Durham County TV Series

Durham County S3: Homelands

2010-10-31T17:58:00.001+01:00

You think Durham County couldn't get any darker after the gritty season two? Well, watch the first new episode titled 'Homelands'!

In Season 3, Durham County focuses on a task force that covers crimes along the 401 highway corridor. Mike Sweeney, now the Superintendent of the Durham police precinct, is on this force, which, when the episode opens, is investigating the murder of two young drug runners. Mike wonders whether these deaths are warnings to other runners or the beginnings of a gang war. Mike’s challenge is how to get through the language barriers and trace the crimes to sources, which may be here or overseas. Durham, because of its proximity to the 401 corridor, is a transportation hub, one stop on a crime corridor. Nothing has roots here, but everything passes through.

Ivan Sujic (ex-military), partners with Mike on the task-force investigating the drug-trafficking murders. Mike quickly learns that Ivan is distraught because his wife, Katya, is missing and didn’t return from a trip to the United States. The friendship between the two men, a friendship that grows and deepens, also becomes for Mike, a murder investigation. Mike suspects that Ivan’s troubled brother-in-law, Miro, may have something to do with Katya’s disappearance and that Ivan may know something about it.

The cast:
Hugh Dillon as Mike Sweeney
Michael Nardone as Ivan Sujic
Hélène Joy as Audrey Sweeney
Laurence Leboeuf as Sadie Sweeney
Greyston Holt as Ray Prager Jr
Krista Bridges as Sabina Leung
Bénédicte Décary as Eva Arcady
Andreas Aspergis as Miro Çercu
Cicely Austin as Maddie Sweeney

Episode 1 'Homelands' - here are the new kids in town:

Sabina - Eva - Miro - Ivan

The familiar Sweeney family:

Mike - Sadie - Audrey

And one of the main players, this creepy county:

Laurie Finstad Knizhnik about violence and the darkness of the series:

"The reason why Durham County is an analysis of violence in the society is because this idea wasn't the reality of other dramas you see. In fact, many TV series or even films do talk about the presence of violence in people's behaviour, but they don't look at the way how people actually feel when they confront violence. [...]
TV is a medium that allows us to elaborate a hypothetical analysis of how people would feel if they were put in tragic and depressing circumstances. I'll also add that this dark atmosphere even allows a multi-dimensional depiction of the female characters in a show that deals with violence. With that said, the idea of creating Durham County was born because I didn't want to create another show that just uses women as mere props who witness violence or are, on the surface, victims of it."

Source: The Cultural Post

I'll try to post a summary of the reactions, reviews and interviews from last weeks later on.

The Hydro Corridors Are Back

2010-10-23T00:18:00.000+02:00

The wait is almost over - tune in Monday to watch the first episode of Durham County's third season: HBO Canada at 10pm. Cast and crew will celebrate the premiere with a party in Montreal.

The new web site for Durham County Season 3 is up and running. It's shiny, it's beautifully designed by James Taylor. Watch trailers, a stunning gallery, get a glimpse of the story, read about the cast and crew and don't miss the videos introducing the characters. If you click on the Bonus Features, go to the Backstage Photo Gallery. Cool, eh?
Right, the first award for S3 goes to this web presentation. FANTASTIC. A piece of art:
http://www.durhamcounty.ca

Also, you might want to read a recent Hugh Dillon interview:

Dillon finds his passion in Durham County - New season's scripts particularly challenging:

"I find I'm not smiling as much. I'm more intense, more focused, because of this other person's life and dilemmas and holy sh-t. And I'm not one of those kinds of people. I'm influenced by what's around me and what's inside me," he added. "There are times when I wish I could just pick it up and drop it -some days I can -but for the most part that's just the way I work. I get into it and it's so compelling and you have to work so hard to get it right that if you look away, even if for a moment, you'll miss something. And I can't afford to."

Remember some reactions after the first episode of season 2?
"Disturbingly delicious."
"My drug of choice."
"Riveting, phenomenal."
"Dark, creepy and awesome."
"Durham County will blow your mind. My mind is blown. Holy Shit."

Durham County Returns for an Explosive Third and Final Season

2010-10-09T00:35:00.001+02:00

Durham County's third and final season kicks off on Monday, October 25 at 10 PM ET/MT, airing on HBO Canada, The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Movie Central (Western Canada).

From the HBO Canada Press Release:

"Dangerous relationships, family tragedies, a new murder investigation and the haunting side effects of war all begin Monday, October 25 at 10 p.m. ET/MT, when HBO Canada, a multiplex channel of Astral’s The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central (Western Canada), presents the third and final season of Durham County, the Gemini nominated one-hour Canadian drama series that explores the secrets buried deep within suburbia.

“Durham County is first-in-class in terms of offering premium-quality, critically acclaimed, daring Canadian original drama,” said Aubie Greenberg, Director, Original Programming, Movie Services, Astral Television Networks. “Viewers can expect a riveting final season full of twists and turns at every corner, with even more spellbinding storytelling from a remarkable production team.”

“Hugh Dillon has taken the character of Detective Mike Sweeney into dark and raw crevasses rarely seen in television”, said Jocelyn Hamilton, Corus Entertainment, “Like a rare gem, Durham County has shown how creative, unrelenting and edgy television can be.”

Starring Hugh Dillon as the tormented Mike Sweeney, now Superintendent of the Durham police precinct, Season 3 of Durham County picks up as Mike’s home life is blossoming: his wife Audrey (Hélène Joy) is expecting a baby and his daughter Sadie (Laurence Leboeuf) is about to graduate from the police academy. Alongside new detective and ex-soldier Ivan Sujic (new cast member Michael Nardone), Mike is on the task force investigating the gruesome murders of two young brothers who were accused of being drug runners along the 401 highway corridor.

As the case deepens, Mike’s life begins to spiral out of control as he suspects that Ivan is hiding something about the mysterious disappearance of his wife Katya. At the same time, Sadie’s role in an undercover operation and her contact with a known drug dealer has put her in grave danger. Meanwhile,a sudden tragedy occurs that may tear Mike’s family apart forever. Durham County also stars Greyston Holt as Ray Prager Jr., Krista Bridges as Sabina Leung, Andreas Aspergis as Miro Cercu, Cicely Austin as Maddie Sweeney and Bénédicte Décary as Eva Arcady.
[...]

SNEAK PREVIEW OPPORTUNITIES
The Movie Network and Movie Central will offer subscribers and non-subscribers a chance to sample the premiere episode of Season 3 beginning Tuesday, October 12 via the following online and on demand platforms:
* Free of charge online at www.hbocanada.com
* In Eastern Canada on The Movie Network OnDemand and available free of charge to Rogers customers through Rogers On Demand and Rogers On Demand Online
* On Movie Central On Demand and video on demand services of participating broadcast partners in Western Canada.
* Via HBO Canada OnLine with Rogers, Bell TV and Videotron."

Canadians only: A trailer is available at http://www.hbocanada.com/durhamcounty/video.php.
You're unlucky if you're living in other parts of the world. You'll see a message 'We’re sorry! This site is not accessible from your location.'

Durham County fans, all over the world: Join us at the official Facebook Page !

Pictures of Michelle Forbes and Greyston Holt at FanExpo

2010-09-24T22:53:00.001+02:00

Richard Crouse, moderator of the Durham County panel at FanExpo Toronto last month, took some beautiful photos of Michelle Forbes, Greyston Holt, Laurie Finstad Knizhnik, Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell:

Thank you, Richard, for the permission to post these photos!
Head over to his facebook page to find more.

P.S.: Artwork of the US DVD release of Season 2 (expected January 2011):

A Unique Tapestry of Characters - A German Review of Season Two

2010-09-19T00:48:00.002+02:00

A German critic reviews the second season of Durham County, here are a few excerpts - translated by Randy:

The Canadian drama series "Durham County" already returns to German screens with its second season - though again only on Pay-TV on RTL Crime - but nonetheless. Season 1, with its short length of only six episodes, knew how to convince viewers and critics alike. The reward for the effort were various nominations and awards in their home country at the Gemini Awards. However, when looking back at the series, these awards aren't necessarily self-evident. "Durham County" is namely provokingly oppressive and nightmarish. It casts a consistently dark and disturbing look at the supposedly idyllic suburbia. By doing so, it uncovers well-kept secrets. It even destroys friendships. Thus a piece of work, beloved by critics, is left to be overlooked by viewers and award-presenters thanks to an unusual way of storytelling.

The newly-stared Season 2 definitely matches its predecessor. In part, it penetrates even deeper into the world of the series' characters [...]

In addition to the continuation of the storyline started in Season 1, the current season acquires more explosive power with the introduction of a new and equally hurt soul - Dr. Pen Verrity, played by the extremely convincing Michelle Forbes [...]

The plot thickens throughout the story. No one is safe and no one seems to be who they claim to be. Lies, deceit, cover-ups, murder and despair. The undertow becomes invariably deeper and more sorrowful. The work of the writer and executive producer Laurie Finstad Knizhnik seems to forge ahead as almost excruciating and unbearable. Terrific plot twists await viewers in this season. The only question is, how long will the viewers tolerate or want to endure the traumatic, nightmarish images. Indeed, she has already achieved a unique and remarkable tapestry of characters and stories in the previously-produced episodes [...]

In addition to the creative force behind Laurie Finstad Knizhnik, it is then above all the magnificent look of the series that stands out from the masses of TV-formats. Unique, dark and mysterious images, from the opening sequence of the series, across the many intermediate images in the episodes themselves, always present the web of power lines, cold, barren landscapes, semi-finished buildings and wandering figures - where everything matters, everything lends the series a unique distinguished feature [...]

[Durham County] ... a gem in the world of quality television series."

German source: quotenmeter.de

This Moment Of Tenderness

2010-09-02T11:27:00.001+02:00

Gary rocks! He did the transcription of the recorded interview with Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell at Fan Expo Toronto, 28 August 2010. Hope you enjoy it. --chris

LORANC: Our first question is for Adrienne. One of the several uncanny eerie scenes in episode two is the night scene with Pen by the pool with the vision of Bonnie who's creeping up out of the empty pool and looking at her. Can you tell us a little bit about this scene from a director's viewpoint and what is your inspiration?

ADRIENNE: Yes, well, it's a good question and when I read it on the script I thought, "wow, how am I going to render that when we have a very limited budget", so one of the things, I have to say, I drew some of my inspiration from the movie, The Ring, where if you've seen it, it's a horror film that's based on a Japanese horror film and they made an American version of it. What there was, was there was this really amazing scene where this girl was walking up a well. And what they did was they used a contortionist, to bend her body in a very strange awkward and frightening way. And I guess they shot it (inaudible) level.

So I wanted to use that technique, and I wanted to work with something that was a bit more organic, and did not have to entail special effects and CGI. Because in the script it required a bug like, spider-like motion, that's how it was described in the script. So we found, we did a couple auditions, and I was, can we find a contortionist, we looked at circuses and we looked at Cirque Du Soleil and if they could bring somebody in. And we needed a specific girl, you needed a girl and someone you could buy as being Pen's daughter.

Finally we found this Russian gymnast who had a team of young girls, and she brought them in and they were literally contortionists.

So my audition process was, let's find different ways of creating a backwards spider. Can you walk fast? What can you do with your arms? And finally we settled on a girl who was amazing. And so it was a combination of that and really cool editing. Annie Ilkow edited that scene and it was a combination of the girl's natural abilities to do weird motions and be quite contorted as she does it, and Annie's really cool editing. So that was the technical part of it.

What was the beautiful part of that scene was Michelle Forbes' connection there, with the daughter. Originally the scene was written as more of a horror scene, with the mother kind of recoiling. And I sort of talked with Laurie about it and said 'I think we should turn it around and sort of start out that way maybe, but what if we turned it around to something that had this moment of tenderness?'

And that's exactly where Michelle wanted to go too with it, because she had such a strong connection to this actor, to this girl. And I just thought that with the connection between the girl and Michelle and the emotion that Michelle displayed when she finally got past the scary part to that part where it was just two people, that was amazing.

So that was a bit of the backstory on that.

LORANC: My next question is for Janis: Could you have produced this kind of hard core drama twenty years ago? If not, what has changed to now make this possible in the industry?

