One of Canada's most popular independent television shows is getting a bigger national audience and a Prince George face will be prominent on that screen.
The show Blackstone has won numerous awards and critical acclaim for its gritty depiction of a fictitious Canadian First Nations community. Blackstone has been called the aboriginal Breaking Bad for its icy stare into the eyes of organized crime, government corruption, systemic family dysfunction, missing and murdered women, and all the social viruses of colonialism still coursing through Canadian blood. It is one of those shows that isn't kidding with the preface warnings about viewer discretion.
The honest depictions of hard-core life is exactly why audiences and critics have applauded Blackstone and it is why CBC television has purchased seasons three, four and five.
The show was primarily contracted to show on the APTN and Showcase networks, but CBC gave seasons one and two a test with its widespread audience in honour of National Aboriginal History Month 2015 and found an eager viewership, so it is taking on the three remaining seasons.
Blackstone wrapped filming last year.
"The CBC's reinvestment in Blackstone is a true testament to our cast and crew, and to the unfiltered and compelling storytelling that has become a benchmark of the show," said Ron E. Scott, the show's director, writer and inventor. "We are so grateful for the CBC's platform as a means to expose more Canadians to Blackstone and to the true-to-life issues that are explored through its storylines."
The cast is a who's who of Canadian aboriginal acting talent.
Names in the recurring credits include well-known performance artists like Carmen Moore, Eric Schweig, Michelle Thrush, Nathaniel Arcand, Tantoo Cardinal, Andrea Menard, Justin Rain (one of the VIP guests at last year's Northern FanCon) and many more.
Prince George singer-actor Tommy J. Mueller was involved in an early storyline in the series and local actor Steven Cree Molison has became a national celebrity and award-winning thespian for his work in the core cast.
Molison has always been a fan of the scripts he got to bring to life, even though some nay-sayers complained it went too far.
"It brings those topics to the forefront," Molison said. "It is a lot of stuff that affects our aboriginal community but affects all communities. The show is a great window into life on the rez, and sometimes aboriginal people don't want us to shine a light on that stuff, but what it leads to is an understanding that this is a side of our culture, but a side of all culture. It's about everybody."
The CBC was interested in the program even before it bought the rights to show it. Molison and Scott were invited to sit in the signature red chairs for an interview on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight years before the CBC took that step. During that interview, Molison said it was important for aboriginal people to be the writers, directors and a big part of the cast in the telling of the Canadian aboriginal story.
"It's the first step of taking ownership," he told Stroumboulopoulos and the nation. "People look at the show, they look at APTN, it's telling our own stories. We're not being told what we are. We're telling everybody else what we are."
Scott said that the reason the show was able to survive the highly competitive world of television production is because it was consistently more than shallow emotions spread across the screen like candy. The simulated scenes of violence, dirty living, spousal abuse, drug and alcohol abuse were authentic, and there was always a point to it.
He called Blackstone's plot-lines "the inspiring story of the undying hope and resilience of people fighting for a better life in the midst of adversity."
Internationally, Blackstone was picked up for broadcast by Hulu and HuluPlus (United States), Maori Television (New Zealand), SBS/NITV (Australia), and now this bigger-than-ever domestic platform.
The dates and times when Blackstone will air on CBC have not yet been determined.
