From Lindsay Monture of Two Row Times:
Link: Derek Miller challenges the Canadian entertainment industry with TV show
Derek Miller is no stranger to the challenges of establishing freedom of expression in the face of the Canadian government. Derek’s performance variety TV series The Guilt Free Zone had been in conflict with some Canadian entertainment industry policies and had fought to bring it into its second season. Continue reading.
Maxim Roy may only appear in two episodes of 19-2 this season, but she makes the most of it. The Quebec native says Monday’s return episode is full of backstabbing and huge betrayals, and viewers will be shocked by the actions of some squad members.
We spoke to Roy about what’s next for Isabelle Latendresse following the death of Sgt. Julien Houle, and the relationship she has with Commander Gendron.
I’m so glad 19-2 is back, especially after Season 2’s finale with Sgt. Houle’s storyline. We needed to come back and have some closure.
Maxim Roy: I think everybody is. It was such a dramatic ending and every character on the show is so affected by that storyline. You didn’t see it coming and I think the audience was pretty shocked.
I thought Season 2 was pedal-to-the-metal and there wasn’t really any time to let up and take a breath.
Oh, really? I thought Season 2 was lighter than the first season. There were a lot more dramatic scenes that were cut out, so maybe that’s why I see it as being light. There were a lot of scenes that didn’t make the cut and they kept lighter moments. I think they were afraid of being too dramatic … that’s my opinion on it, but it was supposed to be even more dramatic. [Laughs.]
Well, there was the rookie cop having sex in the restaurant bathroom and the paintball fight had its moments of levity.
These are pretty dark characters. That’s what’s great about the show; everybody has their secrets, their own demons that they deal with and they try to put them aside on the job, but it doesn’t always happen. The show is more about the human drama of these people than the police work. They become intertwined, of course, but it’s more about them.
Masks are going to come off. You think somebody is good and realize they’re awful. It’s going to keep people on their toes.
Now, the press release for Season 3 says you return to ‘guest-star’ as Isabelle. Is this a case of the producers deciding to soft-pedal Isabelle’s story a bit, or did you have other commitments and couldn’t play a full-time role?
That was their decision. What happens to Isabelle is pretty shocking in the first episode, and then I can’t say anything … until the 10th episode people are going to be shocked.
Oh no…
But in a good way! Well, I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but people are going to be shocked. This season is intertwined with the fourth season … we need a fourth season to see what happens because there is a big climax.
How many episodes is Isabelle in this season?
Two.
I better not end up having to talk to you again because Isabelle has been killed off.
I don’t die.
What can you tell me about Isabelle and the characters she interacts with? It looked like Commander Gendron was moving in on her, which was creepy and gross.
[Laughs.] I love that you describe it as creepy, because that’s what I think too. Bruce [Ramsay] is such an adorable guy. When we shot the pilot, I didn’t like him. I thought, ‘He’s gross, I don’t even want to stand beside him.’ I didn’t know Bruce at all, but he was so good in his character that I thought, ‘Who is this creepy dude that they’ve hired?!’ But that’s Gendron. Then I got to know Bruce and I fell in love with him. He is the funniest guy and he created this odd, surprising, slimy guy.
People are going to hate him even more in Season 3, I can say that. Especially in the first episode. There is a lot of backstabbing, and huge betrayals all over the place. Masks are going to come off. You think somebody is good and realize they’re awful. It’s going to keep people on their toes.
19-2 airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo.
From a media release:
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today took measures to ensure Canadians continue to have access to local programming that reflects their needs and interests.
Local News
New minimum thresholds for local news will be imposed on all local private television broadcasters. Also, through a rebalancing of resources, the large private broadcasters will now have the necessary flexibility to keep local stations open and fund the production of local news programming. This represents up to $67 million that could be available for local news.
In addition, the CRTC is creating the Independent Local News Fund to give independent stations access to approximately $23 million dollars in resources to produce high-quality local news programming.
The Independent Local News Fund will support independent operators in the following localities: Victoria, Prince George, Kamloops, Medicine Hat, Lloydminster, Thunder Bay, Hamilton, Rouyn-Noranda, Val d’Or, Gatineau, Montreal, Trois-Rivières, Sherbrooke, Québec, Saguenay, Rivière-du-Loup, Carleton and St-John’s.