JANIS: No. (laughter) I think the big change is Pay TV. Both internationally in the states, and certainly up here. Because there's no way that what we're trying to do would really work on conventional TV. We did have Global Television in for the first season, and they love the show and are very supportive of us. But it's not for conventional TV. So with the pay networks, you can see what they're doing with Sopranos, True Blood and (inaudible), and you're just able as a creator, as a team of people who want to do something a bit outside the box, who want to explore something that's beyond the usual generic genre that's out there, and for me that's the biggest change that's happened.

LORANC: Our next question is for both of you. The writer, who's not here right now, producer and director are all women, which is rather unusual in this industry, from what we've seen. Would you like to comment on that, and what has your overall experience been on that level?

ADRIENNE: Just very quickly, my perspective is I've always wanted to direct and be a part of something to create something, and it's really hard to do that by getting a job somewhere else, because there is such sort of a wall there, you know, it's male dominated. So what we all seem to all do at the same time, Janis, myself and Laurie, we seek similar people out to work with together and then we are able to do and create what we wanted to do. And I produce and create my own shows in order to direct them. It would be much harder just to try to get a job directing. Plus this is the dream anyway to do your own show. So it kind of worked out really well, but I think we wanted to find like-minded people and they happened to be women, of course, that we just connected with.

JANIS: I think the industry is set up that it's very fragmented so being a producer and a woman is acceptable. And I think part of that is because you have to work really hard and you don't necessarily get paid. So that's a perfect job for a woman, right? (laughter)

Directing on the other hand, as Adrienne said, she's an amazing director and she was just nominated for a Director's Guild nomination for what she did on Season 2, to be a woman and want to be a director in this industry is so difficult, as we saw with Katherine Bigelow with Hurt Locker finally, Finally, and you look at the series that are being done here, the thirteen episodes, the twenty-two episodes and you go through and see how many women are actually directing those episodes, and it's sad, and there's a lot of women out there who have the talent and can direct, and they're just not being given the opportunity, in Quebec and Montreal they don't hire, there's just no women out there working. Unless you're doing lifestyle again, it's at the lower end you're not getting paid and you're working really hard.

So when Adrienne and I started our company, she really wanted to direct, and she really wanted to direct drama, and so how do we do that? We create our own shows, we produce our own shows and we find the money and we do what we fucking want to do. Because otherwise we're not going to be able to do that. (laughter and crosstalk)

LORANC: Now let's move on to Michelle Forbes, which is why we're here. We found her simply brilliant as Pen, how was it like working with her on the set?

ADRIENNE: You know I've never worked with such a prepared actor in my entire life. She just dove into the role. Just focused, lived and breathed it. She basically, we just did one or two takes - she would do more, but we did not need any more. She was such an amazing actor, so invested in the role, so talented. The thing is, you know, we saw it in the audition room. It's very hard, with the characters that Laurie writes, they're so, shades of gray, it's so hard for an actor to pull that out of themselves, and Michelle was brilliant at doing that.

You know, even in the audition room, she went from a wide gamut of emotions and range that I was just like, my hair was like this after the audition. I was like 'Wow, that's amazing'. So yeah, she's a comfortable person to work with, she jokes a lot, and she gets along well with the crew, but she's very very focused and she can be quite intense, and she needed to be for that role. She had to be focused.

JANIS: Well, I don't know that there's much I can add. She's amazing, she's really amazing to watch her act. When we were doing auditions for this role, it was getting pretty scary because we had auditioned a lot of people, almost everyone in Canada, Adrienne had gone down to the States, and you get into a situation where the actors are trying really hard, and they're doing their best, but they're 'acting'. And Michelle, in this role, she lived that roll and she became that person.

There were days on the set that she didn't want to talk to anyone, she was just doing her thing. She was like "just give me my breakfast in the morning, and I'm going to do my scenes", and then there were other times when she would just be laughing and joking, and she'd come out of this intense scene and then she would tell this funny thing, and I'd be "I don't know how, I don't know how actors do it, I don't know how she does it'. But a total joy. A total joy.

ADRIENNE: As a director I think I learned a lot from her. She's got a ton of experience acting, and there's a quality to her that you just stop. You just stop and you are really invited into a realm of concentration and focus that you rarely are with actors. And I really learned as a director that you have to pay attention to that. That I had to really pay attention to that and not hide behind my visual (inaudible) and she actually taught me to really come into that kind of space that she was in. And I learned a lot as a director from her.

LORANC: And for our final question, what would you like the audience to take away from Durham County?

ADRIENNE: Well, I mean, Durham County is such a cathartic series. What I'd like them to take is, if you've got pain, if there's things in you that unsettle you, that disturb you or things that you find in your own behavior that unsettling and disturbing, I think Durham County is a wonderful series to watch because you can watch characters at the extreme of those kinds of emotions, yet Laurie writes them in such a way that they're so empathetic that you are not alienated from them, you're not, you can't turn your back on those characters, in fact you can see glimpses of yourself. So in a way, it's like, I hope that they can take away what they might learn from a character like that, if they feel anything that's similar, that there's a humanity there, and the viewer's own humanity is there. And not to just turn your back on someone who might be dismissed as a monster. If we do that constantly, we're not going to learn about the human condition in order to stop that, so that's what I want them to take away from that.

JANIS: Because if you turn your back on the monster, then the monster just create more monsters. So I really hope that people watch the show, and try to gain a better understanding of human nature, and learn a bit of compassion. It's very difficult to do, because a lot of what we see in tv and films when you see these characters, it's very black and white and you want to hate them.
And if you don't learn to love them, and love that part of yourself, then I think we'll have a real problem, moving forward as a race.

Interview: Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell

2010-08-31T15:03:00.003+02:00

Some weeks ago I contacted the creators of Durham County and asked if it would be possible to ask writer Laurie Finstad Knizhnik a couple of questions at the Fan Expo in Toronto. They kindly agreed and suggested to include director Adrienne Mitchell and producer Janis Lundman as well for a round table, because the series is such a collaborative effort.

Since I wasn't able to attend the convention I asked loranc from Toronto (thanks to you!) to conduct the actual interview. Packed with a list of 16 questions I'd sent her, an arranged time and location for the round table, loranc faced a little challenge. Sadly Laurie Finstad Knizhnik couldn't participate and they only had time to answer 5 questions.

Below you can listen to the ladies from Back Alley Films, talking about:
* directing one specific scene from episode 2 (night scene with Bonnie and Pen Verrity by the pool)
* working with Michelle Forbes on set of Durham County
* creating and producing as women in a male dominated industry
* changes in the media landscape
* and more ...

Your browser does not support the HTML5 audio element :(

Thank you very much, Durham County crew, for this great interview!
(Oh boy, I was so sad that I couldn't make it to Toronto.)
Hopefully we'll have a transcription of the talk at a later date. Also, loranc is about to post her personal FanExpo report on the Miranda Zero Blog.

UPDATE :: Transcription of the interview posted here: This Moment Of Tenderness

Durham County Season 2 panel @Fan Expo, 28 August 2010: Greyston Holt, Adrienne Mitchell, Michelle Forbes, Janis Lundman, Laurie Finstad Knizhnik. Credit: loranc

Welcome To The Durham County Blog

2010-08-30T22:44:00.002+02:00

Welcome to the new fan site for the Durham County TV series!

Don't be too confused that there are already over 30 articles, they have been imported from Miranda Zero Blog where I started to post about DC last year. I wanted to create a special DC fan site for months. Finally, here it is!

I hope you enjoy it!

Last weekend Durham County fans had the opportunity to meet the creators and cast members at FanExpo in Toronto:

Durham County FanExpo Panel - Moderator Richard Crouse, Greyston Holt, Adrienne Mitchell, Michelle Forbes, Laurie Finstad Knizhnik and Janis Lundman
(Photo credit: Andrea Grau)

This Weekend, it's Fan Expo Toronto

2010-08-27T18:00:00.002+02:00

It’s Fan Expo time in Canada!

Apparently, Michelle Forbes was busy this Friday morning with interviews.

Michelle on Breakfast Television Toronto ...

Source: bttoronto.ca

Watch the video on citytv.com :)

... and on CBC Radio Q live in studio. You can listen to the podcast tomorrow. Update:: The podcast is already online. It's the epsisode 'August 27, 2010'.

Don't miss the much anticipated Durham County panel and the autograph session tomorrow at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre! More info on our sidebar, and on the official Durham County Facebook page.

A Nightmare In Suburbia - Durham County Reviews

2010-08-20T18:51:00.001+02:00

While I'm looking forward to the third season, in a thrill of anticipation, the Durham County DVD reviews of the second season keep coming in.

Anh Khoi from Montreal writes:

"Despite being the most violent and darkest crime TV series you're very likely to see, Durham County finds a magic way to put substance over grittiness. Besides, the show contains the best performance I've ever seen in crime dramas [...]
Like the first season, the second season of Durham County is magic. The writing is still first-rate. Above all, some will find that the second season's pilot has way less difficulty to set the tone because the "villain" doesn't have a dichotomous personality. Besides, in the second season, the TV series goes way further when it comes to dealing with violence. In fact, while the first season dealt with violence expressed in an extroverted way, the second one talks about people who commit it by manipulating other people [...]
...despite its very heavy topic, Durham County's charms lie in its way it depicts its gallery of disturbed characters [...]
expect to see a performance full of depth from the actors, especially from Michelle Forbes."

Full review here at anhkhoi.blogspot

Gary writes:

"[Forbes] played the role of Verity with such humanity and intensity that you totally understood her actions, even while finding yourself repulsed by them.
You see her doing reprehensible things, and yet much like Ray Prager in Season 1, you can almost see the method to the madness. And with Verity there was a definite sense of madness about her, a result of trauma in her past.
At one moment you find yourself empathizing with what she's gone through and what she's currently going through, and then you see her poisoning some chocolates to harm someone close to Mike and your feelings change, and you see that this same person you're sympathizing with earlier you can see her in her full on evil mode, and then you can STILL feel for her later in scenes where she's falling apart. It takes a special kind of actress to pull that off, and not just make a one dimensional villain."

Full review at searchingforchetbaker.com

The Europeans, and here especially the German TV viewers, are a little late. Season 2 has yet to debut on 8 September (RTL Crime). All the more enthusiastic are the reviews of the S1 DVD set which just has been released in Germany.

dvdrome.com writes (translated by me):

"Durham County is a powerful piece of television, a drama, a thriller, a gloomy reflection of the Western middle class and its moral decline [...]
Durham County is the nightmare of a middle class suburbia. Thousands of nice small houses, surrounded by huge hydro towers which transport the convenience of civilisation to the County. The middle class lives here. Or are they just surviving? You can live here? Or do they merely close their eyes to reality? To the mortgages - for decades at the mercy of the banks? To years without prospects for the adolescents who, though living wealthy, yet don't see a bright future, a youth that generates odd little games whereby sex decays to a commodity and a murder in the neighborhood isn't daunting - but eventually a bit of excitement and variety? [...]
The first 4 episodes directed by Holly Dale are probably the best crime TV ever produced. The director remains an observer and leaves a judgement to the viewer. [...]
(On sound editing) A perfect sound is not a question of booms, it's the orchestration, the mixing, the sound effects ... in this series they are outstanding."

German source at dvdrome.com

Update:: Give away of Durham County DVDs

* "To celebrate the end of summer, the The Cultural Post organizes its first give away of DVDs for fans of Canadian films and TV shows. [...]1rst Prize:
Durham County is a very dark crime drama that takes place in a fictitious suburb of Toronto. There's a killer in the suburb of Durham County and Det. Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon) tries to find him/her. Besides, Mike also deal with his inner demons. Note that Michelle Forbes delivers a legendary performance as a manipulator."
Source: anhkhoi.blogspot
"Since both prizes are zone 1 DVDs, the contest is only opened to Canadians and Americans." (quote)
Dear Anh Khoi, all Europeans are perfectly able to watch NTSC and region 1 DVDs. Just saying :)
24 August: Anh Khoi opened the contest to more regions: "... if you don't live in North America but can read zone 1 DVDs, then feel free to participate."

* DVD S1 review in the August issue of the German magazine 'Cinema': (translated by me)
A surreal suburban nightmare and a gloomy character study, with a Making-of well done [...] Suspense on its highest level.

(Original text: 'Surrealer Vorstadtalbtraum und bittere Charakterstudie mit einem gelungenen Making-of [...] Spannung auf höchstem Niveau')

Cast & Producers of Durham County at FanExpo Toronto

2010-07-30T20:05:00.001+02:00

Meet the cast & crew of Durham County season 2 in person at this year's Fan Expo Canada (Toronto, August 27-29 2010).

