Tag Archives: Brett Donahue

W Network and Nikki Ray Media Agency greenlight a set of romantic made-for-TV movies, The Love Club

From a media release:

Finding the love of your life and lifelong friendships along the way go hand in hand as W Network and Nikki Ray Media Agency greenlight and begin production on a set of romantic made-for-TV movies, The Love Club (4x120min). Corus Studios will distribute The Love Club internationally. Starring Brittany Bristow (Holiday Date), Lily Gao (Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City), Chantel Riley (Frankie Drake Mysteries), and Camille Stopps (Running with Violet), the made-for-TV movies are produced by Nikki Ray Media Agency for W Network and Corus Studios. The first of the four movies is currently filming in the Hamilton area with all movies shooting back-to-back until July. The four movies are slated to premiere Winter 2023 and onwards on W Network and will be available to stream live and on demand on Corus’ premium streaming service, STACKTV.

At a New Year’s Eve college party, four women, each dealing with their own dating debacle, take a vow as the clock counts down to call on one another if they are ever in romantic trouble again – a vow that has them resurrecting their “Love Club” ten years later as each of them search for their unique happily-ever-after. Over the course of four distinct movies, Nicole (Brittany Bristow), Sydney (Lily Gao), Lauren (Chantel Riley) and Tara (Camille Stopps) each are the lead in their own love story, while their friends are involved in helping them find true love. Each movie, told from the point of view of one of the Love Club women, will thematically open with a flashback that takes viewers back ten years earlier to the fateful New Year’s Eve party where the women meet and form the Love Club. Ten years have passed since the Love Club women made their vow and while they have remained friends, their busy lives have led them to go their separate ways, until now.

The Love Club also stars Marcus Rosner (Arrow), Jesse Hutch (Batwoman), Andrew Bushell (Jump), and Brett Donahue (Private Eyes).

The Love Club is written by Canadian Screen Award winner Barbara Kymlicka (Glass Houses), directed by Jill Carter (The Bold Type), and produced by Nikki Ray Media Agency in association with Corus Studios, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund.

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Global sets Season 4 premiere of Private Eyes for November 2

From a media release:

Shade and Angie are back on the case with the highly-anticipated Season 4 (12×60) premiere of Global Original Private Eyes debuting Monday, November 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. From global independent studio Entertainment One (eOne) in association with Corus Entertainment, the new season of Private Eyes joins Global’s previously announced lineup of hit fall series including #1 new show I Can See Your Voice, #1 late night show Saturday Night Live, Global Original event series Departure, and much more. All of Global’s hit shows, including seasons one through three of Private Eyes, are streaming now on STACK TV and the Global TV App.

Season 4 picks up following a paternity bombshell dropped in Matt Shade’s (Jason Priestley) lap, presenting a sudden realization that family is far more complicated than he ever anticipated. Helping to keep him grounded is his partner, whip-smart PI Angie Everett (Cindy Sampson), whose concern for Shade’s well-being involves a secret DNA test and more than a few white lies. Luckily, a pressing case becomes a welcome distraction from personal conflicts as Shade and Angie delve into the mystery of a wealthy family whose Gatsby-themed party becomes a setting for battles over inheritance…and murder.

Returning this season are fan favourite characters Zoe Chow (Samantha Wan), Don Shade (Barry Flatman), Jules Shade (Jordyn Negri), Becca D’Orsay (Nicole DeBoer), Liam Benson (Jonny Gray), Nora Everett (Mimi Kuzyk), Inspector Mathilde Carson (Linda Kash), Officer Danica Powers (Ruth Goodwin) and Tex Clarkson (Brett Donahue). New characters this season include Canadian singer and ET Canada Correspondent Keshia Chanté as Angie’s friend Mia Torres, and Supinder Wraich (The Beaverton) as Danica’s girlfriend Kate. Plus, series star Cindy Sampson makes her directorial debut in episode three.

Among this season’s guest stars are acclaimed Canadian actors Erica Durance (Smallville), Katie Boland (Reign), Aaron Ashmore (Killjoys), and Eric Peterson (Corner Gas), along with renowned personalities Chris Candy, HGTV Canada’s Scott McGillivray, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, and pro golfer Mike Weir.

As previously announced, production for Season 5 of Private Eyes is now underway. The series is produced by eOne in association with Corus Entertainment, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, IPF’s Cogeco TV Production Program, the Bell Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit. The series is produced by Alex Jordan. The series is executive produced by Jocelyn Hamilton and Tecca Crosby for eOne, Shawn Piller and Lloyd Segan for Piller/Segan, Jason Priestley, Alexandra Zarowny and James Thorpe. Piller, Zarowny and Thorpe are also showrunners.

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Filming underway on Season 5 of Private Eyes

From a media release:

 Global and Entertainment One (eOne) announced today that production is underway on Season 5 of the smash-hit series, Private Eyes (8X60). From Canadian broadcaster and production partner Corus Entertainment, with leading independent studio eOne, the new season returns with more cases and drama for Everett & Shade Private Investigations. Canada’s favourite detective duo Angie Everett (Cindy Sampson) and Matt Shade (Jason Priestley) are back with eight new episodes featuring more cases and some real questions about their future together, professionally, and personally. As the recipient of the 2019 Golden Screen Award for Canada’s most-watched comedy or drama, Season 4 of Private Eyes is set to air later this fall on Global.

