Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating. CBC is doing their part to mark the holiday by serving up a plateful of drama and laughs on Murdoch Mysteries. Yes, we do meet Higgins and Ruth’s baby, as the above image suggests, but there is a lot more to the episode than that.
Here is the CBC’s official synopsis for “Blood on the Tracks,” written by Noelle Girard and directed by Yannick Bisson.
When their train derails, Ogden and Brackenreid suspect it was sabotage to hide a murder.
And, as always, a few notes from me after I watched a screener of the episode.
Hitting the rails Last week’s instalment, “Manhunt,” (a great episode, by the way), brought Louise Cherry, Miss Hart, Julia and Effie to the volleyball pitch, with Inspector Brackenreid as their coach. This week, the ladies are on their way back from a match on the train when the aforementioned blood on the tracks occurs.
A sumptuous set I am constantly impressed by what the team at Murdoch Mysteries is able to create. This week, entire train cars were built to tell the A storyline (alongside exteriors filmed in Tottenham, Ont.). All I can say is, wow. Also, Shanice Banton doesn’t get to show the wry, sarcastic side to Violet Hart often; she gets a few nice jabs in on Monday night. And, look for a fun sight gag behind Brackenreid while he and Julia are inspecting the crime scene.
A new invention In Monday’s instalment, it’s a Sunday in Toronto, and William heads to the office to work on his latest creation. I won’t give away what it is; let’s just say MM continues to hint that it is the precursor to the things we enjoy today. Also? It’s because of a new-fangled holiday that Higgins has brought his daughter to the office leaving William with his hands full.
Watts goes on a date Jack and Watts head to the horse track to place some bets, and an offhand comment from Watts reveals a nugget of backstory.
For the most part, reality TV gets a bad rap. At best, it’s described as a guilty pleasure. At worst, it’s simply dismissed. But look a little deeper into a series like Bachelor in Paradise Canada, and you realize something. These people are putting themselves out there to find love, on-camera and sharing things most would only tell their closest friend.
“This is a show that dives deep into feelings,” executive producer Claire Freeland says. “What you want for your life, what you want for your life partner. A lot of these people leave transformed and having learned things about themselves. Whether or not you leave Paradise, The Bachelor or The Bachelorette with a life partner, you leave having been impacted by the experience.”
Freeland’s Good Human Productions brought The Bachelor Canada and The Bachelorette Canada to viewers years ago. Now they’re back with Bachelor in Paradise Canada.
Debuting Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Citytv, Bachelor in Paradise Canada (followed by The Bachelor After Show: After ParadiseCanada at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT with Deepa Prashad and Daryn Jones) is distinctive for a couple of reasons. First, it’s in northern Ontario in a camp setting very different from the U.S. version fans are used to. And, secondly, the cast of 26 participants is made up of Canadian Bachelor alumni, U.S. Bachelor alumni and members of the Bachelor Nation—Canadian fans of the franchise—a series first. Freeland, a fan of the franchise overall, has grown to love Paradise because it gives her the opportunity to check on a bunch of relationships rather than just one.
“We always knew we wanted to do a Canadian version of Paradise, but there was always the conundrum about how to attack it,” Freeland says. “And I feel like we’ve cracked the nut.”
Familiar names from the Canadian series include Bianka Kamber, David Pinard and Stacy Johnson, while the U.S. franchise offers up Caitlin Clemmens, Alex Bordyukov and Brendan Scanzano. Guiding the ship is host Jesse Jones (featured image) and serving up drinks and advice to these love-lorn folks? Kevin Wendt.
“We’ve remained friends with Kevin over the years,” Freeland says. “When we thought about who could be the bartender, but also be a symbol of this process working, it was pretty easy that we arrived at Kevin.
“When that guy is on the beach, on the other side of the bar, and you’re looking for someone to give you some advice or share your feelings with, Kevin is the ultimate person.”
Bachelor in Paradise Canada airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Citytv.
First, its cast is top-rate. From John Reardon, Mayko Nguyen, Kevin Hanchard and Justin Kelly to Diesel vom Burgimwald on down, everyone on the call sheet is enjoyable to watch. Secondly, the writing team is truly gifted. Led by showrunner Peter Mitchell, they craft stories that are believable, have real dramatic stakes and a pinch of humour thrown in. And third, that stellar Newfoundland setting and the crew that works it. Every episode is a love letter to that part of Canada, no matter how dark the crime may be.