Featured guests:

* ADRIENNE MITCHELL - Director / Executive Producer
* LAURIE FINSTAD KNIZHNIK - Writer / Executive Producer / Co Creator
* JANIS LUNDMAN - Executive Producer
* GREYSTON HOLT - Ray Prager Jr
* MICHELLE FORBES - Dr. Penelope Verrity (Saturday only)

Update ::
* Panel with Michelle Forbes, Greyston Holt, Adrienne Mitchell, Janis Lundman, Laurie Finstad-Knizhnik : 28 August · 12:30, ROOM 104A (Deluxe Pass required, acc. to the FanExpo site))
* 2:00pm: Cast and creators of DC S2 will be at the Anchor Bay Booth (#525) to meet fans and sign autographs (must provide proof of panel attendance to guarantee autograph)

And for those poor souls who can't make it to Canada, meet the producers of Durham County at their official Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/DurhamCountyTV

Fresh from the Canadian DVD bonus features - 38 minutes, interviews with cast and crew and 'Making Of':

Btw, the DVD includes two tracks, English and French :)

Update :: Quotes from a recent interview:

"Forbes [...] has an interesting take on visiting Canada. "It's funny to think that a very thin border separates the two of us. We look alike (in a multi-cultural sense). We sound alike. And yet it's a completely different feeling when you cross that border."
For her, the feeling is elation because she is fascinated by Canada's unique culture [...] Durham County offered stimulation."

Head over to torontosun.com to read more.

Second Season Durham County on German TV

2010-07-27T23:54:00.001+02:00

Excellent news for the German Durham County fans! The German (Pay-for-TV) channel RTL Crime finally airs the second season this fall, of course the uncut and uncensored version, and dubbed in German. After a season one marathon (5 September), 6 new episodes start on 8 September, 20:15.

The official press release, translated by Randy:

"MORE UNCOMPROMISING, MORE THRILLING: THE SECOND SEASON OF "DURHAM COUNTY - IN THE FRENZY OF VIOLENCE" EXCLUSIVELY ON RTL CRIME FROM 8 SEPTEMBER

RTL Crime airs six new episodes of "Durham County - In the Frenzy of Violence." In the second season of the award-winning Canadian series, more terrifying secrets will be unveiled, that must be kept in the dark under all circumstances. New enemies take stage and new conflicts break open.

From 8 September 2010 on RTL Crime viewers will require a particularly strong set of nerves! After serial killer Ray,from the first season, goes to jail, a woman who puts everything in the shade with her behavior takes the stage. Therapist Pen Verrity (Michelle Forbes, known from "True Blood", "24") is a truly seductive opponent to Detective Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon, known, among others, from "Flash Point") . Sexy, mysterious, and with murderous intent!

Mike is very depressed following the separation from his wife and easily becomes susceptible to his co-worker Pen's charms, who, a psychologist, acts as an advisor in their current investigation. However, the detective would never think it possible that Pen is very disturbed and poses life-threatening risk to him and his family... The depths of the human soul are opening up. An implacable war of life and death begins.

Michelle Forbes won the prize for Best Actress in the Monte Carlo TV Festival for her performance in the second season of "Durham County - In the frenzy of violence," Hugh Dillon was also nominated for Best Actor in Monte Carlo. The Directors Guild of Canada nominated the new season for Best Direction, Best Picture Editing and Best Production Design.
The series' first season won the majority of TV awards for the 2008 season in Canada, including five Gemini Awards, among others for Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Direction. It was also named The Best Prime-Time Series in the field of drama at the "FTPA Indie Awards 2008".

@the RTL PR folks: We're glad our blog served as a prompter :D

* DC Season 2 DVD set went on sale in Canada today. From a DVD review:
"Let’s just say if you can only make room for one new dramatic series in your schedule, let it be Durham County — it’s some of Canada’s finest television work."
Source: tvguide.ca

* I'd love to write about the third season on this blog as well, but haven't found a smart way to assimilate it, mirandazero.blogspot was meant as a site covering the work of Michelle Forbes, after all. And her characters have, as we all know too well, the unfortunate tendency to end up dead. How dead? Ultimately and perfectly dead.

We 'could' rename the blog title to:

You Are On The Global Frequency
Formerly known as: Michelle Forbes Community Blog

... and write about all the great stuff we love. What do you think?

(Alex Cardillo on set of Durham County)

UPDATE :: From the Durham County S2 DVD - Extras:

(Click to enlarge)

Durham County Nominated for three DGC Awards

2010-07-08T11:09:00.002+02:00

The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) announced the 2010 DGC Awards nominees. Durham County scored three nominations:

* BEST DIRECTION - TV SERIES
Adrienne Mitchell for Durham County - "Little Lost Children"

* BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN - TV SERIES
Donna Noonan for Durham County - "Little Lost Children"

* BEST PICTURE EDITING - TV SERIES
Teresa De Luca for Durham County - "Little Lost Children"

Congrats to the Durham County gang :)

The ceremony takes place Saturday, September 25, 2010 at the regal Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto.

On Set of Durham County

2010-06-18T21:16:00.001+02:00

On set of Durham County Season 2, Alex Cardillo (Mark Verrity), shooting with screen mom, Michelle Forbes (Pen Verrity):

Durham County DVD Edition

2010-06-12T13:14:00.001+02:00

* The DVD cover of the Canadian S2 edition (release date July 27, 2010), as it appears on amazon.ca:

* Adrienne Mitchell and Janis Lundman wrote on their facebook site that we'll get "some great behind the scenes interviews".
I compiled for ye'll a little teaser picture, taken from the (meanwhile taken down) extra features videos on the official durhamcounty.ca web site.
I'm in fact clueless about what we might see on the DVD:

Btw, Australia has already released a S2 DVD of Durham County if I'm not mistaken.

* A short overview of S1 DVD editions in other regions: Canada, USA, France (multilanguage English and French), Australia. Germany (multi-language English and German): release date 6. August 2010.

And finally, Amazon customers about the S1 DVD:
* A brilliant piece of storytelling. This is extremely intelligent, bleak, thrilling noir, with a great deal of subtext into dynamics between men and women, and male violence toward women. The writing is exemplary, as is the cinematography and performances. ... The best piece of television storytelling I've seen since The Wire.
* It's a great crime drama that I am really surprised hasn't had any advertising on any other channel. It has great characters with depth, mystery/crime plots, along with some family drama, great sets, slightly creepy, sometimes super creepy, great acting...what can I say, I love the show. I am so thrilled to have a second season coming out...
* A "killer" series!

Update :: DVD releases Season 2:
* Canada: 27 July 2010 (NTSC, amazon.ca)
* Europe: 20 October 2010 (PAL, amazon.fr)
* USA: November 2010 (NTSC, amazon.com)

Michelle Forbes Wins Golden Nymph For Durham County

2010-06-10T22:55:00.002+02:00

Tonight at the Monte-Carlo TV festival, Michelle Forbes won the Golden Nymph Award - Outstanding Actress - Drama TV Series, for her performance in Durham County season 2. In absentia.
The annually held Monte-Carlo TV festival honours the best in international TV programming, on a magnificent location, the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, at the French Riviera. And she wasn't (t)here :((

Congratulations to Michelle Forbes and to the creators of Durham County!

More winners:
Outstanding drama series Europe: Forbrydelsen II/ The Killing (woohoo!!)
Oustanding drama series international: Mad Men (AMC)
Outstanding actress mini-series: Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander - Millennium Trilogy

Friday update by Chris&Ekström@airport, list of Golden Nymph winners 2010:

CATÉGORIE FILMS DE TELEVISION
Meilleur Film de télévision : Goldfish (NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation) - Japon
Meilleure Mise en scène : Vera Glagoleva pour One War - Russie
Meilleur Acteur : Pierre Vernier, dans Farewell De Gaulle, Farewell - France
Meilleure Actrice : Julie Walters, pour Mo - Grande-Bretagne

CATÉGORIE MINI-SÉRIES
Meilleure Mini-Série : Once Upon a Time The City of Fools - Italie
Meilleure Actrice : Noomi Rapace, dans Millenium - Suède
Meilleur Acteur : Fabrizio Gifuni, dans Once Upon a Time The City of Fools - Italie

CATÉGORIE SÉRIES DRAMATIQUES
Meilleur Acteur : Michael C. Hall, dans Dexter - Etats-Unis
Meilleure Actrice : Michelle Forbes, dans la saison 2 de Durham County - Canada
Meilleur Producteur International : Lionsgate, pour Mad Men - Etats-Unis
Meilleur Producteur Européen : Danish Broadcasting Corporation, pour The Killing II - Danemark

CATÉGORIE SÉRIES COMIQUES
Meilleur Acteur : Steve Carell, dans The Office - Etats-Unis
Meilleure Actrice : Diana Amft, dans Le Journal de Meg - Allemagne
Meilleur Producteur International : NBC Universal, pour 30 Rock - Etats-Unis
Meilleur Producteur Européen : BBC Productions, pour The Thick of It - Grande-Bretagne

Durham County News

2010-06-04T15:47:00.001+02:00

* Durham County season 2 fan video, set to the song "Bitter" by Remy Zero. Focuses on Mike/Pen, contains spoilers for S2. Check it out:

* Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell, two of the DC producers, have a facebook site:
http://www.facebook.com/DurhamCountyTV
.... and a Twitter account:
http://twitter.com/DurhamCountyTV

* Durham County 2 - Behind the scenes with the crew:

Source: Facebook DC

---> "Anchor bay is doing an incredible job of packaging the DVD of season 2. Some great behind the scenes interviews in store for fans." :)

* Reminder: The series Durham County S2 and Michelle Forbes and Hugh Dillon are nominated for the Golden Nymph Award at the upcoming Monte Carlo TV Festival (the winner will be announced June 10th). As far as I know no one of the crew or actors will be attending :(
They don't know the Grimaldi Forum, do they? You'll miss a beautiful location, guys!

* Durham County season 3, without Michelle, but hey, that's the fate when playing the killer:
- "In the heart-stopping third season of Durham, Mike Sweeney’s new task force investigates the brutal murder of two young boys along the 401 highway corridor, while one of their own officers struggles to bury a dangerous secret."
- " Durham County 3 airs on HBO Canada (Movie Central & The Movie Network) this fall!" - "As season 3 is shot in the fall and into the winter, we think its going to work well airing in the fall. Put the fire on, get a glass of red wine, and descend into the wonderful madness of Durham."
* EXCLUSIVE PICTURES** Durham County - Season 3

* Clips from Durham County - Seasons 1 & 2, a compilation by Back Alley Films:

Update ::
The second season of Durham County will come out on DVD July 27th, 2010 in Canada. You can pre-order DC on the Canadian portal of Amazon.

Golden Nymph Awards

2010-04-09T17:35:00.002+02:00

The Monte Carlo Television Festival announced the nominations for the Golden Nymph Awards 2010.

I'm absolutely thrilled to report:
* Nominated in the category Outstanding Actress - Drama TV Series: Michelle Forbes, Durham County Season 2.
* Nominated in the category Outstanding International Producer - Drama TV Series: Janis Lundman, Adrienne Mitchell, Laurie Finstad Knizhnik and Michael Prupas for Durham County Season 2.
* Also nominated Hugh Dillon for Outstanding Actor.

The festival will be held June 6 to 10. The 'Golden Nymphs' are honoring the best of worldwide television programming.

Tragedy, Laughter and Acceptance

2010-01-05T06:48:00.001+01:00

Below are the best parts of another insightful interview with Michelle on Durham County:

"The beauty of her acting is that we see the character, not the actress...she disappears behind their personalities. 'My [project] choices are instinctual a lot of the time,' she said.

'[Pen Verrity's] confronted with her own failures as a wife, a mother, a psychiatrist. Pen's so far gone; she's drowning...'

'It's still not acceptable for women to express outrage,' she said. 'It's just not socially acceptable. They're expected to keep a lid on it.'

'[Finstad]'s not afraid to walk boldly into this world,' Forbes said. 'She's able to show the frail, dark side of the human condition...'

'...I wanted to be part of [DC],' she said.'It was something you won't find in Hollywood, which I love.'

...despite the serious nature of Durham County, 'The great thing is Laurie and Adrienne have such a great sense of humor, and Michelle Forbes has an incredible sense of humor...'

