Everything about Essex County, eh?

Links: Essex County

From Debra Yeo of the Toronto Star:

Link: TV version of Jeff Lemire’s ‘Essex County’ tells ‘beautiful, emotional, magical stories about ordinary people’
As the TV series “Essex County” begins, a boy in a red cape stands staring at a field of wheat. There’s a vulnerability in the sight of the back of his curly head and exposed neck, but he determinedly straps a black mask over his face, clenches his fists, closes his eyes and rises into the air while a woman in a white dress smiles at him. Continue reading.

From Barry Hertz of The Globe & Mail:

Link: Inside Essex County’s superheroic journey from Canadian comics breakthrough to CBC epic
A young boy stands out in the middle of a field, the crops reaching up to his knees. He’s wearing a slim black mask around his eyes, and a bright red cape is tied around his neck, fluttering in the wind. He takes a breath, concentrates and then smirks as his feet lift off the ground, the opening act of a superhero origin story yet to be fully written. Except that this Smallville-esque moment arrives in the first episode of Essex County, a new limited television series set in rural Ontario that has nothing to do with comic books. Well, almost nothing. Continue reading.

From Joe Belanger of the London Free Press:

Link: Young London teen stars in Essex County TV series
Essex County, based on the graphic novel by Jeff Lemire, stars London’s Finlay Wojtak-Hissong, a 13-year-old Grade 8 student at St. Michael Catholic elementary school. The show is on CBC at 9 p.m. and can be streamed on CBC Gem. Continue reading.

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CBC announces winter 2023 slate

From a media release:

Today at the industry event CBC Live at Massey Hall, CBC previewed its winter programming and made a series of announcements focused on reaching new audiences in Canada with more relevant and engaging news and entertainment on all platforms, including the launch of free streaming channel CBC NEWS EXPLORE. CBC’s winter storytelling includes over 40 original series, podcasts, specials and documentaries from Canadian creators, producers and storytellers across all genres, reflecting more people, perspectives and lived experiences across the country.

NEW PROGRAMMING ANNOUNCED TODAY

CBC NEWS EXPLORE

PUSH (8×30, Fenix Film & Television and Small Army Entertainment)
Starring Benveet “Bean” Gill, PUSH is a new original unscripted series that takes audiences into the inner world of the “Wheelie Peeps,” an unlikely group of friends and wheelchair users, bonded by their shared experience of navigating life on wheels. They are self-proclaimed rednecks, former exotic dancers, mothers, concert pianists and more. Whether it’s growing a family, fighting social stigma, or jumping back into the dating pool, this determined group of friends is working together to prove that even though their mobility may be limited, their lives and dreams are most certainly not.

“This show is what I needed when I was first paralyzed,” said Gill. “To see that having a disability doesn’t define you. We’re regular people, striving like everyone else to live our kickass lives to the fullest. But Push is not simply a show about lives. It’s about really seeing and hearing us as people, just as we are.”

PUSH premieres Friday, February 24 at 8:30 p.m. (9 NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem. Shot in summer and fall 2022 in Edmonton, Alberta, PUSH is executive produced by Sean De Vries and produced by Kaitlan Stewart, with consulting producer Gill.

CBC KIDS

New original live-action preschool series MITTENS AND PANTS, featuring best friends Mittens the kitten and Pants the puppy as they embark on adventures in the all-animal town of Kibble Corners, launches Monday, February 6 on CBC Gem and Monday, February 13 on CBC TV. Episodes of new preschool animated series GISELE’S MASHUP ADVENTURES launch Wednesday, February 1 on CBC Gem and Monday, February 6 on CBC TV, inspired by the creative ideas of children ages six to nine from across Canada which are turned into hilarious adventures for animated versions of each child and host Gisele.

CBC SPORTS

CBC SPORTS will continue to keep Canadians connected to the world of high-performance sport through its weekend broadcasts CBC SPORTS PRESENTS, hosted by Scott Russell and Andi Petrillo and available on CBC TV and CBC Gem, as well as live streams of key competitions on cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports app. Upcoming events include: FIS World Alpine Ski Championships (February 8 – 19), FIS Freestyle Skiing World Championships (February 19 – March 4) and FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (February 23 – 26).

CBC’s winter broadcast and streaming schedule launches Monday, January 2 on CBC TV and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

*All following times local with the exception of Newfoundland, please add half an hour to all times.

MONDAYS:

7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA with host Gerry Dee continues Mondays to Thursdays, kicking off the new year with celebrity episodes on January 2 and 3, featuring the PRETTY HARD CASES detectives vs. the legal team from DIGGSTOWN, and the BOLLYWED Singh family vs. the sporty CANADA’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGE group. For more information on the “Celebrity Special” episodes, click here.

8 PM – MURDOCH MYSTERIES Season 16 continues January 2.

9 PM – The new adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic novel, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, starring David Tennant, debuts January 2. Adapted from the popular French-language series, time travel drama PLAN B premieres February 27.

