The Magicians
This week sees three TV series starting up.
One is a magical show—but will be continuing on without one of its leading characters.
Another is a scary show that brings back a campfire from the 1990s.
And a third show is already receiving some positive response from some observers from disability communities.
Here’s a look at what’s happening Vancouver’s screen scene this week.
The Magicians
In January, The Magicians was renewed for another season and so production is underway starting today (June 10), continuing until November 8, on Season 5.
Spoiler warning: if you haven’t watched Season 4 to the end, then stop reading now.
The Magicians
The Season 4 finale, which aired on April 17, ended with quite the shocker.
In order to save everyone, a major character had to sacrifice himself.
In fact, it was the main character who the series has revolved around following into the world of magic after he enrolled at Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy.
Alas, Quentin Coldwater, played by Jason Ralph, is no more.
Jason Ralph
We’ll have to wait to see how the other characters carry on—and if any new faces pop up to join the party—in the fifth season.
The cast in previous seasons has included Stella Maeve, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Hale Appleman, Arjun Gupta, Summer Bishil, Rick Worthy, Jade Tailor, Brittany Curran, and Trevor Einhorn.
Olivia Taylor Dudley
The Canadian horror-fantasy anthology TV series Are You Afraid of the Dark?, which ran from 1990 to 2000, is being relaunched as a mini-series.
Production starts today (June 10) and will run until to July 19.
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
The original YTV series (which was picked up by Nickelodeon in the U.S.) shot in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond as well as Montreal in Quebec.
The first series ran from 1990 to 1996 before being revived from 1999 to 2000.
This reboot, directed by Dean Israelite (Power Rangers) will follow new members of the Midnight Society who continue on the tradition of telling creepy and chilling stories around a campfire in the woods.
There’s no word yet on who the cast includes so stay tuned on who might be in town.
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Later on this week, a brand new TV series starts shooting its first season.
The Healing Powers of Dude will film Season 1 from Friday (June 14) to August 9.
Details on this Netflix family show, directed by Richie Keen (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), remain very limited.
The show has already garnered some initial praise.
A casting call was put out for a female wheelchair-user actor (of any ethnicity), ages 9 to 13, to play the role of the tough, confident, and driven Amara. Amara befriends the lead character Noah at school, as she is understanding of his social anxiety disorder.
The search for an authentic actor who uses a wheelchair has drawn appreciation for its approach to its representation of disability.
Hopefully we’ll find out more details about this promising new series in the near future.
In the meantime, that’s all for this week and we’ll continue to keep you updated on what’s happening here in Hollywood North in the weeks to come.
Until next time, have fun Vancouver-spotting on a screen near you.