'My way of dealing with tragedy is laughter...Directors sometimes worry when they see me laughing before a scene.'"
Source: chicagonow.com

Police shows are almost always just about the crimes. But what are the psychic after-effects? That's what we're exploring.

Note: Dear reader, you may have noticed that this and the previous post
have been edited a number of times. I received a bollocking by Chris, [-: I've quoted too much. - Randy

Michelle Shines in Durham County

2010-01-05T02:54:00.002+01:00

Season 2 of Durham County has just aired and there are already two interviews with Michelle. Enjoy!

"On Durham County you play a very conflicted woman - part victim/part villain and very sad -what do you think of Pen Verrity?
Michelle Forbes: It was an amazing opportunity to play someone as tricky and as complicated as Pen, and how [series creator] Laurie Finstad-Knizhnik came up with this character, I have no idea. But I think Laurie takes a cold stark look at true womanhood on many different levels, including the ugly parts of being female that we don’t want to look at. I think one of the things that fascinated me the most is what happens to a woman’s psychology when she’s not a good mother. It’s the one thing you are biologically predisposed to do, and if you don’t have that maternal instinct, what happens to you psychologically when you fail at being a mother and at being a wife? She truly explores the darker side of what happens to us as human beings.

What do you think makes this series so special?
I think that Adrienne [Mitchell], Laurie and Janice [Lundman] have an uncompromising vision. They want to explore the darker aspects of our humanity and they do it with a beautiful visual style. They have a unique voice that belongs just to them and they haven’t had to compromise it yet. So I think it’s just their voice. that’s what makes Durham different. And Adrienne Mitchell’s visual stamp - that bleak landscape sort of lends itself to the story and created a full environment for it...

What have been some of your favorite roles?
There have been so many. I would say those on Homicide: Life on the Street, True Blood and In Treatment."
Source: channelguidemagblog.com

[...]“I thought [Durham County] was so visually stunning and haunting - the music was haunting, the visuals were haunting - I had to be a part of it,” Forbes said... “It was something outside of the Hollywood box, which I love. It was psychologically daring, and I am really, really pleased and proud to be a part of it.”

[...] “I don’t like the ‘Twin Peaks’ parallel,” Forbes said. “A lot of people have said that, and I’m a little perplexed by it. It’s misleading. People expect to see a Log Lady. ‘Twin Peaks’ is one of the most phenomenal series America’s ever produced, and I think ‘Durham County’ is fantastic. They’re just not anything alike.”

[...] “It was an entirely new group of actors and an entirely different production team,” she said. “Because I’ve been around so long, it’s rare to walk onto a set and not know half the people, whether they’re crew or actors. But it was delightful to walk into an entirely new company and not know anyone. I love walking into new companies and countries and cultures. It was very different in that sense, having the Canadian outlook.”
Source: BostonHerald.com

Following last night's premiere, what (some) people are saying (while others remains speechless):

oh man, you'll love it. Michelle is scary amazing as Pen.
Watching Durham County. So far, highly recommended
Creepy, dark & twisty.
this Durham County shit is crazy!!!
It pains me that Durham County commercials say "True Blood's Michelle Forbes" and not "Homicide: Life on the Street's Michelle Forbes."
Source: twitter

Also, S2 of BSG has been acknowledged as one of the Top TV Seasons of the decade thanks to the wonderfully-written and performed story arc involving Admiral Cain.

#6. Battlestar Galactica, Season 2 (Sci-Fi, 2005-06)
Probably the most engrossed I've been by a TV series this decade...The characters all got deeper, darker, more complex, and the critiques (of the Iraq war, specifically) never more trenchant.

Top Episode: "Resurrection Ship, Part 2," where the conflict between Adama and Michelle Forbes's Admiral Cain came to a chilling conclusion.
Source: Low Resolution Blogspot

(9) Season Two is Battlestar Galactica at its best...the "Pegasus" saga, where another Battlestar commanded by the royal c-word Admiral Cain (played to perfection by Michelle Forbes of Star Trek: TNG and Homicide) shows up and starts really ****ing everything up. These episodes really could be the best of the whole series.
Source: www.cultureblues.com

Durham County 2nd Season US Premiere Only Days Away

2009-12-31T14:46:00.002+01:00

Michelle Forbes is not the kind of actor who avoids variety and challenging roles. If you liked her as the tough Admiral Cain in Battlestar Galactica, the enchanting Maryann in True Blood or the lovely but troubled Kate in In Treatment, you should definitely add Pen Verrity from Durham County to the mix. A new, challenging role takes her to the award winning Canadian series with an unique, dark and realistic tone. The first season, which contains 6 episodes, anatomized male violence through the story of Detective Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon) and investigated how it affected us. Michelle joins the cast in the second season as Pen Verrity, the sexy, mysterious forensic psychiatrist, who has more skeletons in her closet, than we can imagine. Women can be as nasty as men, that’s for sure.

Penelope is quite troubled, to say the least, because of what’s happening and because of some trauma that had not been dealt with or transformed when she was younger,” {…}. “All of this comes bubbling to the surface. There’s a certain fracturing of her soul and her mind, and she’s desperately trying to grab onto Mike Sweeney.” said Forbes. This character is not less complex than she played before. “I was really seduced by the darkness of it, by the truth of it. Laurie Finstad (Knizhnik), our writer, has this extraordinary ability to hold up this frail, human dark side of ourselves and confront it. That was what was so compelling to me and made me jump at the chance to be a part of it.
Source: Tv,eh?

The writing is extraordinary, sensitive and very expressive, as is the cinematography. The show is perfectly cast, which adds to its quality. Every part of the production seem to work flawlessly. Michelle plays Pen Verrity with much complexity. Her ability to express a dozen emotions in one look comes to the surface now more than ever before. As we witness Pen desperately try to control herself and others, we constantly swing between feelings of hate, pity, love, sympathy, frustration towards her. She leaves us in a daze. If you thought Maryann was scary, you haven’t seen anything yet. Durham County challenged my intelligence and I loved it.

Switch your television on on Sunday, January 3 from 9:00 – 11:00 PM, ET and tune into ION Television and watch the second season of Durham County which launches with episodes 1 and 2 back to back. In case you missed the beginning of the story, they’ve set up a marathon of the first season on January 2. - Akima

Pre-order DC Season 1 from Amazon.com. (Available from January 19th, 2010)

Here's a мищка joining us and our polar friends in wishing all a peaceful end to 2009, and a strong start to 2010!

Durham County Season 2 Premiere on ION

2009-12-01T20:55:00.001+01:00

Finally!

“Durham County”, ION Television’s Critically Acclaimed Crime Series, to Launch Second Season as Two-Hour Premiere on Sunday, January 3, 2010

Network to Marathon Season One on Saturday, January 2; New Season Moves to Sunday Nights

“True Blood” and “In Treatment” Actress Michelle Forbes Joins “Durham County” Cast

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The lesson that “love hurts” is well learned by the characters who inhabit the eerie suburb of “Durham County,” when the second season of ION Television’s critically acclaimed original primetime series launches with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, January 3 from 9:00 – 11:00 PM, ET. A marathon of the series’ first season will precede the season two launch, airing from 5:00 – 11:00 PM, ET on Saturday, January 2. “Durham County,” which debuted this past fall, returns to the bleak and disturbing landscape of an alienated suburbia with a new star villain – Michelle Forbes, known for her intense portrayals on the hit HBO series “True Blood” and “In Treatment” this year. The show will be broadcast in its new regular timeslot at 10:00 PM, ET on Sundays beginning Sunday, January 10.

Produced by Muse Entertainment and Back Alley Films, “Durham County” unfolds season two in the aftermath of the devastating impact of serial killer Ray Prager (Romano Orzari) on the lives of its characters, anchored by Homicide Detective Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon, CBS’ “Flashpoint”), his now estranged wife Audrey (Hélène Joy) and their traumatized teenage daughter Sadie (Laurence Leboeuf). While the true villain of the first season turned out to be Sweeney’s former high school classmate and new neighbor, the evil threat in the second season comes from a woman who develops a close bond with Mike, the brilliant, but deeply troubled forensic psychiatrist Pen Verrity (Michelle Forbes). Rejected by her husband and grieving for a daughter we can’t be certain she didn’t kill, she sets her sights on having Mike Sweeney – at any cost.

“The successful debut of ‘Durham County’ fulfilled our expectations as our first original series, particularly among our key 25–54 demographic,” said Leslie Chesloff, Executive Vice President, Programming, ION Media Networks. “In season two, our protagonist is trying to keep his broken family together in the aftermath of a serial killer, while he is lured into an incredibly dangerous place by a seductive woman. Viewers will be on their seats wondering what Pen will do next, who she might target and whether Mike will realize the terrible threat she poses before it’s too late. Season two will be a real nail-biter!”

“Durham County” is written by Laurie Finstad-Knizhnik (“Bliss”) and helmed by directors Adrienne Mitchell, Alain DesRochers (Nitro) and Rachel Talalay (Terminal City). Michael Prupas (“Human Trafficking”) of Muse Entertainment and Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell (“Bliss”) of Back Alley Films serve as executive producers. The series has received 13 Gemini Award nominations, including five wins: Best Actor for Justin Louis, Best Actress for Hélène Joy, Best Direction for Holly Dale, Best Writing for Laurie Finstad Knizhnik and Best Sound. In addition, the show was nominated for four Director’s Guild of Canada Awards, winning two and taking home the CFTPA’s Indie Award for “Best Dramatic Series.”

The program was also recognized with nominations from the Writer’s Guild of Canada and ACTRA Montreal. In a deal signed last January with ITV Global Entertainment, ION Television acquired the exclusive U.S. rights to the critically acclaimed and award-winning original TV series, “Durham County.” In addition, the network secured all U.S. television, digital media rights, internet streaming and video-on-demand rights for the program.

Source: businesswire.com

...and a little treat: a tune from Hugh Dillons's recently-released solo album 'Works Well With Others'. Available on iTunes. I can highly recommend. :)

Video Clip - Michelle Forbes on Durham County

2009-08-22T23:54:00.000+02:00

Durham County Season 2 :: 3 scenes from episode 6, Surviving the Fall
Pen Verrity - Michelle Forbes
Hugh Dillon - Mike Sweeney
Laurence Leboeuf - Sadie Sweeney
Ray Prager - Romano Orzari

»» http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TNBZb1nhe0

Durham County 2 - Surviving the Fall

2009-08-17T13:48:00.002+02:00

The final hour of Durham County's second season airs tonight: Surviving the Fall.

* If you haven't been following the last epsiodes, you'd be better off waiting for the reruns (starting on August 24) or the DVD.
* Filming of season 3 starts in September.

***********************

[Durham County] is not really about the suburbs. If there's any tincture of truth in that definition, then Durham County is about a suburb of the mind, and a sick mind at that. It is great, grown-up TV (it will air later on conventional TV). Let's classify it as that. It's disturbing and bleak, and it's wrong to reduce it to a drama about the suburbs. It's about angry, unhappy people who could be anywhere.
What's really striking about this second season is that while it follows in part the same plotline, it offers a reverse picture of evil and malice. The first was anchored in male rage. This time, the devil is a depressed woman filled with pain and loathing [...]
This second Durham County is as sumptuously dark and bleak as the first. But if that was about the mania of male rage, this season has been emphatically about the ferocity of female duplicity and destructiveness. In large part, it's been dominated by one female figure, Pen Verrity (Michelle Forbes), a forensic psychiatrist who, it emerges, has more anger and neuroses that all the patients she's analyzed, combined.
In fact, if you've been watching really good TV this summer, and that means watching True Blood and Durham County, you've seen a lot of Forbes playing women who are sugar-sweet on the surface and bitter agents of evil underneath. Forbes currently has a monopoly on such appalling women. And she's very, very good at it.
The Pen Verrity character is an excellent creation, a woman who could be a child murderer and who we know is responsible for the shocking murder of another woman. But she's also a cauldron of self-loathing. In one scene this season, she behaved in a manner that was a deliberate echo of a stunning scene of self-mutilation in Ingmar Bergman's movie Cries and Whispers [...]
This Durham County isn't about Ray. It isn't even about Mike Sweeney. It's about Pen Verrity and it's about Mike's daughter Sadie. As Sadie, Leboeuf has been marvellously good – a teenaged girl who has been through traumatic events but is shrewd enough to keep her own counsel and make her own decisions. In tonight's finale, everything will really depend on the Sadie character.
Source: theglobeandmail.com

