From Stewart Clarke of Variety:
Link: NBCUniversal lands Archie Panjabi, Christopher Plummer drama ‘Departure’
“Departure,†starring Archie Panjabi (“The Good Wifeâ€) and Christopher Plummer (“All the Money in the Worldâ€), will be on the Universal TV channel in the U.K. and Germany and 13th Street in France and Spain after NBCUniversal pre-bought the upcoming drama series. Continue reading.Â
The first season of CBC’s Burden of Truth was a pleasant surprise. At first glance, the series—with its vague title and legal theme—had the unfortunate outer markings of a bland procedural, a sort of brown paper bag among more colourful “Peak TV” offerings.
But in a wonderful sidestep, the series eschewed a plot-focused case-of-the-week format in favour of a single, serialized case that took its time and built its characters. Moreover, its environmental storyline involving big-time corporate lawyer Joanna Hanley (Kristin Kreuk) and a mysterious illness affecting high school girls in her hometown of Millwood, Manitoba, exonerated its seemingly punchless title. As the suffering of the girls became impossible to ignore, the weight of Joanna’s conscience—which her lawyer-boss father David Hanley (Alex Carter) proudly proclaimed she didn’t have—became heavier and heavier. This moral awakening led her to defect from her dad’s big-city law firm and help small-town lawyer Billy Crawford (Peter Mooney) investigate the cause of the girls’ illness. It also led her to discover that her father once preyed upon an underage girl, resulting in the birth of her sister Luna (Star Slade). This helped her to win the case but forced her to change her name.
The burden of truth, indeed.
In the show’s Season 2 premiere, which airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBC, that burden still looms large. Now working at a high-pressure corporate law firm in Winnipeg and using the last name “Chang,” Joanna is trying to distance herself from both her father’s shadow and the Millwood case. However, the events of Season 1 won’t be easy to shake off.
“I think Brad Simpson, who created the show, really wanted to be sure that we stayed with the lives of these people and to really instill that these cases don’t just end and that’s it,” Kreuk explains during a phone interview from Toronto. “There’s a lot of complexity and also a lot of horrible things happened, so they have to deal with the balance of that.”
For Joanna, that means having to deal with Millwood-related aftershocks—be they in the form of a visit from her estranged father or in the form of an unwanted Case of the Year award—while she is struggling to rein in her difficult new client, a hacker-turned-political activist (Varun Saranga). For the people of Millwood, that means finding a way to rebuild their lives after the closure of Matheson Steel, the source of the environmental contamination that made the girls ill.
While the series is admirably willing to delve into the aftermath of Season 1, Mooney assures viewers that there are plenty of fresh storylines and threats lurking about in Season 2.
“I think the danger in the second season is so much more immediate,” he says. “The onus in the first season was chipping away at these girls’ lives in a really tragic way, and this season is just as dangerous. But that danger is not a future danger, but a danger that’s present and right there in every day of the season.”
One major source of danger is Joanna’s new case, which involves hacktivists, shadowy corporations and Internet privacy.
“When the hacktivist stuff happens, it’s hard for her,” Kreuk says. “Not just because she doesn’t understand the Internet and she doesn’t understand privacy, but because she’s dealing with young people who are really emotional and really intense, and that’s really tough for her. I think, practically, that puts her into a space where her life is on the line and so are the lives of her clients.”
To make matters worse, the case forces Joanna to confront parts of her personality she would rather keep hidden.
“When people attack Joanna’s privacy, it starts to get into emotional profiling and the darkest parts of your psychodynamics that you don’t want to look at and you don’t want anyone else to see,” Kreuk says.
Meanwhile, back in Millwood, Matheson Steel victims Molly (Sara Thompson) and Taylor (Anwen O’Driscoll) are trying to physically and emotionally heal after their ordeal, while Luna remains troubled by the crime David Hanley committed against her mother (Jessica Matten). The town is also reeling from the closure of the mill—an event that is driving up unemployment and increasing tensions. This causes Billy to retreat to the outskirts of town, but his tranquil existence is interrupted when his impulsive younger brother (Andrew Chown) suddenly turns up.
“Billy got away pretty clear in Season 1,” Mooney says. “Anything from his past that he’d rather have avoided, he was able to avoid in that season. But in Season 2, it comes crashing back into his life and we meet his brother Shane, who brings us back into his history, and it’s tricky history. There’s a lot going on. We see a lot of different sides of Billy beyond the side that he usually puts forward.”
If all of this sounds like a Season 1-style slow-burn instead of the “immediate” danger Mooney spoke of, don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. There is an early-season twist that turns everything on its head, and Kreuk says the fallout will challenge viewers and push them to “think about their place in Canada, or in the world, in a more nuanced way.”
Mooney concurs, adding, “We tell a really difficult story this season, and I think it’s really well told. I’m really proud of it.”
Burden of Truth airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.
