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Featured, Frankie Drake, Industry News

CBC orders new original drama Frankie Drake starring This Life’s Lauren Lee Smith

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We may not have another season of This Life to enjoy, but Lauren Lee Smith is staying with the CBC. Smith, who played Maggie Lawson for two rounds of This Life, has nabbed the lead role in Frankie Drake, a drama about Toronto’s only female detective in the 1920s.

The 11-episode first season of Frankie Drake will begin production this summer in Toronto and will debut this fall on CBC.

Frankie Drake takes on the cases no one else wants to handle and her gender puts her at odds with the social mores of the day. Undeterred, Frankie and her partner, Trudy, open Drake Detective Agency and tackle mysteries.

Related: Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci discuss Frankie Drake

“Frankie Drake is a real labour of love for us. It is a story about a spirited woman, breaking barriers and calling the shots, in a world that might not be ready for her. This is a one-hour detective series, set in the 20s, but this is not the roaring 20s we have seen onscreen before,” Christina Jennings, chairman and CEO, Shaftesbury said in a press release. “We are so pleased to bring this show to life, in partnership with our friends at the CBC, and with a creative team who have been part of our Shaftesbury family for many of our hit series. And of course—what a treat to work with the wonderful Lauren Lee Smith again. I can’t wait for the world to meet Frankie Drake.”

Now, some sad news for Murdoch Mysteries fans: Frankie Drake is created by Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci, which means they won’t return for Season 11 of Murdoch. Hay and Ricci also serve as executive producers on Frankie Drake; the series is executive produced by Jennings, Scott Garvie and Cal Coons, who also serves as showrunner. The series is produced by Jonathan Hackett and Julie Lacey.

We can’t wait to see the sass Smith brings to Frankie. What are your thoughts on this announcement? Will you tune in? Let us know in the comments below!

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Bellevue, Featured

Bellevue: Did you hear the one about the mayor, the priest, and the hockey coach?

**SPOILER ALERT** Do NOT read if you have not watched Episode 7 of Bellevue!

THAT episode of Bellevue was FREAKING INSANE! The kind of blow your mind storyline twists that we have come to expect from shows like The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones. Seriously! Bellevue may not be as epic or grand scale, but the twists are just as effective for dragging viewers down the rabbit hole.

So let’s get it out of the way right now … Brady killed Jesse! WHAT?!? Did ANYONE SEE that coming? To quote Annie Ryder: “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?” Turns out Brady, in an effort to talk Jesse (Sadie O’Neil) out of leaving town revealed to her that he was secretly in love with his sister Briana (Amber Goldfarb). Jesse’s repulsion sealed her doom, and Brady was forced to kill to keep his secret safe.

But let’s backtrack and sort out how we got there. We know Tom’s (Vincent Leclerc) alibi is blown because of his raving wife Jackie (Marianne Farley), and Peter (Shawn Doyle) calls him in for questioning. Tom finally admits he did pick Jesse up and took him to the church so that he, Lily (Janine Theriault), and Father Jay (Joe Cobden) can “talk some sense into him” and “get him on the right path again.”

Upset by all of this talk Jesse ran out of the church. She never got back into Tom’s truck. So now we know there is another white truck out there and Annie figures out that someone else was present in the church, lurking behind the curtain.

Meanwhile, we learn that The Riddler is Annie’s brother! Somehow she had entirely forgotten about him! Adam (Patrick Labbé) who at the age of 12—when Annie was three—was shunned by his father and sent away to military school because of his obsessive behaviour towards Annie. Now he is back, living in the woods, and keeping tabs on Annie with a police radio. Up until recently, he had been working at the local diner as a dishwasher under the alias Bobby Storms. Peter runs the alias through CPIC and calls up his list of priors including B&E’s, assault and a few counts of arson. Peter and Annie revisit areas in the woods Annie knows her brother frequented. Peter spots a campfire and they find Adam’s shelter. Peter pockets a note Adam intended for Annie, while Annie slips into the shelter and recognizes all of her possessions. Memories of her brother come flooding back.

Peter runs down the latest riddle at the church’s soup kitchen. Here he catches Adam off guard. Now, this is where our producers get a little audacious as they toy with viewers. Words are exchanged and are deliberately garbled for the audience. Adam says something that shocks Peter, but we are not privy to Adam’s message for Peter. Adam makes his escape leaving yet one more clue. Paraphrasing scripture from Jeremiah 4:7, and  loosely translated: “An impending calamity is about to happen; the final act of destruction.” Cheery thought, that.

On the Annie-Eddie (Allen Leech) front, Eddie is planning a move. He intends to take Daisy (Madison Ferguson) with him, and if Annie is not coming with them, he plans on fighting for custody. In the meantime Daisy, while hanging out with Bethany (Emelia Hellman) at the site where Jesse’s body was found, falls into the water. And conveniently, for investigative purposes, it happens a parasitic bacteria is present in the lake that requires a specific course of antibiotics to clear up. This means whoever killed Jesse would also require that same course of treatment. Whoever has recently been prescribed nitazoxanide would be a worthy suspect for Jesse’s murder.

