Everything about Pure, eh?

Industry News, Pure

AJ Buckley, Ryan Robbins, Peter Outerbridge and Rosie Perez to star in CBC drama Pure

From a media release:

CBC, Two East Productions and Cineflix Media Inc. today announced casting details for the highly anticipated dramatic series PURE (6×60), about a Mennonite pastor battling drug trafficking within his community. Inspired by true events, the series stars Ryan Robbins (Arrow, Continuum, The Killing), Alex Paxton-Beesley (Murdoch Mysteries, Copper), AJ Buckley (CSI: NY, Justified, Narcos), Peter Outerbridge (Orphan Black, Bomb Girls, ReGenesis) and Oscar® and Golden Globe® nominee Rosie Perez (White Men Can’t Jump, Fearless). Commissioned by CBC and produced by Two East Productions and Cineflix Media, PURE is shooting in Nova Scotia until mid-November and will premiere on CBC in winter 2017.

PURE tells the story of Noah Funk (Robbins), a newly-elected Mennonite pastor, who is determined to rid his community of drug traffickers by betraying a fellow Mennonite to the police. But instead of solving the problem, Noah’s actions trigger an ultimatum from mob leader Eli Voss (Outerbridge): in order to protect his family he must get involved in the illegal operation. Noah decides that if he must work for the mob, he will secretly gather enough evidence to dismantle the organization.

Noah finds his beliefs and principles challenged every step of the way. Struggling to save his soul and complete his mission, Noah receives help from an unlikely source: his high school nemesis, local cop Bronco Novak (Buckley). With his law-enforcement career hanging by a thread, Bronco sees the case as his ticket to redemption. Rounding out the cast, Perez plays DEA Agent Phoebe O’Reilly, who’s made it her personal mission to take down Voss.

Commissioned by CBC and produced by Two East Productions and Cineflix, PURE is created and written by Michael Amo (The Listener) and directed by Ken Girotti (Orphan Black, Vikings). The executive producers are Amo, Brett Burlock, Peter Emerson, Girotti and David MacLeod (Call Me Fitz, Haven). Cineflix Rights has the exclusive worldwide distribution rights to PURE.

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Alias Grace, Featured, Private Eyes, Pure

Comments and queries for the week of May 27

Greg’s away so the Diane mouse will play in this week’s issue of Comments and Queries. Here are answers to questions we got by Twitter, Facebook, emails and comments:

CBC’s new season announcement

Pure is a new new show, do you know? Because the others were ordered last season, no?

CBC’s 2016-17 season announcement snuck in news of this previously unknown (to me) series about the Mennonite mob, which will apparently air in winter 2017. I posted more about it here but in brief, it’s described as “the story of Noah Funk, a newly-elected Mennonite pastor, who is determined to rid his community of drug traffickers by betraying a fellow Mennonite to the police. But instead of solving the problem, Noah’s actions trigger an ultimatum from Menno mob leader Eli Voss: in order to protect his family he must get involved in the illegal operation. Noah decides that if he must work for the mob, he will secretly gather enough evidence to dismantle the organization.”  It’s created by David Macleod (Haven, Call Me Fitz) and Michael Amo (The Listener, Transporter: The Series).

I wonder if This is That, the webseries, is based on the radio show/podcast.

It is indeed. From CBC:  This is That is an award-winning current affairs program that doesn’t just talk about the issues, it fabricates them. Nothing is off-limits — politics, business, culture, justice, science, religion — if it is relevant to Canadians, hosts Pat Kelly and Peter Oldring will find out the “this” and “that” of the story. Each week, they introduce the voices and stories that give this country character in this 100% improvised, satirical send-up of public radio. In a new original digital series, they will be This is That-ing a new range of topics ripe for parody, including autonomous cars, rock-star chefs and thought leaders.

Private Eyes

Has it been picked up in the UK yet?

No word on international pickups yet for the Global series starring Jason Priestley and Cindy Sampson but it is produced by global studio eOne so they’re likely to be shopping it around. Stay tuned for any news.

Alias Grace

Which network or channel will this air on?

My cyber-sleuthing has failed me and I have no idea. I have an inquiry out to the production office but the bare bones news we have from the above link seems to originate from production information which lists Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol) as director and Sarah Polley (Stories We Tell, Away from Her) as producer — and we know Polley wrote the mini-series adaptation of the Margaret Atwood novel.

Canadian Pickers

I’m trying to get ahold of Scott and Sheldon, do you know how I can do that?

Canadian Pickers was cancelled a few years ago, so the men are not likely to be answering queries related to the show. However, if you think your question outlives the series, Cineflix was the producer and you could start with them for contact information.

