Nobody wants to be the person who mucked up the 91ƵLaw & Order91Ƶ franchise.
It91Ƶs a fear that91Ƶs haunted veteran procedural writer Tassie Cameron since she embarked on the most daunting responsibility of her career: turning Dick Wolf91Ƶs beloved legal drama into the new Canadian spinoff 91ƵLaw & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent.91Ƶ
Despite years of experience writing on 91ƵRookie Blue,91Ƶ 91ƵPretty Hard Cases91Ƶ and 91ƵMary Kills People,91Ƶ she quivers at the responsibility she holds as the show91Ƶs Thursday broadcast premiere approaches.
91ƵI think we all feel a tremendous amount of pressure not to let down Toronto (or) Canada 91Ƶ it91Ƶs horrifying,91Ƶ the showrunner said.
91ƵPeople have such embedded expectations about the show because almost everybody91Ƶs watched it and has feelings.
91ƵYou don91Ƶt want to disappoint the franchise holders in the States, but you don91Ƶt want to disappoint your country. And it starts to feel big like that. I know that sounds ridiculous.91Ƶ
Sitting alongside fellow executive producer Erin Haskett at their production office, the pair are discussing how far they91Ƶve come in only a few months.
It91Ƶs December of last year and the Canadian production has one shooting day in the whirlwind season, which came together on tight timelines as the dual Hollywood writer and actor strikes halted many other films and TV series.
91ƵThe show got greenlit the first week of June, with one script,91Ƶ Haskett said.
91ƵThen it was like, oh my God, we need nine more,91Ƶ added Cameron.
91ƵSo I was calling writers (asking,) 91ƵIs anybody available tomorrow to sit in a room with me for two weeks to start writing this thing?91Ƶ
91ƵLaw & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent,91Ƶ a co-production between Rogers91Ƶ media division and Vancouver-based Lark Productions, was filming on the streets of Toronto before the end of August, Haskett noted.
91ƵAnd it91Ƶs been (working) night and day pretty much since then,91Ƶ she added.
The show follows detectives Henry Graff, played by Aden Young, and Frankie Bateman, played by Kathleen Munroe, as they investigate high-profile homicides in Canada91Ƶs largest city.
The cases featured on the show are ripped from the headlines and inspired by real-life criminal investigations.
The show91Ƶs leading cast also includes Karen Robinson as inspector Vivienne Holness, and K.C. Collins as deputy crown attorney Theo Forrester.
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