Tonight's finale, directed with sensitivity and emotional grace by Rachel Talalay, is both unpredictable and in keeping with Durham County's solemn, introspective tone. The climactic courtroom scenes are nicely understated: There are none of the histrionics viewers have come to expect of typical TV dramas, but the tension is no less palpable for it. This is tough, uncompromising drama.
Sure, Durham County is disturbing -- intentionally so -- and unpleasant to watch. And I could have done without the artsy, horror-film ending. But it's worth seeing -- for its topical, important story, and for the fine acting. This is the series that won last year's Gemini Award as Canada's best TV drama, and based on tonight's evidence it's hard to imagine it won't win again.
Source: edmontonjournal

Update
»» Screencaps of episode 6 are online

Alors que la date du procès approche, et qu’on ne sait pas si Sadie va oui ou non témoigner, Mike fait semblant d’être toujours épris de Verrity, encore psychiatre auprès de sa fille, qui a récupéré la garde de son fils, et se met à voir Ray Prager. Ce dernier point apparaît un peu comme une facilité scénaristique. Au départ, cela tombe un peu comme un cheveu sur la soupe, et la fin viendra appuyer son utilité, donnant à tout ceci des tournures de raccourcis [...]
On peut alors se tourner vers le Dr. Verrity, et là, l’épisode, concentré en grande partie sur Sadie, faiblit fortement de rythme et aligne assez mal ces scènes, perdu dans la conclusion de cette intrigue. Elle se trouve liée à Ray Prager, une façon très malhabile d’ouvrir sur la toute fin quelques portes, alors que Penn a trouvé un moyen de mettre un terme à ses souffrances, sans le faire elle-même. Assez lâche, mais suffisamment en accord avec sa personnalité plus manipulatrice et passive, qu’active – seule sa rage semble réellement la pousser vers ses plus sombres démons, et ce ne sont pas ceux qui l’auraient conduit à cette fin.
Source: critictoo.com

--OH, SADIE. Laurence Leboeuf needs to win a Gemini for this show. CONUNDRUM: Michelle Forbes also needs to win a Gemini for this show, leaving me with an IMPOSSIBLE DILEMMA re: who to root for [...]
--I like that, even with Pen's "confession", it was left ambiguous as to the mechanics of how Bonnie got into the pool: it's possible to read the progression of photos as Pen simply watching (and DOCUMENTING, PEN, WTF) Bonnie fall in, or as Pen moving closer because she would eventually, actively push her. Not that she's less culpable one way or the other for Bonnie's death--'cause she's wholly culpable, even if she didn't deliberately aggravate Bonnie's salt diabetes to the point where the poor kid tried to use the swimming pool for drinking water--but I think the uncertainty is an excellent narrative trick: we can know Pen killed her daughter with each act that led up to Bonnie's actual drowning, and we can know she killed her by not hauling her out of the pool in time to resuscitate her, but we can't be sure she's directly responsible for Bonnie being in the pool. (Again, obviously, she's guilty as hell: as with Glenn, who I'll get to momentarily, sometimes the passive crime is equal to--sometimes greater than--the active crime. I just like that, in wrapping up the story of Bonnie's murder/Pen's psychology, the show's denied us that one little absolute.) [...]
--Tom gets to keep his title of The Only Good Cop In Durham County*, as Glenn did indeed turn out, like all Ray's other cronies, to be operating from a very wrong premise in life. Namely, that if you only watch your buddies beat, rape and murder a woman, you're not culpable for what happened to her. - *The Only Good Man, one might argue. Discussion about the perceived political/social message behind the all-female showrunners' decision to make The Only Good Man In Durham County a gay man.
Source: serrico.livejournal.com

Durham County 2 - Boys Do Things

2009-08-11T19:00:00.001+02:00

Another gripping episode of Durham County awaits the Canadian viewers tonight. Episode 5 of Durham County is called Boys Do Things.

For the past few weeks we have been profiling the story, the characters, the actors, and the creative team of Durham County. Now we would like to introduce the production crew to you, who would usually get a smaller share of the limelight:

Cinematographer: Éric Cayla
Production Designer: Donna Noonan
Costume Designer: Janet Campbell
Still Photographer: Jan Thijs - »» Link to his website
Web Design: James Taylor - »» mediaflash.ca
Series Original Music: Tom Third
(Couldn't find exact credits for the composer and songs for season 2)

Since there is very little background material for the second season of DC, we provide a small article by the costume designer Janet Campbell, written in February 2008 for the Gemini Awards selection committee:

Durham County Costumes

In Durham County the visual design is as much a part of the narrative as the writing and the performances of the cast. When I began the project I was presented with the script’s broad theme of darkness lurking under the mask of small town tranquility and a compelling collection of visual images portraying bleak landscapes, decaying swamps, stark hydro towers, and industrial debris. My first approach was to take these visual themes and see how the images translated into clothing. Using current images from fashion I prepared my own layout to echo, on the human body, not only the muted palate of producer Adrienne’s Mitchell’s photos but also how she used splashes of color and various textures to give contrast and life to the tableau. The challenge was to use the surreal and foreboding thread of the narrative while having the actors look both appealing and natural in their costumes.

As the cast began to take shape I narrowed my focus down from the global design concept to that of the individual characters created by Laurie Finstad Knizhnik. While the scripts were my template, it wasn’t until I watched the audition tapes of the actors chosen that I my final concept for of the show’s central characters finally took shape. I approached the two main protagonists Mike (Hugh Dillon) and Ray (Justin Louis) and their flawed humanity by using the series’ conceptual shades of gray to emphasize that there is no clear line between good and evil in these two characters. With Hugh I was able to accentuate the intensity of his pale blue eyes and draw upon his personal edgy style by using cold colors. The cool palate was consistent with Mike’s emotional distance. In contrast Justin’s Ray wore muted earth tones to embody the volcano simmering beneath the surface. The working class ethic of this superbly vain character was translated into costume by his body hugging t-shirts and jeans. Into the sullen world inhabited by Mike and Ray I also smattered costumes in vivid green, electric blues, vibrant reds, and eerily glowing whites to further highlight the bleak landscape of Durham County.

Source: planetjanetinc.blogspot.com

Perhaps an interview from last year would be of some interest to you: TV-eh? podcast from May 11, 2008. Diane Kristine talks to the series' writer Laurie Finstad-Knizhnik and director Adrienne Mitchell about season one (first 15 minutes of the podcast).

Source: tv-eh.com

Uploaded screencaps of episode 5 »» to the gallery --chris

Durham County 2 - Daddy Hurt Mommy?

2009-08-03T23:55:00.001+02:00

Episode 4 of Durham County - Daddy Hurt Mommy? airs tonight, Monday, August 03. Don't miss it!

The creators of the mini-series Durham County:

Laurie Finstad Knizhnik

Adrienne Mitchell - Janis Lundman

Full Producers & Production Credits on the »» Durham County website.

Hugh Dillon in a recent interview:

"Q: Durham County – there’s something of a Twin Peaks going on here.
A: I never watched Twin Peaks. But what I find is that Durham County is hypnotic. I put this show on and it’s addictive. There’s something to be said for these filmmakers. Adrienne Mitchell’s got such an eye and such a vision. And her and [writer] Laurie [Finstad-Knizhnik] working together, they’re like Jagger/Richards. It’s fucking awesome to watch them go. And sometimes scary when all their attention turns to you. It’s a demanding trio, Adrienne, Janis [Lundman] and Laurie, the three of them because they are intellectual heavyweights.
[...]
They have an uncanny ability to distill the truth out of all the bullshit that’s happening. That’s why we’re such great allies. I’m just 100 per cent committed to these folks and their project I’d follow them anywhere.
Usually you can find fault with somebody’s motives, but not these women. And the only way for you to win is to be acquiescent. [...] Because I want to learn; I want to figure out how to get there. And so everything they say is there to help you. The writing is one thing, but the way it’s shot is so beautiful, and you got to get your head around it sometimes because the character is here but you don’t see the whole vision. And they’ve got such patience that they will explain the whole thing to you. They are just such powerful women and they got such vision. It’s exciting to be a part of it. They’re really unstoppable and they have such integrity."
Source: toromagazine.com

*********************

* Season One of DC premieres in the U.S. on Monday, September 7th on »» ION Television.
»» http://www.durhamcountysecrets.com

Will bump this post up on Monday. --chris
I've added my personal impression as a comment. --chris

* Added screencaps of episode 4 to »» our gallery.
Avoid the gallery if you haven't seen the episode. DC is a whydunit and not a whodunit, though.

A few quotes of the first part of a German review, part 2 will be published tomorrow:

Durham County: A (sur)real Nightmare

"Durham County" is silent, hard-edged and hardly bearable. The series gets under one's skin. Its disturbing images and stories are fascinating. It is the same kind of fascination encountered by the viewers of "Twin Peaks", "SE7EN" and "The Shield".
[...]
The violence of men, their secret desires, the contravention of the law and the disintegration of the lower middle-class family are common phenomena of the neighboring countries Canada and USA - although, in most cases, the U.S. entertainment industry avoids painting an honest portrayal of all these. "Entertainment", of course, is the keyword here. Can a series like "Durham County" with its opening images of the cruel murder of two schoolgirls be called "entertainment"?
But the dark fascination of these stories (or their entertainment factor, if you will) lies in the fact that as an audience we have to make a choice and form an opinion. We are constantly forced to judge what we feel, and, in particular, to ask ourselves how we feel about what we have just seen. These works tread a fine line between a documentary on the state of society, and a fictional narrative. The status of the fictional narrative serves only to forget the disturbing images, the process of displacement.
But we know that whatever is repressed, comes back and manifests itself in everyday human action.
[...]
Another fascination of "Durham County": The series does not even attempt, leave us groping in the dark (which would probably also be pointless since we ARE in the dark). We need not guess what happened or who the murderer is, [...] "Durham County" is upfront and stresses that the act of violence shown is not the most cruel thing. That is rather what's behind it: its inevitability. "

Translated by Randy

* Randy added his thoughts as comment. --chris

Original quotes (German):

Durham County: Ein (sur)realer Alptraum

„Durham County“ ist leise, schonungslos und kaum auszuhalten. Die Serie geht einem unter die Haut. Ihre verstörenden Bilder und Erzählungen sind faszinierend. Es ist dieselbe Art der Faszination, die Zuschauer „Twin Peaks“, „Se7en“ oder „The Shield“ entgegenbrachten.
[...]
Die Gewaltbereitschaft von Männern, die heimlichen Begierden, das Übertreten des Gesetzes und der Zerfall der kleinbürgerlichen Familie sind gemeinsame Phänomene der Nachbarstaaten Kanada und USA - nur vermeidet es die US-Entertainmentindustrie in den allermeisten Fällen, hiervon direkte Bilder zu geben. „Entertainment“ ist hier natürlich das Schlüsselwort. Kann eine Serie wie „Durham County“ mit ihren Eröffnungsbildern vom grausamen Mord an zwei Schulmädchen „Entertainment“ sein?
Aber die dunkle Faszination solcher Erzählungen (oder deren Entertainmentfaktor, wenn man so will) besteht darin, als Zuschauer eine Wahl treffen und diese dann selbst beurteilen zu müssen. Wir werden als Zuschauer stetig gezwungen, über das, was wir fühlen, ein Urteil zu fällen bzw. uns zu fragen, wie wir das Gesehene empfinden. Solche Produkte wandern auf einem schmalen Grat zwischen Dokumentation über den Zustand der Gesellschaft und fiktionaler Erzählung. Der Status der fiktionalen Erzählung dient dabei lediglich dem Vergessen der verstörenden Bilder, dem Prozess der Verdrängung.
Aber wir wissen: was verdrängt wird, kommt um so stärker zurück und manifestiert sich im menschlichen Alltagshandeln.
[...]
Ein weiteres Faszinosum an „Durham County“: Die Serie versucht gar nicht erst, uns im Dunkeln tappen zu lassen (das wäre vermutlich auch sinnlos: denn wir SIND im Dunkeln). Wir müssen gar nicht raten, was passiert ist oder wer der Mörder ist; [...] „Durham County“ ist direkt und betont, dass der gezeigte Gewaltakt noch nicht das Grausamste ist, sondern das, was dahinter steckt: seine Unausweichlichkeit."
Source: serienjunkies.de

Durham County 2: The Fish In The Ocean

2009-07-27T18:02:00.001+02:00

Episode 3 of Durham County The Fish In The Ocean - tonight on The Movie Network and Movie Channel.