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Featured, Kim's Convenience, Pure

What’s new, CBC?

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CBC announced their 2016-17 schedule this morning, bringing back this fall long-standing favourites such as Murdoch Mysteries, Dragons’ Den, Rick Mercer Report and This Hour Has 22 Minutes, as well as the second seasons of low-ish-ly rated Romeo Section, This Life and Crash Gallery.

Fall is a difficult time to launch new series, though this year CBC has Olympics-watching eyeballs over the summer to endlessly promote their wares. Will it be enough to successfully launch Shoot the Messenger, Kim’s Convenience and This is High School, the three new series for fall?

Originally announced for summer season, Shoot the Messenger is the Jennifer Holness/Sudz Sutherland creation described as “a gritty political thriller that centres on the complex relationships between crime reporters and the police.” Starring Elyse Levesque, Lucas Bryant, Lyriq Bent and Alex Kingston, the eight-episode series centres on “a sharp and ambitious j-school grad trying to balance a messy personal life while working at a big city newspaper. Things begin to go sideways for Daisy when she witnesses a murder she thinks is gang related, only to find herself slowly drawn into an interconnected web of criminal activity that reaches into the corridors of corporate and political power.” The show should benefit from a big Murdoch Mysteries lead-in on Mondays, though the tonal differences might not work in its favour: “gritty” Murdoch is not.

Kim’s Convenience is based on the hit play by Ins Choi, who also adapted it for television. It’s “the funny, heartfelt story of The Kims, a Korean-Canadian family, running a convenience store in downtown Toronto. Mr. and Mrs. Kim (‘Appa’ and ‘Umma’) immigrated to Toronto in the 80’s to set up shop near Regent Park and had two kids, Jung and Janet who are now young adults. However, when Jung was 16, he and Appa had a major falling out involving a physical fight, stolen money and Jung leaving home. Father and son have been estranged since.” It lands in the middle of CBC’s comedy block on Tuesdays.

This is High School is a factual series airing Sundays this fall and described as “a love letter to teachers.” It’s a six-part series “set in an extraordinary, ordinary school — where teachers, led by a passionate principal, go the distance to prepare their students for adult life. But when you’re dealing with teenagers, nothing is ever straightforward.”

Today’s announcement was the first I’ve heard of Pure, which is not on the fall schedule so likely airing in winter 2017. It’s a six-episode dramatic series that sounds ripped from CBC’s own headlines. From CBC:

“PURE, from Big Motion Pictures, tells the story of Noah Funk, a newly-elected Mennonite pastor, who is determined to rid his community of drug traffickers by betraying a fellow Mennonite to the police. But instead of solving the problem, Noah’s actions trigger an ultimatum from Menno mob leader Eli Voss: in order to protect his family he must get involved in the illegal operation. Noah decides that if he must work for the mob, he will secretly gather enough evidence to dismantle the organization.

Hidden from view, Old Order Mennonites exist in a world all their own, dedicated to living the same plain lifestyle as their ancestors. However, a tiny percentage of outlaw Mennonites controls one of the most efficient drug trafficking operations in North America. Supplied by an unholy alliance with the Juarez Cartel, their pipeline extends from Mexico, through the U.S. and into Canada.

Noah finds his beliefs and principles challenged every step of the way. Struggling to save his soul and complete his mission, Noah receives help from an unlikely source: his high school nemesis, local cop Bronco Novak. With his law-enforcement career hanging by a thread, Bronco sees the Menno mob case as his ticket to redemption. Created by David Macleod and Michael Amo, the series will be filmed on location in Nova Scotia and Alberta.”

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Kim's Convenience, Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays, Pure, Shoot the Messenger, Workin' Moms

CBC announces 2016-17 season

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From a media release:

CBC ANNOUNCES 2016–17 SEASON ANCHORED BY DISTINCTLY CANADIAN CONTENT

  • New daytime series to feature a team of hosts including Steven Sabados and Jessi Cruickshank
  • Television slate includes nine new original series and 25 returning titles
  • Largest investment ever in CBC digital original content including nine new series

GemCBCCBC today announced its 2016–17 fall and winter season, featuring a uniquely Canadian slate of new and returning original drama, comedy, factual, news, documentary, sports, arts and digital content from diverse voices and perspectives.

The 2016–17 television slate includes an all-new one-hour weekday daytime lifestyle series (title to be announced) launching on October 3. Hosted by a team including beloved personalities Steven Sabados and Jessi Cruickshank, the program will bring a fresh approach to daytime, offering playful inspiration and information on food, home, fashion and health. Additional hosts will be announced in the coming weeks.