Season 5 welcomes back Shade’s daughter, Jules Shade (Jordyn Negri) and her boyfriend Liam Benson (Jonny Gray); Shade’s father, “The Soup Don” Don Shade (Barry Flatman); Everett and Shade Agency’s assistant, Zoe Chow (Samantha Wan); Officer Danica Powers (Ruth Goodwin); Angie’s mother, Nora Everett (Mimi Kuzyk); Shade’s ex-wife, Becca D’Orsay (Nicole DeBoer); and Angie’s childhood friend, Detective Kurtis ‘Maz’ Mazhari (Ennis Esmer).

Guest stars this season include Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica) as Jada Berry, Shade’s new love interest; Brett Donahue as Tex Clarkson (Bad Blood); Sagine Semajuste (Grand Army) as Laila Maxton, the successful Financial Health Coach; Enrico Colantoni (Veronica Mars) as Chief George Cutler, and special appearances by Canadian Singer-Songwriter, Royal Wood; renowned Toronto Drag Queen, Lucy Flawless, and more.

Broadcast details for Season 4 of Private Eyes are coming soon. Stream Seasons 1 through 3 anytime with the Global TV App or STACKTV, available with Amazon Prime Video Channels.

Private Eyes is produced by eOne in association with Corus Entertainment, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit. The series is executive produced by Jocelyn Hamilton and Tecca Crosby for eOne, Shawn Piller and Lloyd Segan for Piller/Segan, Jason Priestley, Alexandra Zarowny and James Thorpe. Piller, Zarowny and Thorpe are also showrunners.

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Bad Blood: Brett Donahue on Nico Jr.’s dangerous business plans

By the end of Episode 1 of Bad Blood (catch up by watching the debut online), Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto (Anthony LaPaglia) was indicted for murders that occurred early in his career. That left a hole at the top of his crime family. And, despite Vito’s wishes that Declan Gardiner (Kim Coates) take over in his absence, it was Vito’s son, Nico Jr. (Brett Donahue), who stepped into the void.

Nico Jr., not interested is merely sitting back, feels a Rizzuto should be boss, and that means him. But, as viewers will see in this week’s episode, Nico Jr.’s decision has repercussions. In our latest interview—done from the set of Bad Blood in Sudbury, Ont., last year—Winnipeg native Brett Donahue explains his character’s actions and what it could lead to.

Did you know anything about the Rizzuto family before becoming involved in Bad Blood?
Brett Donahue: Not to the extent of what the Rizzuto family meant. We think, living in Canada and growing up in Winnipeg, there is organized crime and gangs and all that. But the Mafia, the iconic mob, was always something in New York or Chicago. But, I was in Montreal, because I was studying in Montreal, and I remember hearing on the news that Nico Sr. had been assassinated in his home and hearing—even for a murder—that it was a faux pas because it had happened in the home, which is something that you don’t do unless you’re trying to send a really strong message out. I was interested in who these people were and I learned a little bit more.

But, when received all of this stuff I read more into Vito’s accomplishments. As nefarious as he might have been, he was a real businessman and really, really built up this empire, first with his father and then with him, into this syndicate in Montreal.


You had this option, you had this path, this possibility of something different, but you’re going to put yourself in danger.


Growing up in southern Ontario, I heard nothing about this at all.
Well, that’s the thing. When things are running well, you don’t hear anything about it. It’s an eye-opener.

Give me the lowdown on your character, Nico Jr. What did you discover in your research and in the scripts?
In the research, I found out a lot more about Vito than Nico Jr., but in our story—which is a lot of fun to play—is this man who is coming into his own and he really wants to be a part of the family business. Like any story in a family business and ownership being passed down the line, he wants his turn to continue the prosperity that his grandfather and now his father built and prove his worth. The actions that he takes in our story is one of that, of wanting to protect his family and hold onto the power and prove himself as a man.

But his dad didn’t want him to continue the business.
That’s the thing. His dad protected him. But this is the classic immigrant story; the first generation works really, really hard so that future generations don’t have to, or have a better opportunity. So, his dad, out of real protection and love, wanted to have Nico Jr. have his hands clean. In this world, you’re always looking over your shoulder and expecting something. You’re never in an even-keeled, tranquil state. He really didn’t want him involved, but when Vito is indicted, Nico sees that as his moment to step in and prove himself. And it’s not just out of an ego-driven place, but it’s one of the only people you can really trust is family. And, the only way the groups that work with us is if a Rizzuto is in power. If there is any doubt in them, everything crumbles.

There is no retirement plan for the mob and yet Nico Jr. wants to do this despite the bloody, violent history.
He’s not an idiot or ignorant to what his family has done. And, I guess growing up in that environment, he’s comfortable with that level of risk. But the beautiful thing that we’ll see in our story is that there will be a sympathetic sense to Vito because, despite everything that has happened, he’s trying to turn things legitimate. If he gets his business out, he might still be in danger for the crimes he’s committed, but his family won’t. They’re out of it. That’s why it’s so disheartening to see Nico Jr. go down that path. You had this option, you had this path, this possibility of something different, but you’re going to put yourself in danger, your wife in danger, your kids and anyone else down the line in danger.

Bad Blood airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on City.

Look for more coverage of Bad Blood from our set visit late last year in the coming days, including exclusive interviews with actor Enrico Colantoni and director Alain Desrochers, and Business or Blood: Mafia Boss Vito Rizzuto’s Last War authors Antonio Nicaso and Peter Edwards.

Image courtesy of Rogers Media.

 

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