The characters on Durham County:

(Click to enlarge)

Mike (Hugh Dillon), Pen (Michelle Forbes), Sadie (Laurence Leboeuf), Ray jr (Greyston Holt), Mark (Alex Cardillo), Jonathan (Geordi Johnson), Maddie (Cicely Austin), Audrey (Hélène Joy), Roxy (Claudia Ferri), Tom (Patrick Labbé), Glenn (Mike Dopud), Ray (Romano Orzari)

***************

Below I'm quoting two articles (translated by Randy) by Emilie Semiramoth, a journalist of the Paris based magazine 'Générique'.

About Durham County season 2:

Durham County S2 : Noir c'est noir

Our opinion. The same freezing grey screen and the sensation of suffocation, the signature of the series, returns to seize the audience and actors. In Durham, where everything is heavy and murky, everyone's life is like a burdensome rock. Mike and his dark past with Ray Prager. Audrey, his wife, has just recovered from breast cancer and has decided to divorce. And Sadie, their daughter, is still haunted by her frightening face-to-face encounter with Prager...The new season begins with an inventory of damage suffered by means of the journey into the human psyche where it is difficult to silence old daemons, especially those that bounce back after having hit rock-bottom.

Durham County has this rare talent on television to explore the worst nightmares to afflict a human being without complacency and with a 'cold in the back' realism. A simple look from Michelle Forbes is enough to set the scene, and assures the most harrowing performance. Behind her cool appearance of a brilliant legal psychologist, Dr Verrity is bitter after the drowning of her daughter and the dissolution of her marriage to the point that her mental balance can be seriously called into question. This is a little curse that hits the characters in the sad county in the Canadian province. Everything is always loose and threatens to collapse every second.
Black, dreary, horrific... but also gasping for breath and masterfully directed, Durham County is a black diamond in a raw state but it is better to be armoured before rubbing it.
French source: generique-mag.net

In addition a quote from Emilie's bio article about Michelle:

A slender figure, a dark and captivating look, Michelle Forbes is, first of all, a voice: deep, sensual, authoritarian and fascinating. In credits, like Zeljko Ivanek, she starts to become a fad where this
portrait is a form of a declaration of love for, as yet, a little known actress.
[...]
[As Susan Metcalfe] she offers an, as yet, unheard-of breath of game, mixing combativeness with vulnerability.
[...]
In the collective consciousness, the face of Cain was crystallised as the sum of anger, fear, provocation and the resolution. She succeeds in conveying sympathy without saying a word.
[...]
Forbes is mixing the most interesting projects of the past two years. In True Blood, as a dangerous and fascinating entity, who pushes hedonism to its height/limit/max, a battered woman at In Treatment, and reveals herself as particularly troubled in Durham County. But even if her stature and gaze pierce the predestined sulphide roles, Forbes does nor remain less multifaceted. Unjustly ignored by the film industry, she has exploded onto television. Her being a workaholic explains itself in that she does not like to attach herself to any project for too long. "It can be a very frustrating and annoying thing to be labeled in any part of your life," she tells thestar.com for the launch of DC. "I always want to be out of my comfort zone. I have a propensity to get bored very easily." So when will be the advent of Michelle Forbes ?
French source: generique-mag.net

Thank you, Emilie, for the permission to publish the translation.

Update :: Screencaps in the gallery

»» Gallery :: Screencaps of episode 3

Article in LE MONDE, Paris, translated by my personal hero Randy:

Durham County (Season 2) - Hatred Under the Electrical Tower

"There are places upon this Earth that corrupt, break and everyone who
lives there. A curse seems to have imposed its reign and nothing, not
even the will and courage of men can drive it away. Is this because of
the electric towers supporting high voltage buzzing over the grey and
black fields? Is it the sky that is just too low and too heavy, to the
point where affects all things? In the middle of this desolate
horizon, men and women and children continue to live, linked by hatred
and yet trying to believe in love.

The atmosphere of the Canadian series which just premiered in its
second season, is al that. This suburb, where Mike Sweeney settled
down to establish a happy family, quiet and without history. Except
that there are those damned towers, these fields as far as the eye can
see and these clouds that refuse to let the sun shine through. Here,
hope has been dispelled, like in a crime novel by Arnaldur Indridason
or Henning Mankell.

Durham County is the kind of crime series that draws its inspiration
from literature and not in already cut-out models that have been
reproduced over and over again, many of which we are familiar with.
The first season consisted of six hour-long episodes and the second
season follows the same pattern, and picks up where its predecessor
has left off. Suffice to say that these are two parts of the same
story.

Mike Sweeney belongs to the category of cops that populate the shelves
of some good libraries. Superbly played by Hugh Dillon (also on the
cast of Flashpoint), Sweeney is a hard-boiled character whose crusade
against crime does not fare well with his family. Especially if his
old tormentor and childhood enemy, and a serial killer, Ray Prager,
has moved into the neighbourhood. The violence and hatred that he
tries to confine to the outside of his home.

The particularly slow style of photography is placed in harmony
with the perfect silences that fight over the dialogues. Falsehood and
half-confessions are unrivalled in the world of Mike Sweeney. This
duplicity reminds of that which gave life to the protagonists of the
great Jim Thompson. Durham County is a work of fiction that makes one
feel ill at ease and, at the same time, is full of tepid inspiration,
and it feels good."
Source: Le Monde Online

Durham County is bleeping fantastic. If you haven't watched it, you're
missing out and should immediately take steps to rectify the situation
Source: Toronto Star

samsned: Anyone going to watch Durham County tonight. Great show!!
Watched it last season.
theMediaChick: Durham County makes Monday so much easier to accept.
lizmarasse: Durham County is a scary show!
loather: watching the first season of durham county. these canadians are crazy!
Source: Twitter

Durham County 2 - Bonus Features

2009-07-24T22:59:00.001+02:00

Head over to the Durham County website to watch some interesting video clips. Click on 'Bonus Features', and you'll find 'Behind The Scenes', 'Interviews Part 1' and 'Interviews Part 2'. (Michelle Forbes, Hugh Dillon and Helene Joy)

Unfortunately I can't embed the videos here :(

P.S. They linked our blog :) Thank you Muse Entertainment, Back Alley Film & Co !

Durham County 2 - Ray Loves Sadie True

2009-07-20T22:57:00.001+02:00

Durham County 2, episode 2:' Ray Loves Sadie True' airs tonight in Canada. Can't find a synopsis. But here is the opening sequence of season 2:

»» Youtube direct link

* USA: Durham County is coming to the U.S. this fall on ION Television. Visit the US website for DC for more information, check out video clips, hidden gems and interactive features: http://www.DurhamCountySecrets.com. So far only season one is covered. You can also follow Durham County on Twitter and on Facebook.
* Europe/Australia: While the first season currently airs in reruns in Europe (dubbed in French, German, Italian, unsure if in Spanish) and is shown in Australia, the second season will air in various European countries (but not in the UK) later this year or in early 2010. Check with your national or regional TV.
* The DVD set of the first season is out of stock, in Canada and in Europe as well.
* A little bird told me that there is hope for 'Behind the Scenes' and/or 'Making Of' videos of Durham County 2.

____________________________________________________

L'OEIL DES SERIES - EPITAPHE A DURHAM
Tout aussi époustouflante visuellement que son aînée, cette seconde saison choisit de ne pas faire table rase du passé, bien au contraire : tout comme la première vague de 6 épisodes avait travaillé son rapport au passé des personnages (la relation trouble entre les anciens amis Mike et Ray, les raisons de l'affectation de Mike dans le petit patelin...), cette seconde plâtrée fait de même et propose de remuer le couteau dans les plaies ouvertes des protagonistes. Souriant gaiement aux démons qui frappent à la porte de chacun par paquet de douze, la scénariste Laurie Finstad-Knizhik (Bliss, Cold Squad/Brigade Spéciale) semble encore bien partie pour disséquer et autopsier les tréfonds de la noirceur humaine, une analyse renforcée par cette ambiance oppressante posée par cette atmosphère aussi saisissante que lourde et singulière. Le goût des réalisateurs pour l'alternance entre longs plans posés et étouffants et séquences hallucinées est toujours une des grandes marques de la série : on retrouve une nouvelle fois ces omniprésentes lignes à haute tension lourdes de sens à l'arrière-plan, disputant aux nuages massifs leur part de terrain tandis que les rêves (éveillés ou non) font toujours montre d'un esthétisme bluffant, couplés à une litanie foraine à la fois assourdissante et entêtante. Et Durham County de continuer de défendre son statut d'oeuvre aussi plastique que psychologique, sorte d'objet aussi bâtard que fascinant, travaillant dans chaque plan, chaque circonvolution de l'horreur, sa paternité tant aux oeuvres d'Alan Ball qu'à celles du David Lynch de Blue Velvet. Assurément passionnante !
Source: dvdrama.com

Screencaps of episode 2 in our gallery - DON'T click the link you haven't seen this episode!
»» Gallery episode 2

* LoganOfLonsdale: If you thought the character Michelle Forbes plays on True Blood was creepy weird, she's got nothin on Dr. Pen Verrity of Durham County!
* theMediaChick:Tonight! Durham County airs on Monday nights. :)
* gcookie60: @theMediaChick So was Durham County on last night? Or is it not a once a week show? How was it, as great as the first episode?
* ZindziMA: Nthg 2 do so watching durham county on demand. This looks like it cud be a new addiction.
* grazen: Gawd, I'm exhausted. I can't believe that we stayed up to watch four episodes of Durham County last night. Sooooo good though.
* jettefierce: wants to know why it always rains in Durham County
* rodmckie: As a shareholder in the BBC, I insist they buy Durham County, better than the shitty Wire (can't believe they fell for that).
* rodmckie: Bleary-eyed! Watched final 3 episodes of excellent dark Canadian cop drama Durham County, s1, last night. British TV should buy it in.
* shallowesque: Watching Durham County with Kira. Pre-emptively clutching a stuffed animal. What? The show tends to be traumatizing.
* Arkanis: is glad Durham County is back! Great start to the second season.
Source: Twitter

Durham County Will Blow Your Mind

2009-07-16T00:04:00.001+02:00

Durham County Season 2 :: Reviews, Reactions & More

DC Screencaps - Ep 1 - Little Lost Children

Durham County Interview :: Chum FM Toronto-Roger, Darren and Marrilyn - July 13, 2009

»» Chum FM onDemand

As with the first season, the sequel to Durham County unfolds like one long bad dream. To its credit, the show's moments of violence are brief and non-gratuitous. More disturbing is the frighteningly normal depiction of suburban existence; the public parks, the grey skies and swaying trees provide the perfectly unpleasant backdrop for secrets and lies. No blue heaven here.
Dillon, who commands attention as a serious actor, is on a cold simmer as the conflicted cop and deeply unsuccessful family man; if Mike was tortured in the first season, this time around he is haunted.
The dramatic bar is raised immensely with the new character addition of Michelle Forbes as Pen Verrity, a forensic psychiatrist with her own dark secrets. Like Mike, she's recovering from tragedy: The drowning death of her young daughter. Together, they are moths drawn to the flame. Their inevitable bonding is both erotic and troubling.
None of it is easy to sit through, but rarely is the human condition laid open this stylishly. For better or worse, Durham County is as good as Canadian TV drama gets.
Source: theglobeandmail.com

Durham County will make you think twice about moving to suburbia.
The award-winning and critically acclaimed Canadian crime drama returns for a second season tonight. Set amid the lonely, open spaces, cookie-cutter homes and towering power lines of the suburbs, Durham Country is one of darkest, grittiest, well-written and sophisticated shows on television at the moment.
Simply put, it's Canadian television at its finest.
Every character on the show has skeletons hidden in their closet, and they all seem bent on adding new bones to the mix. Underneath the concrete greys, mini vans and banality of the burbs, something wicked this way comes. The show offers a haunted landscape where the bodies pile up, violent instincts are unleashed and a smiling killer may live right next door.
Michelle Forbes joins the cast as forensic psychologist Penelope Verity -- a troubled women who may or may not have been responsible for the drowning death of her daughter (one of the eeriest scenes in the early season involves Verity imagining her daughter's body rising up insectlike from under her backyard pool tarp, only to crawl into her mother's arms). Sweeney, whose mistress died at Ray's hands in season one, quickly falls into an intimate, volatile relationship with the unstable woman.
In an interview recently, Dillon praised Forbes addition to the cast: "She does things because she's passionate about them . . . she loved the writing, she loved season one. She was drawn to the project."
Source: The Star Phoenix