10 PM – THE NATIONAL CBC News’ flagship program with Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault continues Sunday to Friday each week.

TUESDAYS:

8 PM – THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES 30th anniversary season continues January 3.

8:30 PM – The most-watched original Canadian comedy during its first season,* SON OF A CRITCH returns for Season 2 on January 3.

9 PM – WORKIN’ MOMS returns for its seventh and final season on January 3, as the women explore lasting friendships, ambitious careers, raising families, and growing up.

9:30 PM – Season 4 of comedy CATASTROPHE, written by and starring Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan, debuts January 3. Season 1 of CASUAL, starring Michaela Watkins and Tommy Dewey as a sister and brother who coach each other through the crazy world of dating while raising her teenage daughter, premieres February 14.

WEDNESDAYS:

8 PM – STILL STANDING lands Season 8 on January 4, starring host Jonny Harris as he visits a new set of towns across Canada from Ucluelet and Gibsons, B.C. to Wabush, Newfoundland, and everywhere in between.

8:30 PM – RUN THE BURBS Season 2 premieres January 4, with new cast member Sharjil Rasool and an array of guest stars including Dakota Ray Hebert, The Great Canadian Baking Show’s Ann Pornel, and multi-award-winning comic and actor Gavin Crawford.

9 PM – PRETTY HARD CASES returns for Season 3 on January 4, with a miserably demoted Samantha Wazowski (Meredith MacNeill) and a deeply undercover Kelly Duff (Adrienne C. Moore) reuniting to win their way back into the OCE after eight long months apart. Award-winning actor Wendy Crewson joins the cast as the new and exacting Unit Commander. The WINNIPEG COMEDY FESTIVAL, featuring some of the most dynamic performers on today’s comedy circuit, brings the laughs beginning March 15.

THURSDAYS:

8 PM – BOLLYWED debuts January 12, introducing Canada to the Singh family, who have been operating Chandan Fashion in Toronto’s Little India for the last 37 years. New competition reality format CANADA’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGE turns the nation into a cross-country obstacle course on February 16, featuring Canadians mentored by superstar coaches Donovan Bailey, Waneek Horn-Miller, Clara Hughes, Gilmore Junio, Jen Kish and Luke Willson.

9 PM – CBC News’ award-winning investigative series THE FIFTH ESTATE continues January 5. British drama-thriller TRIGGER POINT debuts February 16. THE JUST FOR LAUGHS GALAS headlined by Ronnie Chieng, Hannah Gadsby and Marc Maron begin March 30.

FRIDAYS:

8 PM – Canada’s award-winning consumer watchdog MARKETPLACE continues its 50th anniversary season on January 6.

8:30 PM – ABC/CBC co-production STUFF THE BRITISH STOLE, based on award-winning journalist Marc Fennell’s chart-topping podcast, debuts January 6. New original factual series PUSH, exploring the lives of a group of friends “the Wheelie Peeps” in Edmonton, begins February 24.

9 PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS Season 62 premieres on January 6 for David Suzuki’s final season with fascinating science and nature documentaries each week. The season launches with Last of the Right Whales, telling the story of the magnificent North Atlantic Right Whale and the passionate people trying to save this intelligent and social animal from extinction.

SUNDAYS:

7 PM – Season 16 of HEARTLAND continues on January 8. BEST IN MINIATURE, hosted by Aba Amuquandoh, returns for Season 2 on February 19.

8 PM – CBC Docs will spotlight compelling feature-length documentaries, from Canada and around the world, beginning January 8 with the following Canadian originals:

THE CASE AGAINST COSBY (directed by Karen Wookey, 2022) premieres January 8

DOUG AND THE SLUGS AND ME (directed by Teresa Alfeld, 2022) premieres January 15

OFFSIDE: THE HAROLD BALLARD STORY (directed by Jason Priestley, 2022) premieres January 22

UNLOVED: HURONIA’S FORGOTTEN CHILDREN (directed by Barri Cohen, 2022) premieres January 29

DEAR JACKIE (director Henri Pardo, 2022) premieres February 5

9 PM – Limited series ESSEX COUNTY, based on Jeff Lemire’s graphic novel, premieres March 19.

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Molly Parker, Brian J. Smith, Stephen McHattie, Finlay Wojtak- Hissong and Kevin Durand lead cast of CBC’s Essex County

From a media release:

Molly Parker, Brian J. Smith, Stephen McHattie, Finlay Wojtak- Hissong, and Kevin Durand lead the cast of Essex County (5×60), EP and First Generation Films (FGF) CEO Christina Piovesan announced today. Based on Jeff Lemire’s graphic novel, Essex County is a limited series that follows the intertwining lives of two families living in a rural community. The series explores how loss, betrayal, and trauma can impact generations and how redemption can be found through human connection.

