggs and the beauty of the communities of Dartmouth, Halifax, Charlottetown, North Preston and East Preston into homes across Canada. We’re so grateful to have been able to walk this journey with our incredible cast led by the force, that is, Vinessa Antoine. It’s been a privilege to collaborate with the amazing team of production professionals in Nova Scotia, Ontario and PEI who brought Diggstown to life. Your commitment to making Diggstown its best will always be remembered,” said Floyd Kane, creator, showrunner and executive producer.

“Diggstown has always been fearless in its portrayal of the inequities that still exist in the Canadian legal system and our country as a whole, through authentic storylines and powerful performances,” said Sally Catto, General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports, CBC. “We are honoured to have partnered with Diggstown through four compelling seasons. Thank you and congratulations to Floyd, Amos, Vinessa, the entire cast, crew and creative team and our production partners at Circle Blue Entertainment, Freddie Films Inc. and Waterstar Entertainment Inc for everything you’ve achieved with Diggstown.”

In the final season of DIGGSTOWN, Marcie is struggling mentally and physically after last season’s shooting, while she faces threats and defections from all sides. As she grapples with one crisis to the next, a former ally’s actions threaten to spell the end of Marcie Diggs & Associates. This season will zero in on mental health, the plight of migrant workers, the treatment of a pregnant trans man within the healthcare system, sterilization of Black women and Indian Day School abuse, among other true to life stories. 

Created by Floyd Kane (Across the Line), who serves as showrunner and executive producer, Season 4 of DIGGSTOWN stars Vinessa Antoine (Being Erica) as Marcie Diggs; Natasha Henstridge (Species) as Colleen; Antoinette Robertson (Dear White People) as Vivian; Brandon Oakes (Through Black Spruce) as Doug; C. David Johnson (Street Legal) as Reggie; Nicole Muñoz (Van Helsing) as Ellery; Shailene Garnett (Shadowhunters) as Iris; and Dwain Murphy (Degrassi: The Next Generation) as Avery. Cast regulars also include Arlene Duncan as Velma Diggs, Maurice Dean Wint as Austin Diggs, Matthew Bennett as Steve Conway, Jenny Brizard as Emily Diggs, and Kim Roberts as Ona Reeves. Mpho Koaho returns as Percy Lincoln, Crystle Lightning as Michelle Knockwood, Tim Rozon as Carson Myers, Karen Leblanc as Marcie’s aunt, Rolanda Diggs, along with Stacey Farber, who reprises her role as Pam MacLean.

Joining the cast this season as The Clawford family – a powerful farming family of the fictional Goldenview Fields in the Atlantic provinces – are John Maucere (No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie) as patriarch Ewan Clawford who communicates with his family and team using American Sign Language (ASL) throughout the six episodes; Fiona Highet (Rookie Blue) as Ewan’s wife Regina; with Rigo Sanchez, Donald Maclean Jr., Zahra Bentham, and Dorren Lee, in the roles of their children Brian, Walt, Kristin and Andrea, respectively. Keeya King (Yellowjackets) appears as Trudy Willis, the girlfriend of migrant worker Basil Allen who makes a plea to Marcie regarding allegations that workers are being mistreated at Goldenview Fields.

DIGGSTOWN is an authentic legal drama that highlights the very real inequities that exist in the Canadian legal system and has never shied away from delving into issues of class, race, and gender. After years of lobbying, last season’s birth alert storyline helped to call enough attention to the issue that a few weeks following the broadcast, the province of Nova Scotia dropped the controversial practice; one of the last Canadian provinces to do so.

A CBC original drama, DIGGSTOWN is co-produced by Circle Blue Entertainment, Freddie Films Inc. and Waterstar Entertainment Inc. Floyd Kane is creator, executive producer and showrunner and Amos Adetuyi (Jean of the Joneses) is executive producer along with Brenda Greenberg (Being Erica) and Karen Wentzell (Seed). Directors for the season are Cory Bowles (Black Cop), Rama Rau (Honey Bee), Shamim Sarif (SkyMed) and Floyd Kane. Ronald Gilbert (Quantico) is producer. Series writers are Kane, Lynn Coady (Burden of Truth), Ellen Vanstone (Departure), Lakna Edilama (Utopia Falls), Roxann Whitebean (SkyMed), Caleigh Bacchus (Murdoch Mysteries), James Battiston (Shoot the Messenger) and JP LaRocque (Coroner). Series cinematography by Ken Leblanc (Diggstown), production design by Krystyna Byers (Christmas in Toyland) and costume design by Claire Nadon (Three Pines).

