Sonja Bennett starred in her first major film role in the Canadian feature film Punch. For her performance, she was awarded Best Actress by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle and received a special Artistic Merit Award from Women in Film and Video.
After the success of Punch, Sonja was cast in series lead roles on such shows as Cold Squad and Godiva’s (both of which earned her Leo and Gemini nominations). In 2010, Sonja decided to apply some of what she learned from 10 years making films in front of the camera to and took up screenwriting. Her first screenplay, Christmas for Cats, was awarded an honourable mention in the Praxis feature film screenplay competition. Preggoland, Sonja’s second script was supported by Movie Central, Telefilm Canada and was selected for the Telefilm/CFC Comedy Exchange.
We’ve been jazzed about the Season 1 debut of Mary Kills People since we visited the set a few months ago. Now, not only has Global revealed the drama series debuts Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, but they’ve released a handful of images too.
Executive-produced by Tassie Cameron, Amy Cameron, Tecca Crosby and Holly Dale and co-executive producer Tara Armstrong, Global describes the series thusly:
Set in the morally grey world of assisted suicide, Mary Kills People is an intense, controversial, and thought-provoking drama. The series follows Dr. Mary Harris (Caroline Dhavernas), a single mother and emergency doctor by day, who also moonlights as an underground angel of death — helping terminally ill patients who want to die and slip away on their own terms. So far Mary has managed to stay under the radar; but business is booming, and her double life is getting complicated.  When her world starts to unravel, Mary realizes she’s going to have to fight dirty if she’s going to stay in the killing game.
Additional cast includes Jay Ryan as Joel, one of Mary’s terminally ill clients; Richard Short as Des, Mary’s trusted partner in crime; Lyriq Bent as Frank, Joel’s friend; Greg Bryk as Grady, Mary’s drug supplier; Abigail Winters as Mary’s teen daughter; and Charlotte Sullivan as Nicole, Mary’s concerned sister.
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Mary Kills People debuts Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global.
Interesting review article. One of the best Murdoch episodes so far. Way to go. Congrats. Merry Christmas. —Tim
Love this show and some hilarious Easter eggs in this episode. —Howie
Loving … and hating … The Goods
I was devoted to Steven and Chris … now loving The Goods! I hope viewers stay with it because it gets better every day. I laugh, I cry and learn lots. What a fun team … keep it up! —Cathy
Love your show, you all make me laugh! Just finished watching and find it refreshing. It was a little stiff in the beginning but now everyone is blending in! Terrific, light, no politics, my new must watch every day for a dose of positive. Jessi adds the perfect touch of comedy. —Barbara
This show is horrible! The change over to each segment is disjointed and choppy. The only chemistry here is that reminiscent of a “bad†science experiment gone wrong. Steven is known for his ability to relate to the audience—sadly that is lacking here. Sorry, nothing good about The Goods here. Won’t be watching this show anymore. —Heather
Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.
Love lost, love found, love decisions and SPARKLES! Co-creators Tracey Deer and Cynthia Knight jam it all in as we tied up the loose ends in the season finale of Mohawk Girls.
First I will deal with the Zoe (Brittany LeBorgne) storyline as that moved to its natural conclusion. Zoe finally hit rock bottom after last week’s scandal; her father (Erland Campbell) came to her home and delivered the election results. Not only did Zoe lose the election, she was also responsible for her mother’s (Tantoo Cardinal) loss too. And it also appeared #Zohserase may be finished: Ohserase (Shawn Youngchief) took his leave of “sick and twisted” Zoe with fondue pot in hand! And, to top things off, the Band Council fired Zoe as their legal counsel. Zoe has lost her entire world and has to admit the truth to her friends: she is a sex addict. The last we saw of Zoe this season, she was checking herself in for treatment.