If an actor can be judged by their choice of roles – keeping in mind that choice isn't always an option – then Michelle Forbes was bound to be a fascinating, formidable and fearless woman.
An embittered alien ensign on Star Trek: The Next Generation. A boozing medical examiner on Homicide: Life on the Street. A doctor again for a brief stay in a mental institution on the short-lived Wonderland. The ex-wife of psychiatrist Gabriel Byrne on In Treatment.
Forbes also served two terms as a White House advisor on Prison Break and 24. Then she headed back into space for a truly chilling turn as Battlestar Galactica's ruthless Admiral Helena Cain.
You want to talk multi-tasking? She can currently be seen on not one but two cable series, as the mysterious Maryann Forrester of True Blood, and now Penelope Verrity, a forensic psychiatrist with issues of her own on the second season of the Gemini Award-winning Durham County, returning to The Movie Network tonight at 9.
Like I said: Fascinating, formidable, fearless ... one thing I did not expect was "flustered."
"Am I late?" (She isn't.) "Sorry, I'm totally out of it today."
Blame the long, late-night shoots for True Blood. And the fact that Forbes hasn't had a week off in well over a year. We're only getting this rare chance to chat because she happened to be in town for a science-fiction convention.
Yet another brave and remarkable thing about Forbes – she has somehow managed to thrive in and transcend three of TV's most formulaic and traditionally male-dominated genres: science-fiction, police procedural and medical drama. Such a strong sci-fi association has alone been known to kill lesser careers.
Source: The Toronto Star

* AaronMcNair: everyone has to watch "Durham County" increadable and very dark
* Rey_Carr: Watched first episode of Durham County. How could this bleak, depressing show be so engaging?
* accesssean: Thought last night's premiere of season 2 of Durham County hinted at some strange, dark things, although it was a bit awkward and stiff.
* rocknrollsenemy: Its called durham county...go watch it
* Bluestockings31: @BradBrisco Durham County was quite excellent.
* erikmissio: And Durham County was suitably uncomfortable.
* opiated: I'm still drained after Durham County tonight.
* melistress: Yay! Durham county season 2!
* camiuchoa: Durham County is so dark, creepy and awesome - love it. Watched 47 minutes of episode 1 season 2; can't wait to watch the 13 min left...
* theMediaChick: Durham County Ep 201 finished. Phenomenal. Hugh, Laurence, Michelle...riveting. Overall, disturbingly delicious.
* BradBrisco: Mmm... Love me some complex and flawed characters on Durham County. Also I forgot how amazing the production design on that show is.
* theMediaChick: @Flashpoint_TV Wow. That 'little show' was incredible! Even more intense than S1 is right. Am in awe. Durham County is my drug of choice.

* moon_angel: Agreed! RT @kelseydesmond: Why isn't Durham County a trending topic?
* SweetKitchen: Watched first episode of Durham County. Wow it's dark and the landscapes stark. Glad T.O. is not actually like that!
elseydesmond: Durham County 2, FUCK! :)
* moon_angel: @tongueincheek_ definitely watch season 1 of Durham County, it was awesome.
* theMediaChick: @Flashpoint_TV Wow. That 'little show' was incredible! Even more intense than S1 is right. Am in awe. Durham County is my drug of choice.
* opiated: Psyched for Season 2 of Durham County which starts tonight!
* erikmissio: Excited (in a morbidly, dark, gut-wrenching sort of way) for the return of Durham County tonight.
* theMediaChick: At long last! Durham County S2! In a few hours I'll be turning down the lights and anxiously viewing the exquisiteness that is DC.
* Flashpoint_TV: Durham County Season Two premieres tonight on TMN at 9pm. Hugh Dillon leads cast. Seriously awesome TV show!
* meladramatic: Durham County will blow your mind. My mind is blown. Holy Shit.
* deekayw: there's a durham county season 2?!? lucky Canadians...
* BradBrisco: Just saw a commercial for Durham County Season Two while waiting for True Blood to come on. So excited for tomorrow, it's sad!
* meladramatic: Durham County will blow your mind. My mind is blown. Holy Shit.
* wilzmak: If you thought the bad guy in DURHAM COUNTY was chilling, wait until you see Michelle Forbes tear it up in the second installment.
Source: Twitter

Durham County - Powerful And Tender

2009-07-14T00:19:00.001+02:00

Michelle Forbes in recent interviews:

"I think one of the reasons I gravitate to these interesting characters, these women who tend to do very bad things for very good reasons ... it's not one dimensional, it's not a cliché, it gives you the room to get in there and dig deeper and find the heart of what does make people do these things.
"I always want to be out of my comfort zone. I have a propensity to get bored very easily."
"Penn Verrity, when we meet her, has lost her daughter to a drowning death and is going through a bitter divorce and custody battle with her husband over their son. It all triggers a downward spiral ... she's bleeding out, basically, psychologically and emotionally..."
"Look, I am a workaholic, no doubt. I know I need some sort of vacation. My garden is a mess. I'd like to see my friends. But I know I'd get about a week into it and I'd start to, you know, lose my mind."
Source: thestar.com

“[Creator] Laurie Finstad Knizhnik has created this world where people do very strange things,” says the Austin-born Forbes, her own character damaged as a result of a daughter who drowned, a husband who thinks she’s to blame, and a son who’s deathly afraid of the water as a result. “These are desperate people, and they are fleeing from their own terror. Pen is quickly unravelling, and has moments of lucidity, where she knows what she is doing, but she knows she is losing control.”
Monday’s return episode, “Little Lost Children,” ends with one such moment which caused me to shout “No WAY!” at the twist wrought courtesy of Pen.
“It was pretty shocking to read that scene in the script,” says Forbes with a laugh. “Laurie’s writing is blunt, emotional, brave, powerful and tender. She’s never sentimental and never goes for the cliché, thank God.”
Source: sympatico.msn.ca

“Interestingly enough, True Blood is the light thing!” said Forbes, laughing hard. “I think True Blood saved my life after Durham County.”
“I would say that probably I’m just an actor who’s not afraid — I willingly go to those dark places, I’m curious about those dark places, just as a human being [...] Also, I wouldn’t consider myself a vain actor, so I’m willing to go there at all costs.
I’m always looking for something that is going to fill up every part of you. What’s the point of being story-tellers otherwise?”
“I have done a lot of things where I wasn’t creepy, I promise! It’s just not the ones with the big audience!”
Source: edmontonsun.com

Yesterday Deb took these photos near Toronto -
"I cruised around in my car and took some pictures. It's really creepy! The electric towers you see in the logo, they are everywhere! They come from a nuclear power plant that's on Lake Ontario..."

The second season of Durham County kicks off tonight.

»» More HERE on the blog

Durham County - Confusion and Pain

2009-07-10T20:17:00.001+02:00

Michelle Forbes in a recent interview about Durham County:

"This is a woman who is not only living in intense fear all the time but she is constantly recycling her failures like a mantra in her head," said Forbes, describing Pen as a "dream" role that's affected her deeply.

"When she goes into her manic episodes and into her delusional episodes, it was challenging in a beautiful way, because that's what you're looking for as an actor - to go as deep as possible and to plumb the depths of the thing that a lot of times we want to avoid as human beings."

Season two focuses on women and "how rage and confusion and pain and trauma manifests in us, which is usually through self-harm, initially."

On the creative team Laurie Finstad-Knizhnik, Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell:

"I've never seen a full-on female creative team like this," Forbes said. "It's still a very male-driven industry and that was really wonderful working with these women - these very interesting, thoughtful, passionate, dark, eccentric women on 'Durham County.' "

I've seen the first episode. Breathtaking. You witness an intense inner turmoil, the gradual disintegration of a human soul. It's got a quality that I've only seen on the best British Crime dramas, like Prime Suspect, Messiah or Touching Evil.

Durham County is the very antithesis of True Blood in how the portrayal of violence is handled. Sinister, gritty, disturbing, truthful and appallingly real. Here, violence is not fun and doesn't entertain, and it certainly doesn't 'hurt so good'. Adrienne Mitchell in an interview about the first season of DC:

“Wir konzipierten ‘Durham County – Im Rausch der Gewalt’ bewusst als Gegenentwurf zu Formaten, in denen Gewalt als Selbstzweck vorkommt, in denen sie unsensibel eingesetzt wird, als wäre sie etwas ganz Alltägliches. Unsere Serie erlaubt es den Zuschauern nicht, die dargestellte Gewalt als harmlos abzutun oder sie als Unterhaltung wahrzunehmen. Dazu sind die Protagonisten zu komplex und dienen als Identifikationsfiguren, mit denen man mitfiebern kann, deren Lebensalltag nachvollziehbar ist.”

(DC was an intentional counter-draft to formats where violence is presented as an end in itself , insensitively and as if it was an average everyday occurrence. DC doesn't allow the viewer to perceive violence as harmless or entertaining.)

The six-part second season of Durham County debuts Monday, July 13 on The Movie Network and Movie Central.

A Truthful Way

2009-07-03T09:56:00.001+02:00

Since a few days the first episode of Durham County's second season is available as a free online preview at moviecentral.ca, unfortunately access is restricted to Canadian viewers, or to rephrase it technically, restricted to people with Canadian IP addresses. So, use your imagination if you can't wait until July 13th.
I couldn't wait and watched the streaming version. You can read my personal, unfiltered first reaction as a comment to the latest Durham County post here on the blog.

In a new interview Michelle Forbes talks briefly about DC and playing complex characters:

There are not a lot of parts out there for smart actresses, the kind who like their characters complex, challenging, and even dislikeable. Movies today, at least the sort made with real money, relegate most actresses to the “girlfriend part.” Likewise, the current slew of much-vaunted serial dramas produced for cable television are, with a few exceptions, primarily about complex, challenging, and dislikeable men.

Thank the goddess for Michelle Forbes – the closest thing to a true femme fatale to slink across the screen in years. Tall, handsome (yes, women can be handsome – it's an attitude) and eerily present, Forbes has brought her brainy acting style to many of the most critically acclaimed and popular television shows of the last decade – including Battlestar Galactica , Prison Break , In Treatment , Homicide , 24 and True Blood (wherein she plays a mysterious, demonic entity).

Forbes's latest role, Durham County 's compromised, compromising (and possibly murderous) shrink Dr. Pen Verrity, allows Forbes to be both evil and sympathetic, arch, unscrupulous and yet wholly believable.

What more could an actress want?

You're the new kid on Durham County. Any interesting hazing rituals?

I think walking into Laurie Finstad Knizhnik's [ Durham County 's writer] brain alone was enough. She's a pretty fascinating, interesting, dark woman.

Did you do any research into forensic psychiatry before you took on the part of Dr. Verrity?

Actually, because of some of the work I've done in the past, I was fairly familiar with it. I did a series about 10 years ago, called Wonderland , for ABC, that was set in Bellevue Hospital in New York, and I played the psychiatrist heading the emergency room. So, for quite a while I hung out with forensic psychiatrists, and spent a lot of time speaking to their patients. I once spoke to a man who killed his children ... so I had a fairly large grasp of that world.
[...]
What was interesting for me about Durham County was to look at a crime drama, a character study about violence and how it affects people, coming out of Canada. As you know, you're often perceived as being quiet pacifists who've got a lot of things figured out that the rest of us can't seem to figure out, and we never think of violence perpetrating your society the way it does others. But of course, it does. Violence is everywhere. Violence is a global issue.

Durham County is very much a show about men – it's full of tough guys, murderous guys, angry guys, dissolute guys. How do you create a space for yourself in such a male anxiety-driven show?

Because the writer has really explored the rage and violence within women – which we usually don't want to look at, or we'll look at in a cliché way, we'll look at it in a shallow way, but we won't look at it in a truthful way – I think the show's an extraordinary study of how violence affects women on a silent level, and how violence is usually turned inward by women, to a place of self-harm.

I agree, but I'm just wondering how you manage all that on-set testosterone.

God, it's rare that I'm not. If you think of Homicide, that was a set filled with testosterone. True Blood 's got a lot of testosterone on set. And Battlestar really had a lot of testosterone. I tend to fit in and just be one of the boys.

Are you drawn to creepy, repellent characters?

I don't know that I'm drawn to them, I guess I'm just drawn to the most complicated characters I can find. There are plenty of clichéd roles out there. I'm always looking for something that will fill up every part of me and use every cell of me.