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Awards, Diggstown, Pure

Screen Nova Scotia announces 2020 award winners

From a media release:

Screen Nova Scotia hosted its sixth annual awards gala on Friday, December 4th. Due to COVID-19, the event was held virtually with all video packages available for viewing on Screen Nova Scotia’s Vimeo page (HERE).

The awards gala celebrates the incredible talent, creativity, and passion that are the trademarks of Nova Scotia’s screen industry. Notable awards include the ACTRA Awards for Outstanding Performances, the Film Crew Excellence Award, the Industry Champion Award, the Women in Film & Television Atlantic Award, and the Community Recognition Award, along with the Screen Nova Scotia Awards for best television, film, and animation.

The night’s finale was the Screen Nova Scotia Award for Best Feature Film, which went to the critically-acclaimed indie drama Murmurfrom writer/director Heather Young and producer Martha Cooley. The micro-budget film — funded through the Telefilm Canada Talent to Watch Program — centres on Donna (Shan MacDonald), a lonely, alcoholic woman who is ordered to perform community service in an animal shelter after being arrested for drunk driving. When she rescues an elderly dog from being euthanized, she quickly becomes obsessed with saving animals to the detriment of her own well-being. Young also took home the Best Nova Scotia Director Award from Women in Film & Television – Atlantic.

The second season of Pure (WGN America) from showrunner Michael Amo and Two East Productions was crowned the winner of the Best Television Series Award, while Cory Bowles won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Male Role for his role in the series as Detective Jay Gates.

Rebel Road Films’ Wildfire (written/directed by Bretten Hannam) won the Best Short Film Award. The Indigenous Two-Spirit film was adapted into the feature film Wildhood, which recently wrapped filming in Nova Scotia (with a Spring 2021 release date).

Vinessa Antoine won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead or Featured Female Role for playing lawyer Marcie Diggs in the CBC series Diggstown. Antoine made history in 2019 as the first Black Canadian woman to helm a prime-time drama in Canada. Gay Hauser also won for her role on Diggstown, taking home the award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Female Role.

Allister MacDonald won Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead or Featured Male Role for his role as the drag queen Joan of Arkansas in Thom Fitzgerald’s feature Stage Mother. MacDonald starred alongside Jacki Weaver, Lucy Lui, and Adrian Grenier in the film.

The Best Documentary Award went to Conviction from Teresa MacInnes, Ariella Pahlke, and Nance Ackerman. The feature doc envisions alternatives to prison through the eyes of women behind bars and those fighting on the front lines of the decarceration movement. Digital animation was also spotlighted at the awards, with Boomerang’s Care Bears: Unlock the Magic winning Best Animated Series for the Halifax-based Copernicus Studios.

This year’s prestigious Industry Champion Award was awarded posthumously to locations manager Shaun Clarke, accompanied by a tribute video. Shaun worked as a locations manager, scout and actor for over 35 years and was a pillar in the screen industry and community. A snapshot of Shaun’s credits include The Lighthouse, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Black Cop, The Healer, Trailer Park Boys, Mr. D, and Call Me Fitz, along with countless commercials and short films.

Siblings Elizabeth, Joanne, and Robert Hagen won the 2020 Film Crew Excellence Award. Together they have more than six decades of experience working on film, television and commercial productions in Nova Scotia. Joanne works as a script supervisor (recent credits include Books of Blood, The Good House, The Lighthouse); Elizabeth as a production accountant (recent credits include Pure, Cavendish, and Let’s Get Physical); and Robert as an assistant accountant and payroll accountant (recent credits include Escaping NXIVM and Polaroid). The Hagens were nominated for their contribution to the industry and for their positive, kind, and professional demeanour, even when working long hours in high-stress situations. Currently, all three are working on the EPIX series Chapelwaite, filming in N.S.

The 2020 Community Recognition Award went to Brian Shaw, Production Security (Chester, Nova Scotia). For over 20 years, Brian and his team have kept film sets and communities safe, working for productions including  Haven, Cavendish, and Pure.