ITV Studios and Media Musketeer Studios will launch the show internationally at MIPCOM. The limited series premieres in Canada on CBC and CBC Gem in Winter 2023.

Sprawling in scope yet intensely intimate, Essex County is written by creator Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth; Black Hammer; Secret Path) and Eilis Kirwan (The Whistleblower; Nurses) and directed by Emmy- winner Andrew Cividino (Schitt’s Creek, Sleeping Giant). Production wrapped on September 30th in North Bay, Ontario.

Despite the appearances of a close-knit community, many of the Essex County residents are isolated and lonely. Eleven-year-old Lester (Finlay Wojtak-Hissong) has moved in with his uncle Ken (Brian J. Smith) after the death of his mother. Ken, a stoic farmer, must contend with his own grief and fears while raising Lester, even as Lester looks for a father in Jimmy (Kevin Durand) – a man who can barely take care of himself. Anne (Molly Parker) a nurse and mother who, after a lifetime of caring for others, finds herself at a crossroads when her daughter leaves for university. When Anne takes over the care of her estranged uncle, Lou, (Stephen McHattie) who is suffering from worsening dementia and the ghosts of his past, she begins to unearth family secrets. It is through Lou and Lester that the viewer enters a world of magic realism – Lou’s present begins to merge with his past and he literally haunts his own memories; Lester escapes into his imaginary world as he struggles to overcome his crushing grief.

BIOS/CREDITS
Showrunner/EP/writer Jeff Lemire is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of such graphic novels as Sweet Tooth, Essex County, Underwater Welder, and Mazebook as well as co-creator of Black Hammer, Gideon Falls, Descender, The Bone Orchard, and many others. He has worked extensively for both Marvel and DC Comics and his graphic novels have been translated into dozens of languages, establishing him as one of the most prolific and celebrated comic book creators of his generation. Many of his books are in development including Descender at NBC Universal with Lemire attached as an executive producer. Sweet Tooth has been adapted into a popular Netflix original series produced by Susan and Robert Downey Jr., and Essex County is currently in post-production with Lemire writing, show-running, and producing.

EP/Writer Eilis Kirwan is an award-winning writer from Dublin, Ireland, where she began writing plays at University College Dublin. She came to the U.S. as a Fulbright scholar, and received her MFA in Film from Columbia University. Her graduating film, Nostradamus And Me, was a finalist for the Student Academy Awards. Kirwan went on to co-write the award-winning The Whistleblower, starring Rachel Weisz and Vanessa Redgrave, which premiered at TIFF in 2011. Kirwan has written and developed multiple features, pilots, and mini-series in addition to working as a supervising producer and writer on Nurses for Global/NBC.

EP/Director Andrew Cividino is a writer, director, and producer from Toronto. He began his career directing commercials and short films that garnered international recognition after winning prizes at TIFF and Locarno. Cividino’s debut feature, Sleeping Giant, opened the competition at the 2015 edition of Semaine de la Critique in Cannes. The film went on to win more than a dozen awards, including prizes at TIFF, VIFF, Munich, and Mumbai. He was named TIFF’s Artist in Residence and was a frequent director on Schitt’s Creek, for which he won an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement for Direction in 2020.

Molly Parker (Anne) is an Emmy and SAG award-nominated actress and director known for such series as House of Cards, Deadwood, Lost in Space, Dexter, and the soon to be released The Accused. Features include Pieces of a Woman, Jockey, The Center of the World, Kissed, and the soon to be released Peter and Wendy and The Mothership.

Brian J. Smith (Ken) is known for his role as Will Gorski in Netflix’s Sense8; Lt. Matthew Scott in the Syfy series Stargate Universe; and for his Tony Award-nominated turn as Jim O’Connor in the 2013 revival of The Glass Menagerie on Broadway.

Stephen McHattie (Lou) is a prolific Canadian actor who has amassed more than 200 film and television credits including Orphan Black, Emily of New Moon, Cold Squad, Seinfeld, and many more. He won a Genie Award (CSA) for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Rocket and a Gemini Award for Life with Billy.

Finlay Wojtak-Hissong (Lester) began his acting career at the age of eight and is known for The Kindness of Stranges, Blood, Dreamkatcher, and Robin Wright’s feature directorial debut Land.

Kevin Durand (Jimmy) can be seen in Locke & Key, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Resident Evil: Retribution, Ballers, Robin Hood, and Lost. He recently starred in Swamp Thing and it was just announced that Durand has joined the cast of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

Commissioned by CBC, and produced in association with ITV Studios and Media Musketeers Studios, Essex County is executive produced by Jeff Lemire, Eilis Kirwan, Christina Piovesan, and Andrew Cividino. Jeff Lemire is the showrunner; the series is written by Jeff Lemire and Eilis Kirwan; Andrew Cividino is the director.

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