A Sense of Style

2009-06-28T13:15:00.002+02:00

Listen to two conversations with Michelle Forbes. While the first chat in April centered on In Treatment, her being too honest in Interviews and her "first gig on a bloody soap opera", in this second installment, Judith Klassen from Movie Entertainment magazine talked to Michelle Forbes about Canada, her intense experience working on the thriller Durham County and with the writer Laurie Finstad Knizhnik, and the fun of making "Vampire Porn".

You can find both podcasts with Michelle at movieentertainment.ca

Durham County Returns for Second Season

2009-06-26T13:08:00.001+02:00

"Corus Entertainment's Movie Central (Western Canada) and Astral Media's The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) visit Durham County for a second season. Winner of five Canadian Gemini Awards, two Directors Guild of Canada awards and the CFTPA Indie Award for Best Series, the cinematic, unflinching and darkly sophisticated series is back with more betrayal and terrifying secrets from the bleak landscape of suburban life. The six-part new season premieres Monday, July 13, 2009 at 8 p.m. PT on Movie Central and 9 p.m. ET on The Movie Network.

In Season 2, Detective Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon, Flashpoint) is on a career high after capturing serial killer Ray Prager. Unfortunately, his personal life is coming apart at the seams as his wife pleads for a divorce and his daughter struggles to come to terms with the anguish left behind by a killer. While investigating a new murder, Sweeney meets forensic psychiatrist Dr. Pen Verrity (Michelle Forbes, True Blood; In Treatment) who soon infiltrates his life and his family finding himself caught in a game of cat and mouse."

Source: newswire.ca

AIR DATES
The Movie Network (Eastern Canada 9 PM ET) and Movie Central (Western Canada 8 PM PT):

Ep. 1 - Little Lost Children - July 13
Ep. 2 - Ray Loves Sadie True - July 20
Ep. 3 - The Fish In The Ocean - July 27
Ep. 4 - Daddy Hurt Mommy? - August 3
Ep. 5 - Boys Do Things - August 10
Ep. 6 - Surviving The Fall - August 17

* The first episode of the Durham County Season 2 will be available for a free online preview in Western Canada at www.moviecentral.ca starting July 1.
* A DVD of the first season of Durham County is available at amazon.ca and for the Europeans at amazon.fr, a two-language version, French and English.
* A high-quality version of the outstanding opening sequence of the first season can be downloaded at artofthetitle.com

Michelle Forbes Juggles Three TV Shows and Entrances

2009-06-22T14:34:00.001+02:00

In a recent interview, Michelle Forbes sat down with IESB.net to open up about settling in with the very rewarding cast of True Blood, acting, her work with HBO (on True Blood, and In Treatment), and her intense experience in the role of Penelope Verrity in the upcoming second season of Durham County.

IESB: When and how did you know that you wanted to be an actor?

Michelle: As the story goes, I started off as a ballet dancer. I knew, pretty early on, that I needed another form of expression, and it just seemed that acting, and this idea of playing pretend and telling stories, was really fascinating to me. It was a natural progression, out of the dance world and into the world of theater and cinema.

IESB: For those who might not be familiar with the show yet, who is Maryann and how does she fit into the story?

Michelle: What I’ve been saying about Maryann is that she’s very mysterious and she likes her mischief. She has got quite an agenda, in this town, and she is going to have one hell of a time when it comes to light. She’s a wacky one. It’s been total fun to play.

IESB: What can viewers expect from Season 2, for your character?

Michelle: It’s so difficult to talk about this show without giving anything away. But, what I can say is that Maryann likes to have a lot of parties. She likes for there to be a lot of food around. She has a very strange entourage with her, at all times. She lures Tara into her world, but she’s just fascinated by everyone in Bon Temps and she wants to leave her footprints all over that town.

ESB: What was it about Maryann that you found so appealing? How can you relate to her?

Michelle: I don’t know that I can relate to Maryann, but I’m sure other people will. What I found so fascinating about her is that she’s completely liberated from everything. She has no sorrow, no guilt and no remorse. She doesn’t live with the same rules that we live with. Oddly, that was intimidating, at first. We always say that we want to be happy, free and content, and live with no rules, but when we’re given that, it’s terrifying because we tend to operate better with structure and guidelines. So, initially she was a bit frightening, but I didn’t realize what a gift she was until about half-way through the season. I had just finished doing this series in Canada, called Durham County, that was all about sorrow, remorse, guilt, regret, dead children and all sorts of light, fun things. You think you’re fine, but you don’t realize that you’re not fine until you’re back in the world, and I think if I had to go into another tortured role, I probably would have killed myself. So, playing Maryann, and experiencing her sense of fun, mischief and play, has been a lot of well-needed fun.

IESB: Now that you’ve been doing the show for awhile, do you feel like you have more of an understanding for why people are so intrigued by this genre?

Michelle: My theory is that we’re in a big national depression, with the economy and people being out of work. We have the hope of a new administration, but we don’t know what’s going to happen yet and we’re exhausted from worrying, and I think that it’s just a good bit of fun. It’s escapist, and it’s fun for smart people. Alan still asks questions about family and love, the pack mentality thinking, and how susceptible we are to judgement and having our minds changed about things we don’t understand. And, he’s able to explore these themes, but it never gets too heavy. There’s always a pratfall right behind it, or a really gross sex scene, or something that will shift the tone. There’s something to appeal to everyone, with this show. A lot of men watch this show, and they wouldn’t normally.

IESB: Can you talk about juggling True Blood, Durham County and In Treatment? How do those schedules all work out?

Michelle: I love to work. There’s an adventure that comes with every job, and you can never have too much adventure in your life. I have been busy this last year. I did the last couple of episodes on the first season of True Blood, and then I was on a plane to Montreal to do the Canadian series Durham County, which was very beautiful and I’m so pleased that I got to be a part of it. There was a possibility that I wasn’t going to be able to do it because of HBO. I was in Montreal for three months, and then I was in New York for a fitting for In Treatment, two days after I finished Durham County, and was just running on adrenalin from that job. I did a couple episodes of In Treatment, was in bed sick for the holidays, and then started on True Blood in January.

It’s wonderful. I’ll never complain about having too much work, but all three characters were so different and I’ve been living my own little repertory theater for over a year, jumping in and out of these different characters. It’s been a joy because they’ve all been such wonderful writers. Laurie Finstad-Knizknik, who wrote Durham County, is just such a brilliant woman. To jump from her pad and pencil over to Alan’s pad and pencil has just been a real joy.

IESB: Did it help that the characters were all so different?

Michelle: It really helped that they’re so different because they all helped me to shed the last one. This woman that I played on Durham County, Pen Verrity, held a lot of sadness and sorrow, and I didn’t realize how much I was carrying around with me. Maryann helped me to shed Pen, the more I became immersed in her. I think Pen would have stayed with me a lot longer, had I not been able to jump into Maryann right after.

IESB: Are there types of roles or specific genres that you’re still looking to do, that you haven’t gotten the chance to do yet?

Michelle: I want to do a period piece because I’ve never done one. I’ve always said that I just wanted to do one of everything. I got the Western out of the way. But, I have wanted to do one of every genre. I did the American cop drama, I did the British cop drama, and now, I’ve done the Canadian cop drama. I just always want new and different. I never know what I want, but I usually know what I don’t want, and what I don’t want is what I’ve already done before. I’m always just waiting to see what else is out there, to see what new adventure is going to be had.

Durham County Season 2 - Trailer

2009-06-15T17:31:00.001+02:00

Just in - Muse Entertainment and Back Alley Film Productions presenting the trailer for the upcoming second season of Durham County:

Air dates known so far:
Durham County 2: Ep. 1 - Little Lost Children July 13 - 9:00 pm
Durham County 2: Ep. 2 - Ray Loves Sadie True July 20 - 9:00 pm
Durham County 2: Ep. 3 - The Fish In The Ocean July 27 - 9:00 pm

Visit the awesome Durham County website to discover the story, the characters, the actors and the creative team.

Durham County Season 2 - Same Town. Darker Secrets.

2009-06-12T20:27:00.001+02:00

Check out the new Durham County website!!! Turn your speakers ON! (flash-only site):

http://www.durhamcounty.ca

Navigate the site. The Story. The Gallery. The Cast. And The Players - with video clips from season 2.

(Click to enlarge the pictures)

This is AMAZING. It looks awesome. Oh My Goodness, how I love that!!

P.S: I apologize for my lousy English. I need to rush back to work now :(
____________________________

Rounded Characters

2009-06-09T01:06:00.001+02:00

Ah, what an unfortunate fate! In a classic crime drama with a real catharsis, bad guys tend to come back but always with a different face.
Thus, there is no hope of seeing Michelle Forbes in the third season of Durham County, which has just been confirmed to go into production this fall.

The Gemini Award-winning series Durham County starring Hugh Dillon (Flashpoint) also goes into production in fall 2009 for a third season. Durham County (season 2) premieres on July 13, 2009 on Movie Central and The Movie Network.

DURHAM COUNTY (SEASON 3)

Muse Entertainment Enterprises and Back Alley Film Productions present the third season of Durham County. Detective Mike Sweeney has joined a task force that is investigating the brutal murder of two young boys who were drug runners. While Mike's family life flourishes, tragedy strikes and his grief forces him to solve a heinous crime that could implicate a friend and confidant. Produced by Janis Lundman, Adrienne Mitchell, Michael Prupas and Laurie Finstad Knizhnik; the series writers are Laurie Finstad Knizhnik and Bruce M. Smith.

Source:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2009/08/c4128.html

The virtues of a good guy/ a good woman can be so compelling, intriguing, multi-layered, tantalizing, sublime, troubled, thrilling, weak and strong, gripping, fascinating, surprising, complex and heartbreaking. I'd love to see Michelle picking such a role. Some day.

P.S. There are no bad guys or good guys, only 'rounded characters'? This assumption is a result of the postmodernism that died 20 years ago. But maybe that's just me.

Durham County - The Story

2009-06-02T20:48:00.001+02:00

For all of you who want to stay 'un-spoiled'- STOP READING NOW. Of course, Durham County is not just about 'Who dunnit?' The story of the second season of Durham County:

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"More betrayal and terrifying secrets are unleashed when Durham County returns for a second electrifying season.
Detective Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon, Flashpoint) is on a career high after capturing serial killer Ray Prager. Unfortunately, his personal life is coming apart at the seams as his wife pleads for a divorce and his daughter struggles to come to terms with the anguish left behind by a killer.
While investigating a new murder, he meets forensic psychiatrist Dr. Pen Verrity (Michelle Forbes, True Blood/In Treatment) who soon finds a place in his heart and in his bed. Pen, having lost her young daughter in a drowning accident, becomes a port in a storm – a charming, beautiful, empathetic lover who soon infiltrates Mike's family.
But when Mike begins to suspect that Pen may be a murderess, that her daughter's death was deliberate not accidental, he finds himself caught in a game of cat and mouse, emotionally bound to a villain who is ruthless and cunning."
Source: http://www.moviecentral.ca/series/Durham_County/about.asp
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Pictures of the new episodes can be found here:
http://mirandazero.blogspot.com/2009/05/durham-county-season-2-new-promo.html
http://mirandazero.blogspot.com/2009/05/durham-county-season-2.html

Unfortunately, as of yet, no trailer is available.

And for the readers who are interested in the Making-Of the first season of the miniseries, you can watch 6 videos on the site themovienetwork.ca. (What Lies Beneath: The Story; The Patriarchs of Durham County; The Matriarchs of Durham County; The Directors of Durham County; The Making of a Monster; Durham County: Always Riveting). Interviews and Behind-The-Scenes with the writers, directors, producers and the actors. The first season is currently re-airing in Canada.

The second season premieres July 13, 2009 on The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Movie Central ( Western Canada ).

Durham County Season 2 - New Promo Picture

2009-05-20T18:33:00.001+02:00

A new promo picture has just arrived. Michelle Forbes as Pen Verrity:

(Click to enlarge)

Thanks for letting me know and sending the photo!

Durham County - Season 2

2009-05-14T14:57:00.001+02:00

Durham County Season 2 - An official trailer will be out soon.

Michelle Forbes - Hugh Dillon - Hélène Joy - Laurence Leboeuf - Greyston Holt

The second season of Durham County premieres July 13, 2009 on The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Movie Central ( Western Canada )

I'm dying to see this season.