Tag Archives: Family Law

New seasons of Canadian original dramas Family Law and Departure return

From a media release:

Canada’s biggest stars shine bright this summer on Global with the return of Global scripted series Family Law and Departure, plus new reality competition series Superfan adds even more star power to this summer’s hottest schedule. The wait is over for Family Law Season 2, premiering Monday, May 22 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Global and STACKTV. The principal cast including Canadians Jewel Staite, Victor Garber, Zach Smadu, Genelle Williams and Lauren Holly all return for the new season, which was the #1 new Canadian series when it debuted. Then, fresh off five nominations at this year’s Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Drama Series, Departure Season 3 promises to bring the action this summer when it returns Monday, August 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Global and STACKTV. Acclaimed Canadian actor Eric McCormack joins Emmy Award® winner Archie Panjabi and the rest of the ensemble cast as they investigate the sinking of a sea ferry destined for Newfoundland.

Airing Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT beginning May 22, Family Law Season 2 follows Abby (Jewel Staite) and her dysfunctional family as they help other dysfunctional families – all while navigating their own personal dramas. After six months’ probation at her father’s firm, Abby’s getting into the groove of family law –but her marriage is a trainwreck. Harry (Victor Garber), meanwhile, has finally made Daniel (Zach Smadu) a partner – but is he ready to share his firm with his son? Daniel’s quest for approval leads him to a carefree woman who is definitely not his type, or is she? And Lucy (Genelle Williams) is crashing at Joanne’s, hoping she can fix things with a newly-pregnant Maggie –and getting up her older sister’s nose at the same time.

Then later this summer, Departure Season 3 sets sail Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT starting August 7. The all-new, six-part event series follows the investigation into the sinking of a sea ferry, The Queen of the Narrows. It’s a beautiful day in Boston when almost 500 passengers board the ferry destined for Newfoundland, Canada. A few hours into the journey an “explosion” onboard throws passengers into a panic, rushing for lifeboats as the ferry takes on water with alarming speed. What unfolds for many of the passengers is an unimaginable nightmare with serious loss of life as the ship sinks in record time. The investigation team, led by Kendra Malley (Archie Panjabi) begin to unravel the many tangled threads of the investigation all in search of one answer: why did the Queen of the Narrows suddenly sink to the bottom of the sea?

Stay tuned for more summer lineup announcements coming soon, including the premiere date for the much-anticipated new Global Original Robyn Hood from prolific Canadian music video director and renowned TV director and filmmaker Director X. Plus another exciting new season of Big Brother!

Global’s entertaining lineup of hit series are also all available to stream anytime on STACKTV, GlobalTV.com and the Global TV App.

Family Law is produced by SEVEN24 Films (Heartland, JANN) and Lark Productions (Motive, Fortunate Son). It was created by Susin Nielsen (Robson Arms, Cedar Cove), who also serves as executive producer and showrunner. The series is executive produced by Jordy Randall, Tom Cox, Erin Haskett and Andy Mikita. For Corus, Susan Alexander is Production Executive; Rachel Nelson is Vice President, Original Content, Scripted, Factual and Kids; Lisa Godfrey is Senior Vice President of Original Content and Corus Studios; Colin Bohm is Executive Vice President of Content and Corporate Strategy.

Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Paul Pope, Jackie May, and Archie Panjabi are Departure’s executive producers, joined by Vincent Shiao and T.J. Scott. Patrick Cassavetti and Julie Lacey are the series producers. Executive producing for Starlings are Chris Philip and Karine Martin, along with Propagate Content’s Ben Silverman; Red Arrow Studios International’s Tim Gerhartz Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia, and Laura Beetz; and Sleeping Giant’s David A. Stern and D. Matt Geller. Departure is directed by T.J. Scott and created by Vincent Shiao. For Corus, Kathleen Meek is Production Executive; Rachel Nelson is Vice President, Original Content, Scripted, Factual and Kids; Lisa Godfrey is Senior Vice President of Original Content and Corus Studios; Colin Bohm is Executive Vice President of Content and Corporate Strategy.