Returning Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern on Citytv, here’s the official synopsis for “Sid and Nancy,” written by Peter Mitchell and directed by Gary Harvey:
When two hikers are discovered murdered near a remote coastal trail, the team is on the hunt for a fugitive duo wanted in a series of grisly campsite murders.
And here are some non-spoilery notes from me after watching a screener of the episode.
A new setting… As I mentioned above, all the main players are back in Season 4. But, there is a big change within minutes of Episode 1. The Major Crimes team is on the road and reporting out of a mobile unit.
“It keeps all of us together and takes us out into the field more and in the office less,” Reardon says in the Season 4 press kit. “Having the team together adds a new element of storytelling and it showcases Newfoundland even more than we have in the past. I think it makes the show more dynamic because we’re all in communication with each other, we’re responding in real-time, and solving the case in real-time instead of regularly coming back to the office to regroup.â€
… and a new vibe I totally agree with Reardon’s statement. There is an energy, sometimes frantic, in Thursday’s return, that has been added to Hudson & Rex. It just feels like there is more at stake and more opportunity for conflict between local police forces that don’t appreciate the big-city unit rolling onto their turf.
A little spark? Over the past three seasons, Hudson & Rex has faintly hinted at an emotional connection between Charlie and Sarah. Judging by a scene on Thursday, the needle may be headed into “strongly hinting.”
Hudson & Rex airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Citytv.
Images courtesy of Derm Carberry for Shaftesbury and Pope Productions.
It’s part of CBC’s mandate to tell Canadian stories. To reflect the faces we see in our communities from coast to coast. So it was a true pleasure when the public broadcaster announced Sort Of would be headed our way.
Debuting Tuesday on CBC Gem before bowing next month on CBC, Sort Of is ambitious, hilarious and heartfelt. Co-created by Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo (Save Me), Sort Of tells the story of Sabi Mehboob (Baig), a fluid millennial who straddles various identities from a bartender at an LGBTQ bookstore/bar, to the youngest child in a Pakistani family, to the de facto parent of a downtown hipster family.
In the debut episode, “Sort Of Gone,” Sabi contemplates an opportunity that would change their life until an accident puts their new plans in jeopardy. With a cast boasting Grace Lynn Kung, Supinder Wraich, Alana Bale, Amanda Cordner and Gray Powell, Sort Of is definitely great. We spoke to Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo ahead of the show’s debut on CBC Gem.
Bilal, the idea for Sort Of came while you and Fab chatted during breaks a play you were both performing in, Theory. What was it about those conversations that got you excited about working with Fab? Bilal Baig: I appreciated the sense of humour. I thought there was something really fun in figuring out what tickles each other. We had a similar sensibility in that our humour isn’t slapstick. I had also consumed both seasons of Save Me and got a sense that his sense of humour could be twisted too, and I’m all about that.
The other part of it was that he not only met me at every point in the making of this together, but he really brought his heart into it and I really appreciated that as a collaborator. It was really important that this was something we were really going to pour ourselves into.
Fab, what excited you about collaborating with Bilal? Fab Filippo: Right off the bat, I got the sense that Bilal had an unusually clear voice for someone their age. I was taken by how they moved in the world and how much generosity they had in the world toward other people in helping see who they are.
At first, it was getting together to hang. And then, when we discovered we laughed at the same stuff and started to pitch ideas back and forth, it became really clear that there was a kinship and a kind of understanding of how to move forward in collaboration.
Sort Of co-creator Fab Filippo
Bilal, there is a lot of heart in Sort Of. Near the end of Episode 1 is a wonderful and funny scene between Sabi and their mother. Can you talk about walking the line in those moments? BB: The word I’ve been using is truth. We didn’t go into this looking to load every episode with as many huge, knee-slapping jokes as possible. It was more, ‘What feels truthful in this moment? What would these characters actually say and do?’ What I love about that scene, in particular, is that there are these other messages inside the words that actually come out of peoples’ mouths and to strive for that is really exciting. It goes back to the type of humour Fab and I like and working with the writers we did—Jenn Engels, Ian Iqbal Rashid and Nelu Handa—they all got on board too.
Fab, how did the writing room work, with COVID? FF: A lot of marathon Zoom meetings. [Laughs.] It was interesting to open it up to a writing room. It was, for the longest time, Bilal and I with the project. And then there is this vulnerability when you bring it to a room with the thoughts and ideas we had in our own, private, world. But they brought so much and added some much texture and dimension.
BB: It was kind of hard to step into my power because I was so in awe of these people who had come to serve this story. It’s one thing to create something on your own, but a whole other thing to have a room full of people dedicated to wanting to honour the vision. It was actually through Fab bringing me more and more into the process and reminding me that people want to hear from you and your voice is essential to all of this. I think I had forgotten that because I was so enamoured and scared.