Images courtesy of CBC.
Spoiler alert: Do not continue reading until you have watched the newest episode of Murdoch Mysteries, “Pirates of the Great Lakes.”
Alas, it doesn’t appear that Thomas Brackenreid and his wife, Margaret, will be reuniting anytime soon. Crushed upon learning he has a daughter from a past relationship, Margaret asked him to leave their home and returned her wedding band to him.
And while there was a crime committed in Monday’s episode, it almost took a back seat to the torment Thomas is going through. What’s next for the Inspector? We spoke to writer Dan Trotta to find out.
It’s been an interesting journey for Thomas Brackenreid. He’s one of those characters where when something happens, it tends to be big. This season has been no different. Do you like being able to write for these secondary characters? Obviously William and Julia, to a certain extent, are always going to be top in mind, but what about writing for characters that don’t always get these meaty storylines, like Thomas Brackenreid?
Dan Trotta: I do, personally, yeah. I think there’s, in a weird way, it feels like there’s a little more wiggle room, if that makes sense? I think there’s certain expectations we have as viewers and, I’m speaking generally even as a fan of TV shows, the main characters are often … we really do expect certain things from them. And I think there’s a more sort of rigid box that people put their main characters in, whereas secondary characters you can sort of … they’re a little more malleable. You can kinda play around with them a bit more. You can put them in situations you might not normally find them in.
And there’s just a bit more leeway with sort of where you can take them. And Brackenreid is definitely one of those guys. Particularly because the character sort of lends himself to more kind of intense experiences just because he’s kind of this brash tough guy.
So to find out that he’s done something as surprising as fathering another child, while it’s shocking, I think it’s still within the realm of believability. Whereas if the information ever came out that Murdoch had done that, in the same way, it would just be less believable.
Let’s talk about William’s latest invention. We’ve got the combination washing machine and outboard motor. Congratulations!
DT: Thank you, thank you. Yes, it’s quite an achievement. Yeah, we’re all very proud.
Is that kind of a fun notch in your belt, to write an episode that has one of William’s inventions in it and then get to work with Craig Grant on … Well I don’t know, how much do you work with Craig on something or does he just do it all himself?
DT: It’s really sort of a question of, what’s possible? Well like, this thing went through a few iterations. Initially it was like a lawnmower and then it was a bunch of different things. And then it was like, well that wouldn’t really make sense. It wouldn’t be able to power an boat. And it wouldn’t be big enough. And then, so you sort of have that conversation with Craig.
Craig is definitely there to run stuff by and just to sort of figure out what’s actually possible. And to answer the first part of your question, it’s fun. I’ve always loved that Steampunk aspect of the show. So yeah, it’s really exciting. And then to go down to the props department and see it get put together, the drawings and stuff, it’s a blast. It’s a lot of fun.
How far in advance did you know a sailboat would be involved in this storyline?
DT: Knowing that we needed a ship came up pretty early. I mean, once we had figured out that we were gonna do an episode with Dan Seavey, who is an actual character, an actual historical figure. Once we knew it was a pirate episode, it was sort of a no-brainer that we’d have a ship, I think. So, then the conversation becomes, well how big? And where? And what’s it gonna do?
[Episode director] Leslie [Hope] and I sort of got together. I hadn’t seen the ship, but she had, and she gave me the specs of it. The size of it and what we could and couldn’t do and how many people could actually be on there. That was really tricky. It’s like Pete sort of had to step in and help out because we were struggling a little bit because there was a space issue. We wanted a bunch of guys on there, you can only have a few. Just the mechanics of it became tricky. So I would say more than anything, actually, that was the thing … that was the trickiest sort of ship related bit of business.
Dan Seavey was a real guy. I didn’t realize that.
At the beginning that was a big part of the research process is just figuring out what happened that particular year. I had found him in my sort of Googling rabbit holes and never would’ve imagined that there was a pirate on the Great Lakes. I never would’ve imagined it. But it popped up and from there it was just a question of how to use him. We couldn’t make him quite as vicious as he actually was. I mean, this guy was a murderer. Straight up savage. He was pretty bad, actually. But you know, also very charismatic and there were a lot of colorful stories about him, so we sort of stuck to the lighter stuff.
Let’s finish with Thomas and Margaret. Obviously everybody wants to see these two together, and I’m not asking you to spoil anything, but I’m assuming this isn’t the type of thing that’s gonna be wrapped up neatly by next week’s episode.
DT: I would say, keep tuning in. I mean, there’s a real relationship there, I think. She’s clearly been hurt and he … I think this is a guy who has to fight through his pride. We’ve all seen hubris in this character, but I think there is a fundamental trust that at the core, that this is a good man, who obviously loves his wife and his family. That said, I mean, anything can happen.
Maybe I should just say it? I mean, Thomas gets pregnant at the end of the season. [Laughs.] Keep watching is what I would say to the fans.
