From Linda Barnard of the Toronto Star:
The Canadian Screen Awards’ First timers club
For 16-year-old Calgary native Charlie Storwick, the Canadian Screen Awards mark plenty of firsts: first red carpet, first long black dress and first CSA nomination for her first acting role as teen-run toy company tech-head Piper Gray on the YTV teen comedy Some Assembly Required. Continue reading.
It’s almost impossible to read the synopsis for Gangland Undercover and not think of Sons of Anarchy. Like the long-running FX series, History’s newest offering spotlights leather-clad men astride motorcycles who pack guns and mete out their own form of justice via violence.
Unlike Sons of Anarchy, however, Gangland Undercover is based on fact. Written by Charles Falco, Vagos, Mongols and Outlaws: My Infiltration of America’s Deadliest Biker Gangs outlines his three-year double-life as a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives informant who became a member of the California-based Vagos biker gang and took them down from the inside. The reason Falco did it in the first place? He was given the choice to be an ATF informant or go to jail for over 20 years on drug charges.
Debuting Monday on History, the six-part Cineflix production stars Damon Runyan (Haven) as Charles Falco, the man tasked with becoming a trusted member of the Vagos gang. Opposite Runyan is Paulino Nunes (Bitten) as Schizo, the president of the group. The first episode quickly sets up Falco as a man caught in a tight spot and deciding that infiltrating the Vagos was his best option. For Runyan being able to ride with the gang meant one thing: learning to actually ride.
“As soon as I got the audition I signed up for the driving course, because that was my way in with my wife,” Runyan says with a laugh. “Then once I got the role I was buying a bike. There was this massive, explosive argument and I’ve been riding ever since.” It’s an attractive lifestyle, being part of a brotherhood who spend their days on the road, drinking and enjoying a somewhat transient life. It can be a dangerous one too, and not from the possibility of being stabbed, beaten or shot.
Check out the exclusive two-minute sneak peek of Gangland Undercover.
“When you’re riding in formation, you have to trust everyone because you have no buffer,” Nunes, a motorcycle veteran who has owned his own bike for five years, says. “You have a bike a few feet around you on all sides and if anyone messes that up, you all go down.” You have to ride through anything: Runyon was stung by a bee while Nunes got eyefuls of dust because he was wearing aviator shades during the first ride of the season.
Trust is a major factor in any motorcycle gang, and though Schizo welcomes Falco into the Vagos family, not everyone is happy with the rookie member. Falco’s fictional criminal backstory is constantly called into question and he’s pushed into more dangerous criminal activity as a way to ferret out his true identity and intentions. Pair that with scenes set in dark bars, a throbbing rock beat and the odd fistfight, and Gangland Undercover is as exciting as that other series that just finished its run.
But this is based on the truth.
Gangland Undercover airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on History.
From Melissa Hank of O.Canada.com:
Gangland Undercover a fast-paced, fact-based ride
History’s new six-part miniseries Gangland Undercover may be about a California motorcycle gang and its life-and-death exploits, but don’t call it Sons of Anarchy.
The Canadian-American co-production is based on informant Charles Falco’s 2013 book titled Vagos, Mongols and Outlaws: My Infiltration of America’s Deadliest Biker Gangs. There are bikes and beatings, yes, and drugs and dames, but actors Paulino Nunes and Damon Runyan say there’s a key difference. Continue reading.
From Cassandra Szklarski of the Canadian Press:
Enrico Colantoni calls foul on Orphan Black at Canadian Screen Awards
Remedy star Enrico Colantoni says the smash Space series Orphan Black has an unfair advantage at the Canadian Screen Awards.
And he’s tired of seeing the BBC America-backed show dominate at the bash, which celebrates the best in homegrown film, TV and digital media.
The sci-fi serial heads into this weekend’s televised ceremony with a leading eight trophies from a pre-show gala. This Sunday it competes for the title of Best Drama against Global’s Remedy, Bravo’s 19-2, Showcase’s Continuum and CTV’s Motive. Continue reading.
From a media release:
It’s in with the spring and out with the snow as OLN welcomes the season’s hottest new original series, sure to excite all audiences. From master survivalist Les Stroud who returns to OLN with fan-favourite series Survivorman, to prodigy magicians and death-cheating escape artists, to the mind-blowing things the human body can do, OLN has it all. Catch all the action beginning March 3 on OLN.
Tuesday, March 3:
You Can’t Lick Your Elbow: Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings), beginning March 3
**Series Premiere**
You Can’t Lick Your Elbow, hosted by future NFL Hall of Fame player Tony Gonzalez, is a guide to the weird, clever, and amazing things you can – and sometimes can’t – do with the human body. On the series premiere of You Can’t Lick Your Elbow, viewers are welcomed to explore their own human body. So watch – and learn – as this episode unlocks the superhuman powers hidden within each of us.
Fail Army: Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings), beginning March 3
Fail Army is a brand-new, high-impact, unscripted comedy based on the hugely popular YouTube channel. The 20-episode clip show features the funniest ‘fail’ videos, bloopers, pranks, and all-around entertaining videos in an easy-to-digest half-hour format. Each episode is packed with the same remarkable clip content that has made the FailArmy brand an international sensation with more than one billion total views on YouTube, and over eight million combined followers on social media.
Wednesday, April 8:Â
Survivorman: Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings), beginning April 8
Canada’s favourite survivalist comes home! Canadian Screen Award winner Les Stroud returns to OLN withSurvivorman, kicking off the show with six special episodes focused on the elusive Bigfoot.
Les Stroud dives deep and puts his reputation on the line to either prove or disprove the existence of a species of man-like primate thought to have become extinct after the last Ice Age: the elusive and mythical Gigantopithecus (e.g., Sasquatch and Bigfoot). On the season premiere, Survivorman Les Stroud’s current quest takes him to the wilderness of Klemtu, an Indian reserve on the coastal fjords of British Columbia, to investigate hundreds of reports of Bigfoot sightings by local residents. Is it myth or fact? One thing is for sure, Klemtu is an environment where large animals could exist indefinitely.
Tuesday, April 14:
Escape or Die!: Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings), beginning April 14
**New OLN Original Series**
Dean Gunnarson is hailed as the world’s most daring escape artist, according to Ripley’s Believe It or Not, entertaining audiences around the world with remarkable stunts that cheat death. In the series premiere, Gunnarson is in Shanghai, China to defend his title as the “World’s Most Daring Escape Artist.†The Chinese media have come out in full force to watch him face off against one of the largest wooden rollercoasters in the world.
Illusions of Grandeur: Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings), beginning April 14
**New OLN Original Series**
In this new docu-series, up-and-coming street magician Zack Mirza strives to take his magic skills to the next level. On this magic pilgrimage to 12 cities in 12 weeks, Mirza walks in the footsteps of the greats and brings his brand of street magic to cities like Toronto, New York, Austin, Las Vegas, and Detroit. In each city, Mirza focuses on a different style of magic, including mentalism, escapes, and card magic.
The series premiere sees Mirza begin a magic journey across North America in his hometown of Toronto. He performs for Toronto Raptors forward-guard Terrence Ross – blowing his mind with a basketball trick-shot for the ages. Finally, Mirza embarks on the most ambitious card illusion he’s ever attempted.
