Tag Archives: Tamara Podemski

Featured, Underbelly

Crave announces new original crime drama series Underbelly, starring Stephen Amell, Hamza Haq, Tamara Podemski and Minnie Driver

From a media release:

Crave announced today the new, six-episode, one-hour crime drama UNDERBELLY. Also announced today are the series’ stars Stephen Amell (ARROW) as Officer Henry Roland, Hamza Haq (TRANSPLANT) as Tommy, and Emmy® and Academy Award®-nominee Minnie Driver (THE SERPENT QUEEN) as May, the residents of a tranquil riverside town in the Thousand Islands region of Ontario, who are caught up in a dark, twisted mystery centred around an international drug ring.

In a quiet riverside town in the Thousand Islands, Officer Henry Roland (Amell) finds evidence linking a case of missing illegal substances to his childhood best friend, Tommy Hawley (Haq), with whom he shares a dark secret. As Henry embarks on a mission to save his friend, a ruthless British crime family, led by matriarch May Ferguson (Driver), is also on the hunt for the drugs and Tommy.

A tragic accident sets off a chain of events involving international drug trafficking, and Henry faces the concerns of his police chief father-in-law (Christopher Heyerdahl, VAN HELSING), and suspicions from rival officer Erica Ross (Tamara Podemski, RESERVATION DOGS). As Henry digs deeper, he uncovers unexpected ties between the crime, his friend’s daughter Ruby (Katia Edith Wood, 8-Bit Christmas), and her partner Miles (Jeremy Watson, SURREALESTATE), pulling him further into the chaos. Henry must confront his friend’s betrayals as they face an epic, life-changing showdown.

Produced by Shaftesbury in partnership with Crave, with global film and TV studio FIFTH SEASON co-financing and handling worldwide rights (excl. Canada), UNDERBELLY began filming in the Thousand Islands, and is continuing production on location across Southern Ontario, including Grimsby, Brantford, Cobourg, and Bowmanville. Filming will move to Toronto in the coming weeks. All episodes are directed by Robert Budreau (Stockholm). The writing team is led by Graeme Stewart and Aaron Martin (SLASHER). 

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Featured, Unsettled

An Indigenous woman returns to her birth family in APTN’s Unsettled

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There have been many, many television series using the fish out of water scenario as a key part of its storytelling. And APTN’s Unsettled does it in a very effective way.

Airing Fridays at 8 p.m. Eastern on APTN, Unsettled follows the journey of Rayna Keetch (Cheri Maracle). A victim of the Sixties Scoop—the mass removal of Indigenous children from their families into the child welfare system—Rayna returns to her First Nation for a traditional homecoming ceremony when life throws her a curveball. Her husband, Darryl (Brandon Oakes), loses his business, car and their Toronto home. The result? A short visit turns into something more long-term for Rayna, Darryl and kids Stacia (Michaella Shannon) and Myles (Joshua Odjick).

Created, written and directed by Jennifer Podemski and Derek Diorio (Hard Rock Medical), Unsettled has been in the back of Podemski’s mind for years.

“I built this narrative around this family,” Podemski says. “Really using a lot of my own experiences and my desire to interweave and focus it with an authentic Indigenous lens.” Themes include child welfare, the aforementioned Sixties Scoop, residential schools, loss of identity and substance abuse and Podemski had a circle of advisors on-hand to make sure she got the facts correct.

A truly unique way of framing the story is through Henry (Albert Owl), Rayna’s father and the local radio DJ. Viewers listen to Henry speaking to his audience in Ojibwe, recalling the past while fuzzy, home movie-like visuals roll. It’s very well done.

“These stories are effective because they’re so rarely told,” Podemski says. “My goal was to weave these storylines, but not be an issue-driven show, be a character-driven show that weaves characters that are directly connected to these issues.”

Unsettled airs Fridays at 8 p.m. Eastern on APTN.

Images courtesy of APTN.

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Awards, Coroner, Featured, Workin' Moms

Canadian Screen Award nominees: Tamara Podemski and Ryan Belleville

It’s Canadian Screen Awards week and we’re celebrating all week long in a very special way. We’ll feature exclusive interviews with the actors and creative folks who are nominated in the television and web series categories.

Today, it’s Tamara Podemski, nominated for 2021 Best Supporting Actress, Drama for Coroner; and Ryan Belleville, nominated for 2021 Best Supporting Actor, Comedy for Workin’ Moms.

Tamara Podemski, nominated for 2021 Best Supporting Actress, Drama for Coroner

How do you feel the Canadian TV industry is faring during these pandemic times?
I think the Canadian TV Industry fared pretty well during the pandemic. I feel like the actor’s union, ACTRA, did a really good job at disseminating information about safety protocols, as well as support programs for people who needed access to health services, financial services, counselling services. If people don’t feel safe going to work, there is no industry. Based on my experience filming throughout the pandemic in Ontario, I can say that I did feel protected and very safe. There’s a lot of value in that. I also think streaming services did very well in the pandemic and CBC Gem offered this amazing, free opportunity for audiences to access so much more Canadian content and all of us storytellers and story makers have benefited greatly from those new viewers.

