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Orphan Black

Orphan Black season 2 in production

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From a media release:

Production Begins on Season 2 of Critically-Acclaimed Space Original Series ORPHAN BLACK

  • From Temple Street Productions, ORPHAN BLACK is produced in partnership with Space and BBC America, with Season 2 set to premiere in April 2014
  • ORPHAN BLACK stars Tatiana Maslany, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Dylan Bruce, and Jordan Gavaris

Space, BBC America, and Temple Street Productions announced today that filming has begun on Season 2 of the hit conspiracy clone thriller, ORPHAN BLACK. Premiering in March 2013, ORPHAN BLACK had the highest Original Series debut ever for Space, with an average of 513,000 viewers. Season 1 amassed a loyal following reaching 4.3 million Canadians, and ended on a high note with an average audience of 328,000. Anchored by Critics’ Choice Television Award and Television Critics Association Award-winner Tatiana Maslany (Picture Day), the 10-episode, one-hour drama shoots on location and in studio in Toronto until February 2014.

Season 2 hits the ground running with Sarah in a desperate race to find her missing daughter. Her scorched earth tactics spark a war with Rachel (Maslany), dividing and imperilling all the clones. As Sarah gets closer to her own origin story, several mysterious newcomers appear, but nobody can be trusted.

Maslany, who to date has portrayed seven different characters (Sarah, Beth, Katja, Alison, Cosima, Helena, and Rachel), is joined by returning principal cast Jordan Gavaris (UNNATURAL HISTORY) as Felix, Sarah’s foster brother; Gemini Award-winner Maria Doyle Kennedy (DOWNTON ABBEY) as Mrs. S, Sarah and Felix’s hard-nosed working class foster mother; Dylan Bruce (NCIS) as Paul, Beth’s boyfriend with a secret linked to his army days in Afghanistan; Kevin Hanchard (REPUBLIC OF DOYLE) as Art, a veteran detective; Michael Mando (THE KILLING) as Vic, Sarah’s sporadically violent ex; and Skyler Wexler (ALPHAS) as Kira, Sarah’s seven-year-old daughter. Additional casting for the series will be announced soon.

Since its premiere, ORPHAN BLACK has been praised by critics and loved by fans. Noted as a “surprisingly thrilling new drama” (The AV.Club) and “flat out, one of the most intriguingly entertaining new series of the year” (The Hollywood Reporter), Maslany’s performance on the series also stood out, garnering her a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Dramatic Actress, a Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Drama, and an EWwy Award for Best Actress from Entertainment Weekly readers.

The first season of ORPHAN BLACK is currently available on Blu-ray and DVD throughout Canada and is also available for purchase on iTunes. Viewers can continue to catch-up on the first season which is currently airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on CTV.

ORPHAN BLACK is executive produced by Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier (BEING ERICA), Graeme Manson (Cube, FLASHPOINT) and John Fawcett (SPARTACUS, GINGER SNAPS). The series is co-created by Manson and Fawcett, with Manson also serving as writer and Fawcett as director. BBC Worldwide distributes the series internationally.

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Orphan Black

The science of Orphan Black

From Isabella Kapur of The Mary Sue:

Clones Are People Too: The Science and Science Fiction of BBC America’s Orphan Black
As BBC America’s Orphan Black heads into its second season, many critics have focused on Tatiana Maslany’s supremely impressive feats of acting and the many compelling female characters as the draw of the series. If you haven’t watched the show, you’ve still likely heard that the lead actress plays no fewer than seven distinct characters, just in the first season. However, Orphan Black also stands out as a piece of science fiction, and it does so in a very relevant manner. The series is a distinctly modern science fiction story and focuses on two crucial themes: individuality and gene patenting. By posing serious questions about humanity, Orphan Black serves as an effective analogue for real life events, which elevates its science fiction status. Read on to find out how the show is reflecting our society, perceived stereotypes, and why they’re way ahead of the sci-fi game. Continue reading.