The rest of the episode revolved around Kahnawa:ke’s annual Powwow Weekend. We caught up with Caitlin (Heather White) and Bailey (Jenny Pudavick) discussing the election when Anna (Maika Harper) rode up on her bicycle begging Caitlin’s forgiveness for sleeping with Butterhead (Meegwun Fairbrother). Caitlin wasn’t having any of that and instead helped Bailey prepare for the powwow. Bailey confided in Caitlin, revealing she slept with James (Jeffrey Wetsch). Caitlin has to wonder if Bailey is trying to sabotage the good thing she has with Watio (Jimmy Blais).
Maika Harper (Anna) taking direction from co-writer, co-producer Tracey Deer
Finally, powwow arrived and Elijah (Gregory Odjig) witnessed Anna’s bullying and called her out on it. He reminded her that being a Mohawk isn’t about being an angry bully. These two kindred spirits spent the remainder of their time exploring Mohawk traditions together; the very thing Anna has been craving all this time.
Meanwhile, Butterhead caught up with Caitlin—OK, he actually photobombed Caitlin in a selfie she was sending to Leon—and once again he was putting the moves on her. He confessed the entire time he was with Anna he was thinking about Caitlin instead. Their fierce battle set tongues wagging and everyone was assuming Caitlin and Butterhead were back together. Caitlin had a heart-to-heart with her father (Lawrence Bayne) and she was again reminded that the future of her people depends on her settling for a Mohawk man. When she heard Butterhead singing on the powwow grounds, Caitlin decided it was time to give him one more chance. Say goodbye to #Cailon!
Caitlin (Heather White), her father (Lawrence Bayne) and Butterhead (Meegwun Fairbrother) talking with co-creator, co-producer Cynthia KnightCaitlin (Heather White) and her father (Lawrence Bayne). [That would be me wearing the jean jacket, standing to the right of the woman in red]
In the meantime, James arrived, as promised, to catch Bailey dancing at powwow. Feeling guilty about their afternoon together, she tried to turn him away but Auntie Velma (Ashley Michaels) spotted them. Unlike all of the other non-Mohawks that Bailey has dated, Velma noticed something very different about James. Bailey is sparkling! Velma has never seen any man cause Bailey to sparkle, not even Watio (Jimmy Blais). Later, the two were questioning all of the unlikely couples: Anna is with Midas (Tanner Novlan) and Caitlin and Butterhead have reunited. A confused Bailey just didn’t understand why her friends were settling for men who don’t make them happy. And then she realized marrying Watio was settling too. Goodbye Boring #Batio and Hello Sparkling #Jailey … but it seems Watio isn’t letting go without a fight!
And that is a wrap on Season 4! Thanks to Tracey Deer, Cynthia Knight, and the entire cast and crew of Mohawk Girls for another great season! You have all set the bar pretty high and we all look forward to a #BEAST Season 5!
If you missed the season finale, you can catch it here.
What did you think of this season of Mohawk Girls? Comment below!
January is shaping up to be one of the busiest and most exciting in Canadian television, and Global’s Ransom is a part of that.
The Canadian co-production—from executive producer Frank Spotnitz—stars Luke Roberts (Black Sails) as Eric Beaumont, a hostage negotiator who jets to locales around the world talking criminals out of dire situations. The hook? Eric doesn’t carry a gun, preferring to use his gift of patter to disarm the bad guys.
Rounding out Ransom‘s cast is Sarah Greene (Penny Dreadful) as Maxine Carlson, a girl with a secret; Brandon Jay McLaren (Slasher) as Oliver Yates, a psychological profiler; and Nazneen Contractor (Covert Affairs) as ex-cop Zara Hallam. After filming in Toronto for several months—the city stood in for North American locations—the series decamped for the south of France, with the area representing European spots.
Take a look at these gallery images and let us know what you think of Ransom!
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Ransom debuts Sunday, Jan. 1, at 8:30 p.m ET on Global before moving to Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT beginning on Jan. 7.
Sonja Bennett starred in her first major film role in the Canadian feature film Punch. For her performance, she was awarded Best Actress by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle and received a special Artistic Merit Award from Women in Film and Video.