Having two other South Asian folks in the room, the onus wasn’t just on one of us to get it right 100 percent of the time. If I missed something from our community, Nelu or Ian would step in. That was such a privilege.
Sort Of is available for streaming on CBC Gem on Tuesday. Sort Of debuts Tuesday, November 9, at 9 p.m. on CBC.
There are several new faces added to the cast of the new season of Slasher. Dubbed Flesh & Blood for Season 4, the blood-soaked horror anthology series created by Aaron Martin boasts perhaps the biggest name in the genre: David Cronenberg.
The actor and director jumped at the chance to play Spencer Galloway, a manipulative businessman who gathers his family together to compete in a deadly game, with the winner to be declared sole inheritor of his fortune.
Alongside familiar Slasher faces playing different characters fighting for Spencer’s fortune are Paula Brancati, Jefferson Brown, Patrice Goodman, Sabrina Grdevich and Christopher Jacot are new faces in Rachael Crawford, Jeananne Goosen and Alex Ozerov. We spoke to creator Aaron Martin and showrunner Ian Carpenter about how the new season—kicking off Monday at 9 p.m. ET on Hollywood Suite—came about.
Ian, how did the writing room work for Slasher: Flesh & Blood? Ian Carpenter: Aaron and I were in the writing room, and we did all of that on my porch. When we started the show, we were in the heart of [the pandemic]. One of the very first [times writing] was when I took one of the last flights around when I visited him in Vancouver to kind of gestate all of this. We did it all in person, and I don’t know of a writer that doesn’t think that’s essential. There is something about a Zoom meeting that puts pregnancy on every single second and all of this pressure for it to be loaded. Aaron and I are very productive, and I bet 50 percent of [writing] it is us being idiots and cracking jokes. I just feel so strange via Zoom.
Aaron, did you have multiple seasons in mind when Season 1 of Slasher was conceived or was it more organic? AM: It’s been more organic. There have been ideas for locations or settings or backgrounds for seasons. Every season is a new thing and, usually, it starts with a theme or an issue. [Flesh & Blood] came about because Shaftesbury and, I think Shudder had already come on board, said we could develop it. I had just spent the Christmas holidays with my family. I love them, but by the time I was done, I wanted to kill a few of them. I think that’s when I said to Ian, ‘What if we did a family reunion where they actually get to kill each other?’ That’s how we approach every season. Season 3, Solstice, [was inspired by Justine Sacco] who tweeted something she thought was funny and was horribly offensive, and by the time she landed 12 hours later, it had blown up and ruined her life.
Because the show isn’t killings every five minutes, we need the stuff to build around, the thematic stuff and dramatic stuff is how we do that.
One of the things I love about Slasher is the dialogue is so believable. Aaron, is it difficult to write dialogue? AM: I don’t think so. I think, in my scripts if you go back to Degrassi and definitely Being Erica, I never try to do dialogue that is cool and flippant. I write how I think people talk. And then, when I’ve finished a script I’ll go back and read it and if I’m stumbling over words or it doesn’t seem real, I’ll change it.
Ian, Adam MacDonald returned to direct Slasher: Flesh & Blood. You have known each other for years. Do you two have a shorthand, where there’s not a lot of discussions? Do you each know what the other is thinking? IC: I’m really fortunate that Adam and I were close friends before Slasher started. Incredibly, we were both hired within weeks of each other on Solstice. This season, we felt absolute confidence in each other, what we were going to do, what we were strong at, what we needed to talk about. It is shorthand with him, just as it is shorthand with Aaron. It lets you focus on what matters, which is also important when it comes to hiring key creatives on a crew. We’re so lucky to have so many of ours come back.
Aaron, having so many cast and crew return to the Slasher family season to season must be very fulfilling. AM: The great thing about working in Canada is that it’s a small community, and that’s great because it’s of that. I love actors and I love bringing back actors, for this show especially, because it’s a great opportunity for them to show different facets of themselves. It is a great feeling to have them respond that way, and you want them to.
Ian, what was it like to have David Cronenberg as part of the cast this season? IC: He was amazing. He was so complimentary, so excited about the material and really saw the depth in it. He is so crucial to the story, so it was exciting to hear how he was connecting to that. And then, as much as we are this scrappy little show, David Cronenberg has said, ‘Yes, I want to be on this show.’
Slasher: Flesh & Blood airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Hollywood Suite.