New primetime series include crime-thriller SHOOT THE MESSENGER (8×60), focused on the complicated relationships between crime reporters and the police, and PURE (6×60), a dramatic miniseries about Mennonites who control one of the most efficient drug-trafficking operations in North America. CBC continues to increase its investment in smart, premium comedy with KIM’S CONVENIENCE (13×30), the funny, heartfelt story of a Korean-Canadian family running a convenience store in Toronto, based on the award-winning play by Ins Choi; WORKIN’ MOMS (13×30), a brash comedy from Catherine Reitman that tests the modern ideal that women really can have it all; and the return of the acclaimed MICHAEL: TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS (6×30). Taking on contemporary issues that are important to Canadians through authentic storytelling, new factual series include THIS IS HIGH SCHOOL (6×60), offering unprecedented and unfiltered access to real life at a British Columbia high school, and docu-series TRUE NORTH CALLING (7×30), which follows a group of young Canadians as they carve out lives at the edge of the Arctic.

With an extensive digital reach that includes 52 percent of all online millennials across Canada every month**, CBC is also investing in its largest slate of digital original programming to date, including new comedies COMING IN, from the creators of Shit Girls Say, MY 90-YEAR-OLD ROOMMATE, THE AMAZING GAYL PILE, THE WHOLE TRUTHS, THIS IS THAT and THAT’S WHAT SHEENA SAID! at CBC Comedy; a wide-ranging slate of short-form digital documentaries at cbc.ca/shortdocs; and arts titles DISRUPTING DESIGN with Matt Galloway, and JET AGE and MEET YOUR MAKER for CBC Arts, expanding CBC’s multiplatform arts strategy announced last fall.

New Kids’ CBC original series include the world premiere of DOT. (52×11), an animated series from entrepreneur Randi Zuckerberg, and photography competition series SNAPSHOTS (6×30).

Building on the success of last season’s acclaimed and award-winning programming lineup, returning drama, comedy, factual and arts series include CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON (season 3); CORONATION STREET (season 18); CRASH GALLERY (season 2); DRAGONS’ DEN (season 11); EXHIBITIONISTS (season 2); HA!IFAX COMEDY FEST (season 21); HEARTLAND (season 10); HELLO GOODBYE (season 2); INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM (season 2); JUST FOR LAUGHS: GALAS; MR. D (season 6); MURDOCH MYSTERIES (season 10); RICK MERCER REPORT (season 14); THE ROMEO SECTION (season 2); SCHITT’S CREEK (season 3); THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (season 24); THIS LIFE (season 2); THE WINNIPEG COMEDY FESTIVAL (season 15); and X COMPANY (season 3).

CBC will bolster its slate of award-winning news, investigative and documentary programming with the launch of a new investigative program hosted by Diana Swain, which will take Canadians behind the scenes for a closer look at the process of investigative journalism. CBC journalist Peter Armstrong will host a reimagined business show. Returning flagship titles include news and investigative programs THE NATIONAL, MARKETPLACE (season 44) and the fifth estate (season 42), thought-provoking documentary series FIRSTHAND (season 2) and David Suzuki’s THE NATURE OF THINGS (season 56).

Following the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, CBC Sports will build on its commitment to promote and elevate high-performance sport and athletes in Canada with expanded coverage leading into the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. In addition to events such as FIS ski and snowboard and IBSF bobsleigh and skeleton, CBC Sports has signed a new three-year agreement for exclusive Canadian coverage of ISU figure skating and speed skating.

The CBC-TV 2016 primetime fall programming schedule is as follows:

MONDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Murdoch Mysteries *NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) —Shoot the Messenger *NEW SERIES*

TUESDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Rick Mercer Report *NEW SEASON*
8:30 p.m. (9 NT) — This Hour Has 22 Minutes *NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Kim’s Convenience *NEW SERIES*
9:30 p.m. (10 NT) — Mr. D *NEW SEASON*

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Dragons’ Den *NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — The Romeo Section *NEW SEASON*

THURSDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — The Nature of Things *NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Firsthand *NEW SEASON*

FRIDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Marketplace *NEW SEASON*
8:30 p.m. (9 NT) — Hello Goodbye *NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — the fifth estate *NEW SEASON*

SATURDAY
6:30 p.m. ET — Hockey Night in Canada

SUNDAY
7 p.m. (7:30 NT) — Heartland *NEW SEASON*
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — This is High School *NEW SERIES* (October)
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Canada’s Smartest Person *NEW SEASON* (November)
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — This Life *NEW SEASON*

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