I’ll give this show a pass. To me, it looks like a Flashpoint-knockoff-filmed-in-Canada-but-trying-to-look-like-it’s-set-in-the-U.S. Plus, it’s a procedural. Hate those. —Alicia
Love for Steven and … Shahir?
So glad to see Steven back on TV. (Will always miss Chris. They both will always have a special place in my heart.) I sincerely think that Steven and Shahir would make such a great team. CBC, please consider this. Both of them could have guests talking about interesting topics, just the same. They’d be VERY successful. Thank you for reading my comment. —Bruge
Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.
Global’s Ransom—debuting Sunday, Jan. 1, on the network before moving to Saturdays on Jan. 8—is a fast-paced emotional roller coaster about a crisis negotiation team dropped into potentially deadly situations at a moment’s notice. For Canadian actor Brandon Jay McLaren (Slasher) and Ireland’s Sarah Greene (Vikings), joining the series was just as quick and last-minute: they were cast just days before production on Season 1 began.
“I found out, like, four days before we started shooting that I had gotten the part,” McLaren says with a laugh. “I had to get on a plane in Los Angeles in a day. There was not a lot of prep [for the role].” The same was true for Greene, who found out she’d scored her gig on a Wednesday and needed to be in Toronto for the following Sunday. But while neither had time to prepare for their roles in advance, they’ve gotten a crash course since filming began. McLaren portrays Oliver Yates, a psychologist and profiler who sizes up people and situations in an instant, a key member of Eric Beaumont’s (Luke Roberts, Wolf Hall) crisis negotiation team. Greene’s Maxine Carlson, meanwhile, is the newbie on the squad, introduced in the first moments of Episode 1 and able to quickly prove she’s valuable to have around … despite Oliver’s misgivings.
Brandon Jay McLaren
“Eric and I met years ago, during another hostage taking, and I am very protective of Eric because I know something about his past,” McLaren explains. “When Maxine shows up, I am not happy she’s involving herself with our program because she brings a lot of emotion and instability to Eric and we can’t afford that. I’m very standoffish with her in the beginning, only because I was to protect what we’ve got going.” What Oliver and Eric have got going is something rare within the crisis industry. Inspired by the real-life experiences of hostage negotiator Laurent Combalbert, Eric refuses to carry a gun, preferring to use words and turn of phrase to diffuse deadly scenarios.
“I was told about Laurent about two and a half years ago,†Ransom‘s executive producer Frank Spotnitz says. “It already makes a great TV show, because, in the case of Laurent, every case is 24 to 48 hours. They are naturally adrenaline and suspense-filled. And he doesn’t carry a gun. That’s crazy. I’ve done lots of shows, including The X-Files, where people solved their problems with guns. To have a guy who says, ‘No guns. I’ll solve this with my mind,’ is a challenge but I wanted to do a show like that.†Eric’s skills are shown moments into Sunday’s debut when he confronts a gun-wielding man holding parishioners hostage inside of a church. Everyone gets out safely, but things are dodgy there for a few seconds and even Eric’s longtime team member, and former cop, Zara Hallam (Nazneen Contractor, Covert Affairs) had doubts.
“I exposed an internal crime ring at the NYPD,” Contractor says of her character during a break in shooting in downtown Toronto. “I was fired and shortly thereafter Eric approached me to join his company. She’s a misfit with a very strong sense of honour and moral compass. Zara is the expert who knows every building entrance and exit, who is armed and not armed. I’m his eyes.” She also trusts Eric; like him (and the rest of the team), she no longers uses bullets to solve problems.
Luke Roberts and Nazneen Contractor
Ransom, a co-production between Global, CBS in the U.S. and TF1 in France (Toronto’s Sienna Films and eOne are among the production partners) truly is an international affair both in front of and behind the camera. Spotnitz’s Season 1 writing room consists of Canadians Sara Dodd, Annmarie Morais and David Vainola and homegrown directors Érik Canuel, James Genn and Eleanore Lindo. After filming in Toronto for several months—the city stood in for North American locations—the series decamped for the south of France, with the area representing European spots.
“It sucks,” Contractor teases. “We have to stay in the south of France for three months, live in Nice, shoot five episodes, live on the Riviera … it’s a really hard job and not for the faint of heart.”
