From Anna Silman of The Cut:
Link: Baroness von Sketch Show Is the Canadian Answer to Inside Amy Schumer
The strength of BVS is how the four women slip inside the skins of different characters that we all recognize from our daily lives: the passive-aggressive co-worker, the overbearing hostess, the habitually boring storyteller. Continue reading.
Rebecca Liddiard is taking over CBC one Monday night drama at a time. At least, it sure feels that way. The Toronto-based actress can be seen in Season 1 of Frankie Drake Mysteries, which just happens to debut after her run on Alias Grace is complete.
In Alias Grace, airing Mondays at 9 p.m., Liddiard portrays Mary Whitney, the lively housemaid who befriends Grace (Sarah Gadon) when the latter arrives at the home of Thomas Kinnear (Paul Gross) to work. Grace, who lived through hardship in Ireland and survived a horrible ocean crossing to Canada, views the Kinnear farm as heaven on earth and Mary as her best friend. At least, that’s the way Grace remembers it as she tells Dr. Simon Jordan (Edward Holcroft) the journey that led Grace to murder and incarceration at the Kingston Penitentiary.
In our latest exclusive interview, we chat with Liddiard about working on Sarah Polley’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s book and what’s to come later this season.
This is a spooky project. Anyone who has already read the book knows Mary appears to play a part in Grace’s actions. What is the relationship between these two women?
Rebecca Liddiard: Mary has also had an incredibly difficult life, just being part of this lower class, working in service, but she has lived through the Rebellions of 1837 and 1838 and her parents were very involved in it. She has this incredibly optimistic, idealistic view of the possibility of what her life could be. That lends herself to her incredible spirit that she tries to pass on to Grace. Mary gets caught up in life and her ending is just as tragic, but I think that spirit of something better and somehow transcending this life that they’re in sticks with Grace.
This is a speculative account of what’s going on in Grace’s mind, but I’m with you … I like to think Mary’s influence—if not her spirit—continues on with Grace as the rest of the story unfolds.
Mary passes away as a result of a medical issue. That must have been an intense scene to film.
Those scenes were the first ones I shot on Alias Grace and the first shots of the whole series!
How do you even prepare for that?
A lot of it is done in the moment. It was sort of a weird day. It was the beginning of the whole thing for everybody. We went to this house in the middle of the woods at Black Creek Pioneer Village and we filmed this scene. And, you just start screaming. It was really heavy.
The climax of the miniseries involves Mary as well, when Grace allegedly channels her during a hypnosis session.
Sarah [Gadon] and I talked a lot about that. How much is Mary still a part of the story at this point? I also did some recordings for Sarah reading her script in my voice so she could play around a bit. The effect is very terrifying. It’s incredible and chilling.
Alias Grace airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
Image courtesy of CBC.
From a media release:
CBC, Cameron Pictures and Elemental Pictures today revealed additional casting for the new original comedy series LITTLE DOG (7 x 30). Created by and starring Joel Thomas Hynes (Mary Kills People, Orphan Black, Eyewitness), cast members joining the Ross family include Ger Ryan (The Street, The Man Who Invented Christmas) as Tommy’s true nemesis and mother, Sylvia Ross; Stephen Oates (Riverhead) as his eldest brother, Loyola “Lowly†Ross Jr; Katharine Isabelle (The Arrangement, Hannibal, Being Human) as his sister Ginny Ross; newcomer Billy Cochrane as Ginny’s son Chesley; and Andy Jones (Republic of Doyle, Random Passage, Codco) as the wily, charming old patriarch of the family, Loyola “Lowly†Ross Sr. Production is currently underway in Newfoundland for a winter 2018 premiere on CBC.
Also joining the cast are Dwain Murphy (Mohawk Girls, The Strain, The Book of Negroes) as National Welterweight champion Rico “Havoc†St. George – Tommy’s opponent both in and out of the ring, Patricia Isaac (The Magicians, Daydream Nation) as Tommy’s doctor and confidant Dr. Vaani Abdeen, Julia Chan (The Great Canadian Baking Show, Saving Hope) as Rico’s wife and Tommy’s former fiancé, and Mary Walsh (This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Sensitive Skin, Hatching, Matching & Dispatching) in a recurring role.
LITTLE DOG is the story of lightweight boxer Tommy “Little Dog” Ross (Hynes), and his haphazard quest for redemption. One fateful night five years ago, Tommy betrayed the boxer’s code of conduct during a championship bout against Rico “Havoc” St. George (Murphy) – he dropped his gloves in the middle of a round and quit the fight, dumping a promising career down the drain. Tommy has had to live with the fallout of this decision ever since.