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Featured, Orphan Black

Orphan Black makes CTV debut

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From Jim Slotek of the Toronto Sun:

Critical darling ‘Orphan Black’ gets big network debut
In the beginning, says Orphan Black executive producer David Fortier, there was a mental image of a subway suicide. “John Fawcett and Graeme Manson, the two creators, came up with this idea of a woman on a subway platform, looking across and seeing her spitting image throwing herself in front of a train.” Continue reading.

From Alex Strachan of Postmedia News:

Orphan Black makes its broadcast network debut
There’s a moment, right at the start of Orphan Black, the Space/BBC America co-production that makes its broadcast-network debut, that will tell you all you need to know about how this wildly uneven sci-fi parable became a TV cause célèbre. Continue reading.

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Awards, Featured, Orphan Black

Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany wins Television Critics Association Award

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From a media release:

Space Congratulates Tatiana Maslany on Television Critics Association Award Win for Her Role in Original Series ORPHAN BLACK

  • Regina-native Maslany received her award for Individual Achievement In Drama tonight in Los Angeles
  • Season 1 airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT beginning Aug. 16 on CTV
  • Season 2 premieres Spring 2014, exclusively on Space

Space congratulates ORPHAN BLACK’s Tatiana Maslany on her TCA Award win in the Individual Achievement in Drama category, as announced by The Television Critics Association earlier this evening in Los Angeles. The star of the hit Space original series from Temple Street Productions, produced in partnership with BBC America, was honoured at the 29th Annual TCA Awards for her critically-acclaimed work in ORPHAN BLACK, beating out other TV powerhouses including Bryan Cranston (BREAKING BAD), Vera Farmiga (BATES MOTEL), Monica Potter (PARENTHOOD), and Matthew Rhys (THE AMERICANS). To date, Maslany has wowed audiences by portraying seven distinct clones in ORPHAN BLACK, including streetwise hustler Sarah Manning, Detective Beth Childs, German Katja Obinger, soccer mom Alison Hendrix, PHD student Cosima Niehaus, the unpredictable Helena, and the mysterious pro-clone Rachel Duncan.

Bell Media recently announced that beginning Aug. 16, ORPHAN BLACK will make its network premiere on CTV, Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times) and on the CTV Mobile channel on Bell Mobile TV. Production on Season 2 of ORPHAN BLACK is set to begin in late September in Toronto, and will premiere in Spring 2014, exclusively on Space.

A Regina-born actor now living in Toronto, Tatiana Maslany is a rising star who has been acting for over 15 years in film, television, theatre, and radio. She has amassed an incredibly impressive resume with leading roles in many features including The Vow and Kate Melville’s buzzed about film Picture Day, for which she received a 2013 ACTRA Award. Her role in Grown Up Movie Star, opposite Shawn Doyle, competed at Sundance 2010 and garnered her the special jury prize for Breakout Star at the festival, as well as a Genie nomination.

Her recent feature credits also include Cas & Dylan, Blood Pressure, Entitled, and Violet And Daisy which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival® (TIFF) 2011. Some of Maslany’s television credits include THE TANDEM, WORLD WITHOUT END, her Gemini-nominated performance in NATIVITY and CERTAIN PREY, as well as Gemini award-winning performances on BLOODLETTING AND MIRACULOUS CURES, and CTV’s FLASHPOINT.

ORPHAN BLACK centres on English punk and streetwise hustler Sarah who returns home after being separated from her daughter. But her homecoming isn’t exactly what she expected. After witnessing the suicide of a woman who looks just like her, Sarah takes over Beth’s life, including her job as a cop as well as her boyfriend Paul (Dylan Bruce, NCIS). Sarah soon discovers that she and Beth are clones, and as she becomes embroiled in the mystery, she learns that there are more of them out there – all genetically identical individuals nurtured in completely different circumstances. Working with her fellow ‘orphans,’ soccer mom Alison and PHD student Cosima, Sarah begins to unravel the mystery surrounding their identities, while also fighting for her life when an assassin begins killing the clones one by one.

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