What did you think of this newest episode? Did you Google Dan Seavey like I did? Do you think Margaret should forgive Thomas? Let me know in the comments below.
Murdoch Mysteries airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.
Images courtesy of CBC.
From Charles Trapunski of Brief Take:
Link: Interview: Coroner’s Serinda Swan and Roger Cross
“I had to chance that a character that’s older than me and see how that works. But I think that all of that is why the show feels lived in, and why it feels different and moody and filmy, is because it’s human, it’s a very human show.” Continue reading.
From Dana Gee of Postmedia:
Link: Vancouver’s Cross returns to TV with CBC’s Coroner
“McAvoy is a complicated man. He’s great at his job, but his personal life needs work. He has been on the job a long time, and as is apt to happen, he becomes a bit jaded. He has been married a few times, and his current relationship isn’t the healthiest. But he’s a very just and fair man and reads people very well.” Continue reading.Â
From Chloe Grant of Beyond Fashion:
Link: Serinda Swan on ‘Coroner’: “It Was Definitely a Character Piece for Me When I Read It and That’s What I’ve Been Looking forâ€
“I put on almost 10 pounds for her. I kept cutting my hair all weird, like ‘how would she have cut her hair?’ It’s not stylish, it’s not something for fashion, it’s utilitarian.” Continue reading.Â
From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: Coroner: 6 Things to know about CBC’s New Drama
While the main protagonist in many crime procedurals seem to have a special gift that gives them an almost inhuman ability to solve crimes, Coroner’s lead, Dr. Jenny Cooper, isn’t that at all. Continue reading.Â
From Melissa Girimonte of The Televixen:
Link: Coroner stars Serinda Swan and Roger Cross discuss their new series
“Jenny makes a lot of interesting choices that on the surface aren’t necessarily likeable, but you like her because she’s messy, imbalanced and human. A lot of the time, women have been accessories for a very complete male character as opposed to a very complete female character.” Continue reading.
From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: Coroner: Morwyn Brebner and Adrienne Mitchell talk “Black Dog”
“At Back Alley we were looking for a property that we could option centered around a female, but also be very character-driven and have an investigational line to it. We found the book series called The Coroner by M.R. Hall and loved the character.” Continue reading.
From Michael Pickard of Drama Quarterly:
Link: Speaking for the dead
“The hardest thing in the world is for a show not to feel like something you’ve seen before. This show does feel like something we haven’t seen before, and I feel very proud of that. There’s something about it that feels new; the cast is incredibly fresh and I feel that, if people watch it, they will feel the same.” Continue reading.Â
From Heather M. of The Televixen:
Link: Morwyn Brebner and Adrienne Mitchell talk CBC’s Coroner
“Jenny was really intelligent, full of fierceness, and also boundary-pushing in a way that consequences would befall her and she would always get up fighting. She was dealing with anxiety and all sorts of personal issues; she was also aware of her pitfalls and had a humorous take on herself. We loved her.” Continue reading.Â
From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: Coroner’s Serinda Swan on the importance of portraying Jenny’s struggles on screen
“There’s about a minute and a half panic attack in one episode that’s raw, uncut and awesome to watch. It’s what it is, and you see her pick up the phone and talk to her colleagues while pretending she’s fine.†Continue reading.
This is the third winter that I’ve taken the time to preview a new season of Heavy Rescue: 401. You may wonder why I bother. Isn’t this, and its predecessor, Highway Thru Hell, the same thing every week? The answer is yes, both programs feature folks cleaning up vehicular messes in the west or on Ontario’s highways. But the sameness ends there. Every situation is different from the last and every job varies.
So I was, once again, excited when the fine folks at Bell Media sent over materials pertaining to Season 3 of Heavy Rescue: 401, returning Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on the specialty channel.
The first episode of the season is called “One Twisted Mess,” and it’s apt. Using dashcam footage to show the drama unravel, a sunny, dry day on Highway 401 west of Toronto turns dangerous when a tractor-trailer and car converge in a cloud of dust and shredded metal. A squad of rotators and wreckers, led by Metro Truck Group converge on the scene to clean up the 100,000-pound cargo mess. It takes years on the job to figure out the best—and safest—way to upright a tumbled truck and trailer and I’m always amazed to see it being done on Heavy Rescue: 401.
Meanwhile, Preferred Towing is on the move on Highway 402, the site of a rolled propane tanker, a truly dangerous cargo to take care of. With a new truck added to the fleet, Collin is becoming an even more important member of his father, Gary’s, team. It’s an all hands on deck operation to upright the propane truck and jackknifed second hauler laden with tomatoes. Will Collin succeed in his first-ever solo job? Will part of the 402 become engulfed in tomato sauce? Tune in to Heavy Rescue: 401 on Tuesday to find out.
Heavy Rescue: 401 airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Discovery.
Image courtesy of Bell Media.