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TV, Eh? Podcast Episode 246: Race Against the Tide renewed and looking back at Orphan Black

This week, Greg and Amy go through debuts and returns on the Canadian TV calendar.

Then, we cover the latest Canadian TV news, including Global greenlighting Season 3 of Family Law, Screen Nova Scotia’s 2022 award nominees and CBC’s Race Against the Tide returning with a totally hip new host. Then, in a new segment in class Canadian TV, we look back on the success of Orphan Black.

This episode is brought to you by Pimm’s and Canada Dry ginger ale.

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Global greenlights Season 3 of original scripted series Family Law

From a media release:

The verdict is in! Today, Global announced that Season 3 of hit Canadian legal drama Family Law has been greenlit for an all-new 10-episode season. Produced by SEVEN24 Films and Lark Productions, and created by Canadian award-winning author Susin Nielsen, Season 3 is set to begin filming in Vancouver on May 24. The principal cast including Jewel Staite, Victor Garber, Zach Smadu, Genelle Williams and Lauren Holly all return for the new season. This renewal comes ahead of the show’s Season 2 premiere, which will be announced at a later date.

Family Law is a witty, heartfelt look at the trials and tribulations of an imperfect family. The one-hour legal drama follows Abigail ‘Abby’ Bianchi (Jewel Staite) as she navigates her new life with her family including Abby’s father Harry Svensson (Victor Garber), her half-brother Daniel Svensson (Zach Smadu), and half-sister Lucy Svensson (Genelle Williams). Season 3 will follow Abby and her dysfunctional family as they help other dysfunctional families – all while navigating their own personal dramas. Guest stars for the new season will be announced soon.

Lauded as “the unexpected drama worth bingeing right now,” viewers can catch up on Season 1 of Family Law with STACKTV and the Global TV App.

Family Law is produced by SEVEN24 Films (HeartlandJANN) and Lark Productions (MotiveFortunate Son). It was created by Susin Nielsen (Robson ArmsCedar Cove), who also serves as executive producer and showrunner. The series is executive produced by Jordy Randall, Tom Cox, Erin Haskett and Andy Mikita. This season’s writers include Sarah Dodd, Ken Craw, Sonja Bennett, Corey Liu and Jordan Hall, and directors include Andy Mikita, Jordan Canning, David Frazee and Alysse Leite-Rogers.

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Family Law’s Jewel Staite: “In the beginning, I was concerned that she wouldn’t be likable”

The folks at Family Law are in a pretty sweet position. With Episode 7 set to air this Friday at 9 p.m. ET on Global, a second season has already been filmed and in the can; we’re just waiting to find out when they’ll be broadcast. Having a second season already completed is rare in television and led to some nerves for Jewel Staite.

Staite—who has starred on Canadian projects like The Detectives, Motive and Stargate: Atlantis and U.S. projects like Blindspot, The Magicians, The Killing, Wonderfalls and, of course, Firefly—was nervous about how viewers would take to the show and her character, Abby.

When we first meet Abby, she is at her lowest point. A recovering alcoholic, Abby has moved out of her family’s house and moved back in with her mother. As a condition of her probation to return to her legal duties, Abby works at the firm owned by her estranged father, Harry (Victor Garber), alongside half-brother Daniel (Zach Smadu) and half-sister Lucy (Genelle Williams), leading to plenty of drama and laughs.

We spoke to Jewel Staite about filming Family Law and crafting a complicated character like Abby.

We’re getting near the end of Season 1 of Family Law, and a second season has already been shot and in the can. That’s a pretty unique position to be in. How does it feel?
Jewel Staite: It’s pretty amazing. It shows that the network has a lot of faith in the show and is very behind it. We have felt supported, and the writers have felt supported by them and it’s great. Now, obviously, because it’s now on the air, things are a little bit more real. [Laughs.] We are open to public opinion now and it’s not just a show that we made in secret for us. Now, all we really want is a Season 3.

Are comedic performances in your background? From the eye rolls to physical comedy, your performance is a joy to watch.
JS: Thanks, I appreciate that. I don’t get to do a ton of comedy, so when I do I like to have a lot of fun with it. Luckily, the people around me on the show, including [creator] Susin Nielsen, really like the idea of going for the humour in scenes.

