From Craig Takeuchi of The Georgia Straight:
Link: Second Jen’s Samantha Wan sees diversity as key to creating original stories on TV
Samantha Wan finds the state of Asian representation in media “disheartening”.
On the line from Toronto, the Canadian actor and writer says, for instance, she was shocked when she read columns arguing how stories like the live-action film version of Mulan don’t need to be kept Asian. Continue reading.Â
From a media release:
After an extensive global casting search, Northwood Entertainment, Netflix and CBC today announced that young rising star Amybeth McNulty has been cast as the precocious and imaginative Anne Shirley in the highly anticipated new dramatic television series ANNE (8 x 60). Based on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s timeless classic novel Anne of Green Gables, ANNE began production in Prince Edward Island in September and has now moved to Ontario, Canada.
Fourteen-year-old Irish Canadian actress Amybeth McNulty was raised in Donegal, Ireland. She started acting at the early age of six, and has appeared in numerous productions on stage and on screen including in the feature film Morgan starring Kate Mara and in the television series Agatha Raisin for Sky and The Sparticle Mystery for CBBC in the UK. A trained singer, Amybeth also starred in London’s acclaimed Regent’s Park production of The Sound of Music.
Also starring as the siblings who adopt Anne, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, are Tony and four-time BAFTA nominee Geraldine James OBE (Sherlock Holmes, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and multiple award-winning veteran Canadian stage and television actor, Governor General Award recipient R.H. Thomson (Chloe, The Englishman’s Boy).
ANNE is a coming-of-age story about an outsider who, against all odds and numerous challenges, fights for love and acceptance and her place in the world. The series centers on a young orphaned girl in the late 1890s who, after an abusive childhood spent in orphanages and the homes of strangers, is mistakenly sent to live with an aging sister and brother. Over time, 13-year-old Anne will transform their lives and eventually the entire small town in which they live with her unique spirit, fierce intellect and brilliant imagination.
While the new series will honour the foundation of the novel held as a Canadian treasure and global phenomenon (Anne of Green Gables has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide), ANNE will also chart new territory. Anne and the rest of the characters will experience adventures reflecting timeless and topical issues including themes of identity, feminism, bullying and prejudice.
As previously announced, award-winning Director Niki Caro (Whale Rider, McFarland USA, Zookeeper’s Wife) is helming the two-hour premiere episode.
Three-time Emmy® Award and Golden Globe winner Moira Walley-Beckett (Breaking Bad, Flesh & Bone) is penning the entire first season of the series and serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside executive producer Miranda de Pencier (Beginners, Thanks for Sharing), under her Northwood Entertainment banner.
Alison Owen (Saving Mr. Banks) and Debra Hayward (Bridget Jones Diary, Les Misérables) are also attached to executive produce and Susan Murdoch will produce.
From a media release:
Frantic Films and CBC today announced that production is underway on Season 2 of BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW. Created and written by and starring award-winning Canadian comedians Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Browne and Jennifer Whalen, Season 2 (7×30) of the single camera, all-female sketch comedy series will shoot on location in and around Toronto until late October 2016 for broadcast in 2017.
Debuting to critical acclaim in June 2016, Season 1 of BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW was a breakout hit among Canadian audiences. The series recently garnered a Canadian Comedy Awards nomination for Best TV Show. The series’ first sketch “Locker Room,†which was released on Facebook in advance of the series premiere, has garnered close to 1.7 million views to date, with subsequent sketches following similar success online.
BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW takes a fresh look at the world’s narcissistic contemporary culture. Fast-paced and irreverent, the series celebrates the absurd, mines the embarrassing and satirizes daily lives. The series is insightful and emotionally grounded while offering a witty take on everyday concerns. From the politics of ordering a coffee, to entitled coworkers and open relationships, this satirical sketch show holds a fun-house mirror up to modern life.
Commissioned by CBC, BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW is produced by Frantic Film and executive produced by Jamie Brown, Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Browne and Jennifer Whalen.
From Hermione Wilson of The TV Junkies:
Link: Travelers: MacKenzie Porter on the mindset of a Traveler
“I’ve done some sci-fi stuff but this is definitely the best quality I’ve ever done. It’s a genre that I actually didn’t grow up watching, but I have since working on the part. I think  it’s cool because it’s sci-fi based but it’s also drama based and the relationships between characters is really strong.” Continue reading.Â
From Chris Clay of the Mississauga News:
Link: Mississauga actor Timothy Lai lands role on City’s Second Jen
“Most of them were like a foot shorter than I am. But, the audition went really well and I had them laughing. I think I felt slightly more comfortable auditioning because I thought there was no way I was going to get the role.†Continue reading.