Now Tommy has the chance for a rematch and his family isn’t sure what to think. Sure, they all loved lapping up the glory of Tommy’s spotlight – but living in the shadow of his humiliating defeat was more than they could bear. If he fights again, will it bring shame or glory? Tommy’s mother Sylvia (Ryan), a failed singer, will prove yet again to be Tommy’s true nemesis in his not-quite heroic return to the ruthless world of boxing. Tommy is a broken, would-be champion, trying to survive within an outrageously dysfunctional family. If the training doesn’t break him, his scheming relatives certainly will do their damnedest to finish the job.A CBC original series,
A CBC original series, LITTLE DOG is created by and stars actor and author Joel Thomas Hynes, whose book We’ll All Be Burnt In Our Beds Some Night was recently longlisted for the 2017 Scotiabank Giller prize. Hynes is also an executive producer. Sherry White serves as showrunner, director and executive producer. The series is executive produced by Amy Cameron, Tassie Cameron, Rob Blackie, Alex Patrick, John Vatcher, and Perry Zimel. In addition to Hynes and White, the series is written by Chris Roberts, Kerri MacDonald, Cory Bowles and Lisa Rose Snow. LITTLE DOG is directed by White, Michelle Latimer, John Vatcher and Molly McGlynn. LITTLE DOG is developed and produced by Cameron Pictures and Elemental Pictures with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, the Newfoundland Film and Video Industry Tax Credit, and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit.
LITTLE DOG is developed and produced by Cameron Pictures and Elemental Pictures with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, the Newfoundland Film and Video Industry Tax Credit, and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit.
From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:
Link: Let Rick Mercer’s departure end cowardly comedy in Canada
Here’s the thing that’s highlighted by Mercer’s announced departure – we don’t do savage indignation in Canada. Our TV comedy and news-satire shows don’t really pillory social conventions, stereotypes and political chicanery with any aggression. They do it mildly; they do it too nicely. Nobody in positions of power, or in the viewing audience, is ever made uncomfortable by satire in Canada. Continue reading.
A new night and a returning favourite are among the changes afoot for Dragons’ Den as CBC’s veteran reality series returns for Season 12. After exiting the program in 2015 to follow, as she said at the time on her Facebook page (“some big dreams, ones I want and need to chase”), Arlene Dickinson is back and ready to do battle.
Things have evolved on Dragons’ Den since she’s been gone. First, the series moves to Thursdays at 8 p.m. And second, three Dragons—Joe Mimran, Manjit Minhas and Michele Romanow—who moved in after Dickinson left. Jim Treliving and Michael Wekerle return for Season 12, meaning Dragons’ Den has six business moguls on a panel split evenly into a trio of men and women. What hasn’t been altered is the shows winning formula: budding entrepreneurs enter the studio and pitch their business idea to the Dragons in hopes of scoring a business deal.
We spoke to Dickinson ahead of Thursday’s two-hour season return:
One of the things you say during Thursday’s episode is that you left the show to found District Ventures. Did working on Dragons’ Den and having entrepreneurs in front of you influence your decision to begin this accelerator program?
Arlene Dickinson: That was certainly a big piece of it. After spending all of those years in front of people, particularly entrepreneurs in the health and food sector, and they just weren’t getting the traction that I thought they should. I kept thinking to myself, ‘Food and health is so critical in the world today and Canada has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in both areas, I’m going to find a fund that does this.’ I realized there wasn’t one and that really got me going and led me to go out and support that particular area.
You also mention in the episode that you were called and asked to return. Were you called every year since you left?
No, no. When I left, I was pretty certain I wanted to go on and do the things that I did and would need a couple of years to do that and they knew that too. I’m guessing [the producers] said, ‘Hey, maybe she’s pitchable now.’
It seems as though with every season the pitches continue to get better and more complete. Do you agree?
Yes. I think there are two things that have happened over the course of time. Maybe three. The first thing is that the pitchers are definitely better. There are bigger businesses and are coming in prepared and know who they want to speak to. And the female entrepreneurs are showing up with more confidence and a little bit more assured about what they can offer, what they do and are building a business and that’s awesome to see as well.
There are three ladies on the Dragons’ Den panel this season. Is that representative of what the business world is like now? Is there gender parity in the boardroom?
It’s certainly not that way in the senior boardrooms of corporations. It’s not anywhere near that. I think the percentage is somewhere around 17 to 20 per cent of females are in the boardroom. It’s still really still one in five. But entrepreneurs are a different story. There are more and more women going into entrepreneurial endeavours, so we’re seeing a lot more women starting up businesses and doing them home or going out and doing them as a career choice. It’s definitely growing for sure. I think more women than men, actually, are starting up businesses.
You hadn’t worked with Joe, Manjit or Michele on Dragons’ Den before. What’s that experience been like?
It takes a while to get used to the dynamic or everyone, so it took me awhile to understand where they were coming from and how they approached deals. There is a constant yin and yang because we’re competing for deals, we’re competing to be heard, we’re competing to talk. [Laughs.] So it takes awhile to pick up on each other’s style. It was certainly very interesting for me and kept me on my game and on my toes.
Were you, overall, impressed with the pitches you saw this season?
For sure. There were some really great deals this year. Some that I was really happy that I was able to get and some that I was not so happy that I didn’t get! [Laughs.] That’s kind of the way it happens. In terms of the calibre of the entrepreneurs, yeah, fantastic. There is so much innovation going on in Canada and innovation without an entrepreneur is just an idea.
What can you tell me about District Ventures?
District Ventures capital has raised about $30 million to go out and invest in entrepreneurial companies that are in the food, beverage and health and wellness consumer goods. We’re out in the market doing deals. I wish I had done this 10 years ago because it’s so much fun. It’s also hard work. The accelerator has become Canada’s top accelerator for health and wellness and it’s been a really interesting journey in learning about the mentoring and training and programming you need to give entrepreneurs what they need to be successful.
Dragons’ Den airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on CBC.
Images courtesy of CBC.