In the audition process, I tried to stand out by making it funny and making Abby a little quirky in how she was written. I’m grateful that they appreciated that and agreed with me that that was the route to go with her. Some of her behaviour is a little unlikable, and I thought, ‘How can I make this person more acceptable to the audience in her actions and the things that she says?’

Making a lead character tough to cheer for is a tall order.
JS: Exactly. I think, in the beginning, I was concerned that she wouldn’t be likable. I remember having this conversation with my husband where I said, ‘I just hope people like her.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, but if you go that route, you’re never going to approach it with honesty.’ I thought, ‘That’s completely right.’ It shouldn’t matter, and I should stick to making her as honest as possible, even if it means that, sometimes, she’s unlikeable and her behaviour is a little ugly.

Comedic moments aside, Family Law doesn’t shy away from tough conversations and scenes. When we meet Abby, her daughter, Sofia, is so embarrassed by her mother’s behaviour, and the larger themes of the show are dysfunctional relationships.
JS: Yeah, it is. And it’s real. It’s an entertaining show in that there are a lot of fun, shocking moments and some laughs, but the reality is these people are going through hard times, especially Abby. It’s a heartbreaking time for her; she misses her kids a lot, she has screwed up her life and sometimes feels like she’s never going to get it back on track. She is so desperate to get her family back. There are a lot of sad moments.

And then the cases that we deal with are really sad. There is a lot of tough subject matter in these episodes, but it’s a great juxtaposition. The goal was to make the audience laugh and cry in every episode. [Laughs.] It’s beautifully written and tugs at the heartstrings.

The dialogue and conversations these characters have are very believable. Susin Nielsen chalked a lot of that up to the relationship between the writers and the cast.
JS: As an actor, it’s so much easier to prepare and to remember the lines when it feels naturally conversational. Our writers are very gifted in that respect because we’re not improv-ing any of that stuff; everything is on the page and it flows beautifully. The characters surprise you with the things that they do and the things that they say but, at the same time, the way the characters are written and fleshed out, you feel like you are getting to know them very quickly.

The chemistry on this show was there from the very beginning. I don’t know if that was because the casting director [Maureen Webb] is amazing—because she is—or if it was just luck because we all just get each other. We’re on the same page and we have the same work ethic. We don’t rehearse a ton—we move very fast when we are shooting this show—and it keeps us on our toes and the day interesting. My favourite scenes are with the family because it feels so natural.

Family Law airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global.

Images courtesy of Corus.

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Family Law’s Eden Summer Gilmore: “It’s fun to play a smart and manipulative character”

Eden Summer Gilmore first cut her acting teeth as a baby in a Gerber baby food commercial. But it wasn’t until she stepped onto the set of Riverdale, playing little Betty, when she was bitten by the acting bug.

“It was my first-ever speaking role, so I didn’t really know what to expect when I got onto the set,” Gilmore says. “I just remember the crew being so incredibly nice and it was the first time I was on-set, playing with my scene partner… getting to tap into the character made me realize that I wanted to tap into other characters too.”

Gilmore’s latest character is Sofia Bianchi, daughter to Abby (Jewel Staite) in Global’s Friday night legal drama Family Law. When viewers first meet Sofia, they witnessed a teen daughter who is not happy with her mother’s recent life choices—recovering alcoholic Abby very publicly threw up in a courtroom and has been separated from her husband, daughter and son as part of her probation, in addition to working in her father’s law office alongside her half-brother and half-sister—and is downright hostile at times.

That’s totally understandable, Gilmore says, because no part of Sofia’s life is a refuge.

“Going to school could be an escape from being at her house,” Gilmore explains. “But that’s not the case, and home isn’t safe either. Dealing with what she is, specifically, just makes it 10 times harder.”

Gilmore immediately connected with the character as soon as she read the first script, both because she and Sofia are almost the same age, and related to her so much.

“I also clicked with her because, if I saw Sofia on-screen, I would have fallen in love with her too,” she explains. “I want to be that for other girls. And it’s fun to play a smart and manipulative character.”

Family Law airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global.

Image courtesy of Noah Asanias.

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