How have you fared during these pandemic times?
I feel very blessed. I have experienced some serious dry spells in my career and yet, at a time of such suffering and uncertainty, this pandemic has brought me some really exciting and fulfilling work. I feel like opportunity and luck have aligned in the strangest and most marvelous of ways for me right now. During the first lockdown, I was in the middle of shooting my sister’s new TV drama, Unsettled, in North Bay. We were able to resume, safely, in June and then wrapped in September. Then I got to return to Coroner for Season 3, which we shot in the fall. In January, I started filming my new TV show Outer Range in New Mexico. But as much as the work has been plentiful, the real saving grace has been FaceTime dates with friends and family, backyard distance visits, leaving the city and moving to Georgian Bay, and participating in as many virtual gatherings/events as possible. The pandemic has been very isolating and any way that I can stay connected to my larger community has been vital and necessary.

Do you think Canadian TV is stronger than ever when it comes to telling our stories?
Everyone is better and stronger and more impactful when they represent the truth and authenticity of who they are and where they come from. I think Canadian television has a long way to go, but we’re moving in the right direction. Canadians want to see their own communities and their own storytellers on the screen. I want that, too! Every role I take is an act of representation; an act of visibility and inclusion and making my voice heard. Our diversity in this country is more than just ‘quota fillers’ – we are the faces that make up this nation and we are ALWAYS better when we own that and celebrate it.

Does an award nomination/win serve as validation for you or is it just a nice nod that you’re on the right track, career or choice-wise?
Maybe I should answer the question this way … I’ve been acting in Canadian film and TV for almost 30 years and this is my first acting nomination from the Canadian Academy. So obviously, I’ve had to find many other sources of validation and encouragement to get me through those years! Awards are good feeling things, though, and it’s just nice to finally be invited to the party.

What will you wear during the Canadian Screen Awards?
I’m working that night, so I will probably be wearing a Sheriff’s uniform and a cowboy hat.

What will you eat/drink/snack on during the Canadian Screen Awards?
Probably craft services. Veggie cup with hummus is my go-to these days.

Is there someone who served as a mentor when you were starting out in this industry that you’d give a special shout-out to in your acceptance speech if given the chance?
I was lucky enough to follow in the footsteps of women like my sister, Jennifer Podemski, Michelle St. John, Jani Lauzon, Monique Mojica and Shirley Cheechoo. These powerhouses claimed their space on the stage, screen and behind the camera and taught me that community responsibility, cultural accountability and artistic practice are all interconnected. My earliest introduction to professional performance was through these women, so I’m always grateful for their influence and guidance when I was so young and impressionable.

Ryan Belleville, nominated for 2021 Best Supporting Actor, Comedy for Workin’ Moms

How do you feel the Canadian TV industry is faring during these pandemic times?
The Canadian film and TV industry is booming right now. While the U.S. was in the midst of the garbage fire that is COVID, Canadians were heading the PM’s advice and avoiding speaking mostly to each other. The payoff? Every studio in Toronto was slammed, while L.A. was a ghost town. As for actual Canadian content? More people have been watching it than ever. Millions of people around the world were binging Schitt’s Creek, Kim’s Convenience and Workin’ Moms, just to name a few. I just finished the most recent season of The Expanse which I know isn’t officially a Canadian show, but it’s full of Canadian talent.

How have you fared during these pandemic times?
My screen time is up so high that my last phone screen time report just read: You are phone now. Seriously though, thank god for technology to get us through this. Zoom, and video games, and streaming. I also live in California, which has completely turned things around, and it almost feels like normal life again … almost.

Do you think Canadian TV is stronger than ever when it comes to telling our stories?
Canadian TV is absolutely having its moment in the sun, and I really hope it continues. We are telling more varied stories, from more diverse viewpoints, and people are watching. Not just in Canada, but around the world. I feel as though we are finally shedding this overly Canadiana hokey point of reference that had to be shoehorned into every show. Don’t get me wrong, I love riding a snow machine in the backcountry, but the overwhelming majority of Canadians live in urban settings and have big-city modern-day problems.

Does an award nomination/win serve as validation for you or is it just a nice nod that you’re on the right track, career or choice-wise?
Ha! I don’t think I’ve ever been confident I’m on the right track. It’s just that this is all I’ve ever known how to do. It is nice to be recognized for the work in the show, especially with my buddy, and fellow Loose Moose Theatre Alumni, Calgarian Andrew Phung.

What will you wear during the Canadian Screen Awards?
Robe … maybe underwear. Wait … can people see me while I watch? In that case, I will wear a nice shirt and a tie … no pants … maybe underwear.

What will you eat/drink/snack on during the Canadian Screen Awards?
I’d like to say I’m going to order some expensive sushi, and drink champagne, but I’m a tired parent with kids who are home all the time, so it’ll probably be pizza flavoured goldfish and a juice box.

Is there someone who served as a mentor when you were starting out in this industry that you’d give a special shout-out to in your acceptance speech if given the chance?
My parents. They are both gifted artists, who taught me the importance of staying true to yourself. I remember watching them as a child when they were on stage and being hypnotized by how they could move an audience.