Ransom debuts Sunday, Jan. 1, at 8:30 p.m ET on Global before moving to Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT beginning on Jan. 7.
Nazeem was hands down the most underrated character on the show. That kid basically tied the entire show together and explained it for anyone (like myself) who was having a bit of trouble figuring out exactly how everybody was connected. What an exciting finale! I’ve never seen the actor who plays Nazeem before in any other production but I’m sure I will soon. —Pat
Excited for Cardinal, but…
I can’t wait to check out this show, but had to laugh at the array of cast photos here because they all look like they are modelling the latest winter wear for an outdoor clothing magazine! —Ellen
Merry Christmas from Murdoch Mysteries fans
Interesting review article. One of the best Murdoch episodes so far. Way to go. Congrats. Merry Christmas. —Tim
Love this show and some hilarious Easter eggs in this episode. —Howie
Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.
It sounds like the type of thing that would happen in a Letterkenny storyline at Modean’s, but K. Trevor Wilson’s experience in a Montreal bathroom is fact. He scored a Jan. 4 booking on Jimmy Kimmel Live! moments after relieving himself.
“I was invited to be the Canadian participant in the Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle tournaments at Just for Laughs and went up against Tony Hinchcliffe and the judges were Seth Rogen and Jimmy Kimmel,” Wilson recalls. “After, I had a very good chat with Jimmy in the men’s room. I was leaving and he was coming in. I found myself locked in a conversation with a man who was peeing. Great chat, but always awkward when one of you has their penis in their hand.” The next day, he was contacted by the show and the ball started rolling on his late-night TV gig.
And while we’ll be tuning in on Jan. 4, it’s what’s happening on Dec. 25 that has us really pumped. That’s when the six Season 2 episodes of Letterkenny drop on CraveTV, spotlighting the hicks, skids and hockey players living in a small town where drinks are consumed, smokes are tossed, fights are brewing and chirping is an art form. In fact, the first two minutes of Episode 1, “A Fuss at the AG Hall,” are spent following Wayne (Jared Keeso) as he spouts insults into the camera while Daryl (Nathan Dales) rates them. (Check out the footage below.) Wilson reprises his role as “Squirrelly” Dan, an overall-wearing hick who has an interesting way of speaking. Adding an “s” to most of Dan’s dialogue was something Wilson came up with on his own, and series creator and co-writer Keeso insisted he keep doing.
“It was in there, in the writing, that Dan was in there with the other hicks,” Wilson says. “I wanted to do something that Jared and Nate weren’t already doing with their characters and something I noticed while touring small towns doing standup was there was always a guy who turned things into a plural and doesn’t quite know all of the pronunciation. Jared came up to me afterwards and said, ‘That’s what I want you to do. Keep messing up the words.'”
Season 2 of Letterkenny witnesses several characters at a crossroads in their lives. Wayne is looking for romance, head skid Stewart (Tyler Johnson) is dating Wayne’s sister, Katy (Michelle Mylett), putting him at odds with fellow skids Devon (Alexander De Jordy) and Roald (Evan Stern). Wilson says Wayne’s journey means the Dan and Daryl dynamic is explored and the pair get into some ridiculous situations. Meanwhile, hockey players Jonesy (Dylan Playfair) and Reilly (Andrew Herr) joined the senior hockey team and find themselves targetted for the sort of abuse they’re used to doling out.
McMurray (Dan Petronijevic) returns in a more expanded role in Season 2, accompanied by his wife, Mrs. McMurray (Melanie Scrofano); the pair go head-to-head with Wayne in Episode 1 over who should be in charge of Letterkenny’s agricultural society.
With Season 3 set to begin production in February, Wilson’s standup career means he’s been on the front line and experienced immediate feedback when he’s been approached by Letterkenny fans after standup gigs.
“Now people are trekking long distances to see the show because they’ve discovered me from Letterkenny,” he says. “I did a show in Ottawa and a family drove in from New Brunswick. They were going to drive in to see the capital and the guy from Letterkenny do standup.”
Season 2 of Letterkenny debuts Sunday, Dec. 25, on CraveTV.
