Tag Archives: Will Sasso

From a media release:

As Canada rolls towards legalizing marijuana for recreational use, HISTORY^Â® offers an insider’s look into Canada’s estimated multi-billion dollar marijuana industry through the eyes of one grassroots trailblazer in the new original docu-series Bud Empire (7×30). Premiering Tuesday, June 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT with back-to-back new episodes, the series follows Kelowna pot pioneer Bob Kay as he navigates his medical marijuana dispensary through the burgeoning green rush. As big business and politicians threaten to make independent head shops like Bob’s history, he must find a way to weed out the competition and solidify his place in the new frontier. Produced by Canadian Screen Award winner Trish Dolman (Canada In A Day) and Executive Producer Henry Less (Chef in Your Ear), the series is narrated by actor Will Sasso (MADtv).

Holding one of the largest personal medical marijuana grow licenses in Canada, pot-repreneur Bob has made a name for himself in the Canadian cannabis scene as the owner of Be Kind, the Okanagan’s original Compassion Club. With a head for business and a passion for pot, Bob plans to grow Be Kind from a medical marijuana dispensary into a budding empire with the help of his staff and family. With ambitious plans to grow his business, Bob looks to partner with Vancouver-based marijuana maverick and renowned grower Jo Leon a joint “LP” â€“ a federal grow license to produce an unlimited amount of weed for retail sale. Can Bob take his small-town pot shop to the next level? Or will he, and countless other marijuana entrepreneurs just like him, soon be history?

Bud Empire premieres just ahead of the Senate’s final vote on Bill C-45, currently scheduled for June 7. If approved, marijuana will become legal for retail purchase and Canada will become the first advanced industrialized nation to legalize and regulate marijuana from production to consumption. Experts currently estimate that the base retail market of recreational marijuana could reach up to $8.7 billion annually*, with $1 billion per year in tax revenue from all marijuana sales.**

The seriesÂ is produced by Screen Siren Pictures Inc. and HLP + Partners in association with Corus Entertainment’s HISTORY.Â Executive producers on the series are Trish Dolman and Henry Less. The series is written by Peter Waal. Series Producer is Dan Jackson. Directors are Trish Dolman, Leia Hutchings and Peter Waal.

Featured, Motive

Five reasons we love, and will miss, Motive

March 21, 2016 Greg David 5 Comments

All good things must come to an end, and Motive has been very, very good. Ever since the CTV cop drama burst onto the scene in February 2013, we’ve loved the writing, the characters and the stories. Now, sadly, it’s coming to an end, but rather than bemoan what could have been, let’s celebrate what Motive is: a great Canadian series that was given the chance to say goodbye rather than be cancelled without fanfare. Here are five things we’ll loveâ€”and missâ€”about Motive.

The storytelling
Begun by original executive producer Daniel Cerone and carried on by Dennis Heaton, what’s always set Motive apart from the rest of the drama pack has been unveiling the killer and victim within the first few minutes. The rest of each episode was spent showing their relationship as Det. Angie Flynn (Kristin Lehman), her partner Det. Oscar Vega (Louis Ferreira), Det. Brian Lucas (Brendan Penny) and Dr. Betty Rogers (Lauren Holly) pieced together why that person wasÂ guilty of the crime.

Kristin Lehman rocking her real hair … and the director’s chair
After three seasons wearing a wig, we’re loving it that Kristin Lehman has shed the fake stuff in favour of her real ‘do. We’re even more excited about her directing an instalment.

The guest stars
International talent in Jennifer Beals, Corbin Bernsen, Martin Donovan, Dylan Walsh, Alexis Bledel, Chris Klein, C. Thomas Howell, Ally Sheedy and Jason Dohring have dropped by, as have homegrown talent inÂ Jessica Lowndes,Â Callum Keith Rennie, Luisa D’Olivera, Victor Garber and Niall Matter. We love seeing these folks interact with the regular characters, something that continues in Season 4 withÂ Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) in Tuesday’s return “The Vanishing Policeman” and the hunt for a cop killer; Will Sasso and Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy) appear in later storylines.

Vega and Angie’s relationship
It would have been easy for Heaton and his writing crew to makeÂ Angie and Vega an item. We’re very glad they didn’t, because it would have ruined the chemistry and connection these two have. Keeping them apart has meant plenty of quips and sarcasm, but also a deep respect that makes them stronger detectives. (And it left the door open for Vega and Betty to hook up.)

Motive airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Featured, Fool Canada

Will Sasso sets out to Fool Canada

June 23, 2015 Greg David

The short answer is yes, Canadians are just a polite as we’re believed to be. That is the finding of Fool Canada, CBC’s televised social experiment where hidden cameras capture everyday folks plunged into outrageous situations and confronted with outlandish characters.

Debuting Tuesday night, Fool Canada stars Will Sasso (MADtv) as the king court jester, who along withÂ Craig Lauzon, Sam Kalilieh and Sara Hennessey goof on everything from our love of street hockey toÂ mistaken identity.

“I would feel bad,” Sasso says. “The producers would be talking in my ear, telling me to push it a little further and I wouldn’t want to. ‘This person is on their lunch break, they don’t need to deal with me in a wig!'” And yet deal with Sasso they do, whether he’s dressed up like a EuropeanÂ tourist and testing the patience of a passerby by having a dozen pictures taken or portraying a traffic cop and pulling over a girl for “speeding” on her skateboard.” The B.C. native describes Fool Canada as longform improv he found scary and daunting … exactly the reasons he signed on.

Though Sasso admits not all of the bits he participated in were stellar, several in Tuesday’s debut are. The aforementioned tourist bit goes from awkward to amazing and a segment where a city staffer (played by Kalilieh) drops off raccoons for placement in city homes is snicker-worthy. The laugh-out loud moment of the half-hour show? Two dudes playing street hockey … with two dolls strapped to their chests dressed up like real babies. The look of horror on the folks who walk by to see pucks bouncing off the fake infants is worth tuning in for.

“These things don’t work unless I’m in the comfy bosom of my countrypeople,” Sasso admits. “There is this meter where you wonder how far you can push. And when you reach that spot on the meter it becomes fun.”

Fool Canada airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on CBC.