Canadians value local news and they watch it on a regular basis. Local news and information is also a key part of a democratic society. However, new technologies are making it harder to monetize viewership on traditional platforms.
Community television
The thorough public record shows that, overall, the framework for community television continues to be valid and relevant, ensuring that citizens have access to content production across Canada.
Cable companies will continue to have the stewardship of the community channel on behalf of their subscribers as they have for decades. The CRTC was not persuaded that this successful model should be changed.
Nevertheless, the CRTC is taking steps to ensure that this programming continues to reflect local citizens and events, and that more of the overall funding is directed to on-screen results rather than overhead.
Quick Facts
From a media release:
Things are about to get even creepier on T+E. June 18 will mark the highly-anticipated premiere of Haunted Case Files at 9 p.m. ET/PT. T+E’s newest original production will chronicle the paranormal encounters of North America’s leading ghost hunters and mediums. Riding on the coattails of fan-favourite series Paranormal Survivor, this brand new spinoff, co-produced by Our House Media, will bring even more hair-raising, supernatural tales to resonate with fans this summer.
Haunted Case Files zeroes in on the personal stories of Paranormal Survivor stars and real-life ghostbusters, including Michelle Desrochers. In this series, the experts take a look back at their investigations over the years and recount their most terrifying encounters with spirits, demons and unexplained entities. Each episode features three different stories from different paranormal investigators and weaves gripping interviews, powerful recreations and, in many cases, actual recordings – both audio and visual – to create an edge-of-the-seat rollercoaster ride of thrills and chills.
This week’s powerful episode “Stewards of the Land” takes a hard look at the meaning of, and connection to, the land that Indigenous cultures innately have. It also examines the threats to traditional lands that exist in today’s society in the never ending quest for progress. Waneek Horn-Miller reminds viewers that this is not an Indigenous movement but a human movement, “that we do not drink separate water, or breath separate air, we have to live here together, and our children are going to inherit this.”
During my interview with season three series director Michelle Smith,  she named this episode as one of her favourites. “This episode is such an empowering story of community coming together in order to block uranium mining on Cree territory.”
We visit Eastmain, James Bay, an area considered rich in uranium, and follow Jamie Moses as he takes his son Joshua out on the traditional lands in order to pass on his hunting and trapping skills. Jamie and his son provide the human context for this story. We also follow Jamie’s compelling testimony at Quebec’s Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) hearings, held in 2015, that explored the possible impact of uranium mining on Cree Territory.
Traditional Anishnaabe Story-Teller Isaac Murdoch discusses the balance that the Indigenous peoples had with the land. They held a preservationist philosophy whilst the settlers considered the land as a commodity to exploit. This meant that the Indigenous beliefs so enmeshed with the land needed to be destroyed as they interfered with the harvesting of resources for the sake of progress. “When you don’t believe that the water has a spirit or that a tree has a spirit you are able to cut it down,” and it becomes easier to rape the land of its riches. The process of colonization sought to destroy this connection but the need protect the land has acted as the impetus to reconnect with culture.
Shawn and Ashley Iserhoff, leaders in the fight against uranium mining, discuss the engagement of the Cree in their fight to deny uranium mining in Mistissini. They believe that the people today need to make responsible decisions in order to ensure future generations will have the ability to enjoy the land as their ancestors once did. Ultimately it was the overwhelming involvement of the youth that voiced their concerns for their future that united the community in this latest battle. Because the Cree were so diligent in their fight to deny uranium exploration on their traditional lands, the BAPE Commission voted to deny future exploration not only on Cree territory, but within all of Quebec.
It was the following statement by Isaac Murdoch that truly resonated with me: “As characters in this sacred story, what is our next move? Do we do something? Do we sit back and watch? Or do we try to be heroes?” We have to unite, and we have to be strategic in our approach to government, and then we can make a difference. It is Jamie Moses’s belief, passed to him from his grandfather that the people keep the traditions alive but also adapt to the modern ways; use the best of both worlds as you move forward in a good way.