The Screen Nova Scotia Awards were made possible this year due to the generous support of our sponsors, including Support4Culture, a designated lottery program that supports arts, culture, and heritage in communities across Nova Scotia; and CBC. Special thanks to 902 Post and the Hideout Studios.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Diggstown, Featured

Diggstown creator Floyd Kane breaks down Season 2’s shocking opening scene

The first minutes of Diggstown‘s second season debut will leave you on the edge of your seat. As “Amazing Race” swells, a woman’s body is thrown through the air in a slow-motion dance that ends in tragedy. It’s a shocking return for the CBC legal drama.

Returning Wednesday at 8 p.m., Diggstown follows lawyer Marcie Diggs (Vinessa Antoine) and the team at Halifax Legal Aid, lead by Colleen MacDonnell (Natasha Henstridge). Fellow lawyers include Pam MacLean (Stacey Farber), Reggie Thompson (C. David Johnson), Doug Paul (Brandon Oakes) and Iris Beals (Shailene Garnett).

We spoke to creator Floyd Kane about those emotionally draining opening moments.

One of the things that have set Diggstown apart for me is the dialogue. I’ve listened to so many shows where the dialogue between characters seems really forced and Diggstown doesn’t feel like that. Another CBC series, Coroner, feels natural as well. Is that hard to write dialogue to make it sound natural?
Floyd Kane: It’s very hard, but I give a lot of credit to our actors, they kind of put a little bit of their own dust on it. But for me, it’s always interesting because when I’m trying to write, especially for communities that I don’t know, you’re always trying to get the voice in your head. That’s the thing that it’s the most challenging part is just making sure that you’ve got that voice in your head properly.

Before we talk about Season 2, let’s go back a bit into Season 1. Were there some takeaways for you, things that worked in Season 1, things that maybe you thought you could have done a little bit better moving into Season 2?
FK: Definitely. I think that every season of the show you’re learning something more. I think in the first season you’re learning certain things like what actors could handle what. Who can you give more to? These are all things that come up.  Our show is a procedural and in the first season, there were very few continuing elements. And so this season what we did is we incorporated some continuing storylines. Viewers want a contained story, but they also want to be able to get some bits of character that they can pull on too.

It would appear that in the very first episode you hint at what may be a season-long story with Avery being handled the case and taking out the photo of Marcie in there. I’m assuming that’s going to last more than a couple of episodes. 
FK: For sure. Episode 4 of Season 2 is actually a big episode for Marcie and Avery and Pam in terms of their relationship to one another.

You start out the season in slow motion, with an accident and ‘Amazing Grace’ being played. It’s very effective. Why did you decide to start off like that?
FK: We had written … I think there was a full-blown sequence involving cars and kids crossing the street, a high-speed chase. We are not a $4 million show. I sat with the director and we started noodling, ‘Well how do we do this?’ And he had an idea and then I kind of said, ‘Well something I would really want us to try to do, and see if it works, is play that from the point of view of the person who’s been hit by the car and have them falling through the air, and we’re seeing what they’re seeing. That’s where that came from. It just was really trying to figure out, ‘What’s the cool visual way to stage that?’

It’s interesting to have the police officer be Asian and being defended by Marci because you were able to have her community turn against her. Was that always the way that you wanted to go for that main storyline?
FK: Here’s where that all came from. We wanted to do a cop killing involving a black person this season. We had written on the board, it was going to be a white woman shooting an unarmed black person. And we knew that we wanted it to be a single mom who was killed. I watch a lot of television and I’m like, every show is doing the black person being killed by a white cop.

I don’t want to do this. There has to be a different way. And that’s when we sat in the writing room and it was like, ‘OK, it’s not going to be a shooting, it’s going to be a high-speed chase and they’re going to kill this black woman. That was where that came from. And then, I wanted the cop to the Asian because I just wanted to have that conversation. I want people, when they watch the episode, to think about the relationship that exists between the black communities in this country and the Asian communities in this country. I think these are communities that don’t necessarily talk as much as they should.

What type of writer are you? Are you the type of writer that likes to be in a room quiet and quietly when you’re writing? Do you prefer a coffee shop with a lot of noise around you? 
FK: I love the coffee shop. My wife says I have undiagnosed ADHD so I have a hard time when I’m alone, getting down to brass tacks with the writing. But if I’m in a coffee shop … because I have all of this noise around me, and I have my headphones in so I’m listening to a podcast or something. I can just like blaze through. That’s how I work.

Diggstown airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail