Everything about Carter, eh?

CTV partners with Sony Pictures Television and WGN America for Season 2 of Carter

From a media release:

CTV, in partnership with Sony Pictures Television and WGN America announced today the renewal of the comedic procedural series CARTER for a second season, starring Jerry O’Connell (Billions), Sydney Poitier Heartsong (Chicago P.D.) and Kristian Bruun (Orphan Black).

Andy Berman (Psych, Rosewood) joins CARTER as showrunner and executive producer for its sophomore season, which returns to North Bay, ON to commence production this spring. Series creator Garry Campbell (Kids in The Hall, MADtv) returns as an executive producer and writer on the series.

CARTER revolves around Harley Carter (O’Connell), the star of a hit detective TV show, who decides he needs a break from Hollywood and returns to his northern hometown where he quickly discovers that his years of playing a fictional detective come in handy when he finds himself immersed in real-life mysteries. In Season 2, Carter plants roots as a celebrity PI and doubles down on his fame in a world where life continues to imitate TV. But Carter will discover that the toughest cases to solve are personal ones when he finds himself embroiled in a love triangle with his best friend and her new boss, where the stakes are winner takes all.

The series was commissioned by Sony Pictures Television (SPT) for AXN in Spain, Latin America, Brazil, Japan, Central Europe and Russia; and by CTV in Canada. The series is distributed by SPT worldwide, excluding Canada.

In Canada, CARTER made CTV’s sister network, Bravo, the #1 specialty channel in its timeslot. In the U.S., CARTER aired on WGN America as its most-watched original series in 2018. CARTER has also been a boon to AXN around the world. For example, it has been a success across Europe, reaching 6.5 million total viewers in 2018.

CARTER is produced by Amaze Film + Television, executive produced by the company’s Teza Lawrence and Michael Souther (Call Me Fitz, Saint Ralph) as well as Campbell, Berman and series star O’Connell.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Link: Voice actor Denis Akiyama passes away at 66

From Rafael Antonio Pineda of Anime News Network:

Link: Voice actor Denis Akiyama passes away at 66

Actor and voice actor Denis Akiyama passed away on Thursday, June 28. He was 66.

Visitations will be held at the Mount Pleasant Funeral Centre in Toronto, Ontario on July 4 at 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and at 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. His funeral will take place on July 5 at 1:00 p.m. A memorial website has been set up for memorial testimonies, photos, and information on Akiyama’s funeral service. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Natalie Urquhart joins Amaze Film + Television

From a media release:

June 11, 2018 – Amaze Film + Television is proud to welcome Natalie Urquhart as their new Director of Development. Formerly an Associate Producer on the NBC/UNIVERSAL series SUITS, Natalie also produced the scripted half-hour comedy ROGUE BRIDAL for the Makeful Channel. Natalie is a graduate of the University of Southern California and the CFC – Canadian Film Centre.

Natalie will oversee development in Canada while working with Burrad Marsh who was recently promoted to Senior VP of Television, spearheading the US operations for Amaze Film + Television in Los Angeles. Burrad is a former TV Literary Agent for ICM and was VP of Development for Shed Media in the United Kingdom.

Most recently, Amaze Film + Television produced the one-hour comedic drama procedural CARTER, created by Garry Campbell and starring Jerry O’Connell. CARTER premiered on BRAVO to 1.1 million viewers during its first week in May, 2018. The 10-episode series has enjoyed a very successful global release through Sony AXN and Sony Distribution.  CARTER was recently added to CTV’s main network summer schedule and will air on UKTV in June.

Michael Souther and Teza Lawrence launched Amaze Film + Television in 2000. Amaze Film + Television produced four seasons of the internationally acclaimed series CALL ME FITZ for HBO Canada and 52 episodes of the multi-cam sitcom THE STANLEY DYNAMIC for YTV. Film projects include SAINT RALPH, FINN ON THE FLY, and in 2016 the documentary BEING CANADIAN. They currently have a diverse television slate including projects in development with Rogers, and Amazon.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Carter: How Kristian Bruun’s unemployment beard landed him the role of Dave

We’re loving Carter.

The light tone, humour and chemistry between the three main characters—actor Harley Carter (Jerry O’Connell), cop Sam Shaw (Sydney Poitier-Heartsong) and coffee truck owner Dave Leigh (Kristian Bruun)—is a big part of that. The trio is the heart and soul of the mystery series, airing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo, and we couldn’t imagine anyone else in those roles.

Ironically, if it hadn’t been for his Murdoch Mysteries character, Constable “Slugger” Jackson being killed off, Bruun likely never would have scored Dave. We spoke to Bruun, who will also be seen in the excellent space web series Deep Six in the coming months, about landing the role.

What was it like working on Carter?
Kristian Bruun: It’s funny how this world works because I wouldn’t have gotten that job if I was back on Murdoch Mysteries, I think. And, like Peter Mitchell said back then about not being worried about me, he was kind of right. When I didn’t get to come back to Murdoch for Season 11, I was like, ‘Well, I guess I don’t have to be clean-shaven anymore.’ So I grew this hipster beard to fit in in my neighbourhood in L.A. I called it my unemployment beard. [Laughs.] I was looking a little more rugged and then an audition came along for this role, playing a dude from up north. I thought the beard could work and I booked the role.

Tell me about Dave.
He’s a very different character that I’m very lucky to play. We had a blast shooting it. Jerry O’Connell, Sydney Poitier and I are up north solving crimes. I kind of describe it as Magnum, P.I. meets Murder, She Wrote. It’s a small town, there are too many murders and we’re running around solving capers and getting into too much trouble. It’s a really fun role. We had a blast shooting it. It was like summer vacation. We were there from July to October in North Bay, Ont., a beautiful place to be shooting and every week friends of mine were coming up to film guest-starring roles on this. It was like, ‘Hey, come up and hang out with us for a week on this crazy TV show.’ It has a lot of humour, a lot of heart.

Carter airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.

Image courtesy of Bell Media. 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail