Tag Archives: The Disappearance

CTV’s The Disappearance mines a fractured family’s search for their missing son

A child gone missing. It’s one of the most traumatic things a family can face. The Sullivan family experiences that awful scenario this Sunday when the original six-part miniseries The Disappearance debuts at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV. Starring Peter Coyote, Aden Young, Camille Sullivan, Joanne Kelly, Micheline Lanctôt, Kevin Parent and Michael Riendeau, The Disappearance is a gripping thriller about lives turned upside down.

“What is the worst thing that can happen to parents?” executive producer Sophie Parizeau asks television critics during a set visit to Montreal. “It’s having a child that disappears. And not having answers as to why is very, very difficult. Emotionally, I think people will really connect with it.”

It won’t take long for viewers to be drawn into the story on Sunday; Normand Daneau and Geneviève Simard’s first script of six directed by Peter Stebbings is tightly-wound and traumatic, beginning with an idyllic day at school for Anthony Sullivan (Riendeau) and ending with darkness, police lights, an investigation by Lieutenant-Detective Susan Bowden (Lanctôt) and Sergeant-Detective Charles Cooper (Parent), and an overturned bicycle. Between those bookends, we learn Anthony’s father, musician Luke Sullivan (Young), and mother, microbiologist Helen (Sullivan), are signing off on their divorce, something Luke’s father, former prosecutor and judge Henry (Coyote) frowns upon. Meanwhile, Anthony has gotten in trouble at school—a class project on the community invades his neighbours’ privacy—and how to discipline him divides Henry, Helen and Luke.

Daneau and Simard brought The Disappearance to Joanne Forgues at Productions Casablanca in 2011, but after some initial interest in Quebec, the project stalled. After translating the first script into English they pitched it to Bell Media, thinking the psychological drama would fit on a variety of properties, including Bravo and The Movie Network. Bell Media bit and the project was a go, but landing their leading man proved to be a challenge: Young was starring in an ABC pilot and wouldn’t be available. But, as often happens in Hollywood, the pilot wasn’t picked up.

“They sent me three episodes,” the Canadian-Australian actor recalls over lunch. “My agent called me and asked how far I was into the scripts and I said I was on the third one. I realized I’d just been blowing through the pages … it was a real whodunnit and that excited me. This was an investigation, a let’s get into it and get after what’s happened kind of thing.”

What’s happened is key. Was the person who took Anthony a neighbour unhappy at the boy entering their home while he researched the project? Could someone Henry put in prison during his 40-year-career be exacting revenge? Or is the disappearance related to someone from Luke’s past? Secrets are revealed—and they’re not pretty—but there is at least one sliver of hope.

“Usually, something like this would break a relationship,” Sullivan says of Luke and Helen. “We’re already split at the beginning and, because we’re locked into the search for Anthony, we really do start to rediscover each other. There is also no one else in the world at that moment who can understand what you’re going through. Only the other parent, and I think that’s something that really draws us together.”

The Disappearance airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

 

 

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CTV’s original mystery event series The Disappearance premieres Oct. 1; plus first-look photos & trailer

From a media release:

Secrets surface and tensions run high as CTV’s new original mystery event series THE DISAPPEARANCE debuts this fall, airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, beginning October 1 on CTV and CTV GO. The six-part, hour-long series features a stellar ensemble cast, including Emmy®-winner Peter Coyote (E.T.) and Critics’ Choice Television Award-nominee Aden Young (RECTIFY), and airs in a prime hammock in CTV’s unrivalled prime-time fall lineup on Sunday nights – between scorching Top 5 hit LUCIFER at 8 p.m. ET/PT and new mystery-thriller TEN DAYS IN THE VALLEY at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Two weeks in advance of its October 1 debut, a special sneak peek of the series premiere episode will be available September 17 on CTV.ca and on demand through television service providers across the country. THE DISAPPEARANCE is also available as a CraveTV FIRST LOOK every Saturday, beginning Sept. 30 at 9 p.m. ET. The French language version of the series airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Super Écran, beginning October 1.

Produced in 4K by award-winning Productions Casablanca in association with NBCUniversal International Studios, and shot in Montréal last fall, THE DISAPPEARANCE follows the Sullivan family in the wake of a terrifying family drama. As the fractured family bands together to solve the mystery that has uprooted their lives, long-held secrets are uncovered. Driven by hope and a relentless determination to do whatever necessary to uncover the mystery, the same hidden truths that threaten to shatter this family may also be the very key to reuniting them.

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In addition to Peter Coyote, who plays retired judge and prosecutor Henry Sullivan; and Aden Young as scruffy and soulful musician Luke Sullivan, Henry’s son and Anthony’s loving father; THE DISAPPEARANCE also stars Gemini Award-nominee Camille Sullivan (THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE) as Helen Murphy Sullivan, Anthony’s devoted mother; Gemini Award-nominee Joanne Kelly (WAREHOUSE 13) as Catherine Sullivan, Henry’s daughter, Luke’s sister, and a charming, devoted palliative care nurse; Genie Award and Silver Lion-winner Micheline Lanctôt (UNITÉ 9) as Susan Bowden, a tough, experienced Lieutenant-Detective; JUNO Award-winner Kevin Parent (Café de Flore) as Sergeant-Detective Charles Cooper, Susan’s partner; and newcomer Michael Riendeau as Anthony Sullivan, Luke and Helen’s son.

In the series premiere (Sunday, Oct. 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT), when Anthony’s school project gets him in trouble with his teacher, it creates tension between Luke and Henry. After Henry sends Anthony on a scavenger hunt for his birthday, Helen and Luke panic when their son mysteriously vanishes, setting off a puzzle of unthinkable consequences.

THE DISAPPEARANCE is created and written by the Montréal-based writing team of Normand Daneau and Geneviève Simard and directed by Peter Stebbings (Defendor, ORPHAN BLACK). The series is produced by Joanne Forgues of Productions Casablanca. Executive producers are Joanne Forgues, Sophie Parizeau, and Jean-Marc Casanova, creators of the Prix Gémeaux-winning series, LES INVINCIBLES and SÉRIE NOIRE. Emmy® Award-winning JoAnn Alfano (30 ROCK) and Kristen Del Pero are executive producers for NBCUniversal International Studios.

THE DISAPPEARANCE is produced by Productions Casablanca in association with Bell Media and NBCUniversal International Studios, with the financial participation of the Canada Media Fund, the Cogeco Program Development Fund, and the assistance of the Québec Film and Television Tax Credit, and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. Super Écran has commissioned the series for French-language broadcast. NBCUniversal International Studios serves as international distributor.

 

 

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Link: TV and movie productions choose Montreal as next big filming locale

From Bill Brioux of The Canadian Press:

Link: TV and movie productions choose Montreal as next big filming locale
The Disappearance is one of several English-language productions currently shooting in Montreal. With the TV business already booming in Vancouver and Toronto, Montreal is fast becoming a popular third option as a Canadian production hub.

A second straight mild fall has probably helped. Generous tax incentives, seasoned crews and the relatively low Canadian dollar haven’t hurt either. Producers say Montreal also offers several “looks,” doubling well for North American, as well as European capitals. Continue reading.

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