Back at the station, Virginia (Sharon Taylor) picks up on an inconsistency with a CI account, and Brady is that CI’s contact. Annie decides to drop in on Brady and clearly, her spidey sense is tingling. Feigning a need to use the washroom, she checks through Brady’s medicine cabinet and garbage and there it is: nitazoxanide. Brady knows the jig is up and takes off in his truck. Annie looks in his garage and there she spots a white pickup truck, which we later find out belongs to Briana, registered in Sudbury. Unbeknownst to Annie, Brady is doubling back and takes her at gunpoint just as her call connects to Peter’s voicemail. Brady admits to being the man behind the curtain, and that he killed Jesse. And just as he is about to kill Annie, someone shows up in their own truck hitting Brady and sending his body into the windshield. Roll the credits!

Who is in need of some therapy after that episode? Huge shout out to Billy MacLellan for his performance in this episode, I was right there with him, feeling his emotional pain during his confession to Annie. Bravo!

And another shout out to Anna Paquin and Allen Leech for their hot and steamy scene! Beautifully done!

Now we know who killed Jesse, but what is the connection to Sandy Driver? Who killed her and why? We only have one episode left! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

The season finale of Bellevue airs Monday at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Bellevue

Link: Vancouver actress soars in chilling ‘Bellevue’

From Sabrina Furminger of Westender:

Link: Vancouver actress soars in chilling ‘Bellevue’
“The show is different for CBC. We’re addressing a very current issue – a transgender teen goes missing – and that’s different. And Anna Paquin’s character, Annie, is a different kind of female protagonist. She’s a mess, as well as being super-passionate and driven.” Continue reading. 

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X Company

Link: Ovation TV acquires U.S. rights to ‘The Halcyon’ & ‘X Company’ from Sony – MIPTV

From Nancy Tartaglione of Deadline:

Link: Ovation TV acquires U.S. rights to ‘The Halcyon’ & ‘X Company’ from Sony – MIPTV
As the MIPTV market officially kicks off in Cannes tomorrow, Ovation TV has acquired U.S. premiere rights to a pair of series from Sony Pictures Television. The Halcyon, a British period drama set at a five-star London hotel and produced by Left Bank Pictures, will debut in the fall of this year, while Canadian series X Company will start a three-season stretch on the arts network in the first quarter of 2018. Continue reading.

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Canada: The Story of Us, Featured

Another side of Canada: The Story of Us — Hunting Treasures

This week’s episode of Canada: The Story of Us primarily dealt with  the abundance of Canada’s natural resources and the men who sought to capitalize on them. We covered the history of William Hazen and his lumber company and the burgeoning competition between the Hudson’s Bay Company and The North West Company. We learned the history of the “Canada stove,” the fur trade on the west coast of Canada and the quest to find a land passage to the west.

But in a history as rich and as controversial as Canada’s is, stories are left out, and not every perspective will be covered to everyone’s satisfaction. After the warm reception that author and historian David Plain received last week, I thought it might be fun to get his perspective once again; one that mainstream Canada rarely gets.

Elder David Plain, author, and historian. Aamjiwnaang

As I watched this episode, knowing that we would likely have this conversation, I was wondering what your reaction would be with respect to the environment and natural resources?
Elder David Plain: When you’re talking about natural resources you are talking about the environment. But [the producers] never acknowledged the environment. Instead, they accentuated the commercial aspect of natural resources. Nor did they present the difference in worldview between First Nations and the settlers.

Basically, the difference is First Nations understands our position to the environment is subordinate. Although we are a part of the environment its purpose is to nurture and support us. Settlers, on the other hand, see the environment as natural resources to be exploited for profit.

So where does this difference come from? Their creation stories inform their worldviews. The settlers look to their bible where after God creates everything he tells Adam and Eve to multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. They understand this to mean human beings are over and above the environment. It is theirs to use and abuse as they wish.

Individual First Nations’ stories all follow the same vein. For example, in the Anishnaabeg creation story after Gitche Manidoo creates everything he then creates humans. But he creates them naked, weak and vulnerable. Then he calls a council with the spirits of all the other things he has created. That’s the environment. He asks them if they will give themselves in order for the humans to survive. They agreed. That’s why we lay tobacco down as a thank offering whenever we take and use anything from our environment. So the environment is over and above us.

Were there any other items about the episode that you wanted to share this week?
I was happy to see the show mention how differences are settled. First Nations in the west took coup. They use a war game where warriors tried to sneak up and touch the enemy with a stick. If they succeeded the enemy was out of the game. The side with no warriors left lost the argument. In the east, a lacrosse game was used. The field was huge and all warriors from both sides participated. The winner of the lacrosse game won the argument.

The European was quick to use the gun as seen in the story of trade on the west coast. The British and the Spanish were squaring off and shooting at each other over furs. The First Nations chief had to teach them the benefits of compromise and conciliation. Makes one wonder who were the civilized and who were the savages.

I was, however, disappointed that the program failed to explain the difference in the way First Nations traded and how Europeans do. It also goes back to the creation stories and where we fit in the scheme of things. First Nations understand everything we have as a gift. To try to profit on a surplus would be an affront to the Creator. So we didn’t trade in the European sense but rather shared surpluses with each other.

Europeans, on the other hand, see their surpluses as products of their own endeavours owned by them and to be used for profit.

Chi Miiwetch to David Plain again. I look forward to hearing your thoughts again next week!

Canada: The Story of Us airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

David Plain B.R.S., M.T.S., is the author of Plains of Aamjiwnaang, From Ouisconsin to Caughnawaga, 1300 Moons and has an upcoming book The Exmouth Chronicles: A Memoir due to be released April 2017 by Trafford Publications. You can reach David on Facebook or Twitter.

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