Stream the Canadian Screen Awards on the Academy website, Twitter and YouTube.

Check out the list of nominees.

Wednesday, May 19, 2021
7 p.m. ET: CTV presents the Canadian Screen Awards – Creative Arts & Performance (Narrator: Tyrone Edwards)

Thursday, May 20, 2021
7 p.m. ET: Canadian Screen Awards – Cinematic Arts, Presented by Telefilm Canada, Supported by Cineplex (Narrator: Nahéma Ricci)

8 p.m. ET: 2021 Canadian Screen Awards (Narrators: Stephan James and Karine Vanasse)

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Awards, Coroner, Schitt's Creek

Winners: The 19Th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto

From a media release:

ACTRA Toronto is proud to announce the winners of the 19th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto. 

Outstanding Performance – Female Voice 
Bahia Watson as Leshawna in Total Dramarama, “Total Eclipse of the Fart” (Fresh TV Inc.)

Outstanding Performance – Male Voice 
Cory Doran as Manson and Johnny in Doomsday Brothers, “The Real Monster is …You!” (Portfolio Entertainment)

Outstanding Performance – Female
Tamara Podemski as Alison Trent in Coroner, “One Drum” (Back Alley Film Productions/Muse Entertainment Enterprises)

Outstanding Performance – Male
Jesse LaVercombe as Dylan in Violation (DM Films)

For the third year in a row, the Members’ Choice Series Ensemble Award went to Schitt’s Creek.

Tara Sky presented ACTRA Toronto’s 2021 Award of Excellence to her mother, multi-disciplinary artist Jani Lauzon.

The 19th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto were presented online on ACTRA Toronto’s YouTube channel tonight at 8 p.m. EST. 

“I am blown away by the calibre and diversity of the talented performers nominated this year,” said ACTRA Toronto President David Gale, “Building a star system in Canada has been a little bit of a thing of mine for a while. We will build our strength as a union by raising the profile of our award-winning and rising stars. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners.” The president also spoke about protecting performers on set during the pandemic, “As members of the Ministry of Labour’s Section 21 Film and Television Health and Safety committee, ACTRA Toronto is taking a leading role in making sure our sets are safe. After all, performers are the only ones taking our masks off at work.”

The 19th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto were sponsored by: GOLD: Actra Fraternal Benefit Society; Bell Media; CBC; CMPA; Creative Arts Financial, a division of FirstOntario; United Steelworkers. SILVER: Cavalluzzo. BRONZE: HUB International; NABET 700-M UNIFOR; Take 5 Productions; Whizbang Films. 

ACTRA Toronto is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing more than 15,000 of Canada’s 27,000 professional performers working in recorded media in Canada. As an advocate for Canadian culture since 1943, ACTRA is a member-driven union that continues to secure rights and respect for the work of professional performers.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Jennifer Podemski tells stories of Indigenous communities in APTN’s Future History

I can’t get enough of history, especially when it comes to Canada. What I dismissed as boring when I was in high school has become a fascination. And, thanks to APTN, I’ve learned a lot about Indigenous peoples and their stories.

A plethora of tales is told in Season 2 of Jennifer Podemski’s excellent Future History. Airing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET, the program has really hit its stride in the sophomore go-round as producer-director Podemski follows Indigenous activist and artist Sarain Fox and archaeologist Kris Nahrgang through 13 half-hour episodes. For Nahrgang, this journey is deeply personal. He was raised not knowing anything about his First Nations roots and continues to gain knowledge this year. In the show’s May 14 debut, viewers learned how Nahrgang’s grandmother covered her skin with makeup to look white and joined what Nahrgang’s mother called “white clubs.”

“It’s not a story you often hear,” Podemski says. “Especially in this journey of reclamation, I think that many Canadians who see themselves as white, or non-Native, might never have considered they too might be a Kris.” The idea for Future History came about because of a meeting Podemski had with a production company working with Nahrgang on a possible archaeology project. The actress, writer, producer and director was intrigued at the idea of something historical, but with a future slant. Adding a younger co-host, Podemski reasoned, would polarize not just Nahrgang’s distance from his culture but his age and on-camera experience.

“That also helps people really understand that he is on a very uncomfortable journey,” she says. The uncomfortable feeling really comes through, especially when Nahrgang gamely agrees to attend an Ojibway immersion camp where no English is spoken for days. Fox and Nahrgang visit different areas of the country in their journeys, visiting Southern Ontario locales like Orillia, Peterborough, Kitchener and Manitoulin Island. Their segments are broken up by the Talking Stick, where Indigenous members of the community look straight into the camera to vent frustrations, give advice or voice concerns.

“We were only looking for a minute, but it started a lot of great conversations and I really wanted it to feel not necessarily thematically tied to the episode,” Podemski says. “I wanted it to be a voice from the community, another texture that may be totally unrelated to what we are talking about.

“When we’re telling stories through an Indigenous lens it’s so important to me that we don’t paint them with one brush.”

Future History airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on APTN. You can watch past episodes on APTN.ca.

Image courtesy of APTN.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail