MRH: For the series, was it a tough sell for broadcasters and financiers, and did you find that it was a tougher sell in Canada rather than pitching it internationally?

Janis Lundman: No, we were very fortunate. I think a lot had to do with the timing, and we had a lot of support from the pay networks – The Movie Network, Movie Central – [who] very much understood what we were trying to do. They really hooked into what Laurie was saying with her words [and] into the visuals that Adrienne had been presenting.

The first season Global came in, just before we started shooting. They only came in for the one season. They were very supportive of the project, but it’s really not a conventional TV show; it’s a bit too dark for them.

MRH: I can recall in the 1980s when there were a lot of American co-productions that were shooting in Toronto and were essentially Canadian series based on American movies (Poltergeist: The Legacy, War of the Worlds, Friday 13th: The Series) but stylistically imitative of U.S. productions.
 
What are your thoughts on seeing more of Canadian culture on television, and how it’s making its way to international airwaves, with positive critical reception?

Adrienne Mitchell: That’s a broad question, but I think there’s a lot of different aspects to that question. I think that there is a lot of Canadian culture that’s absolutely going out there, but it’s a wide gamut of types that are being made.

Durham County is a certain kind of production that is different from a production coming out of the CBC or CTV or Canwest, so it depends on the team and the Canadian broadcaster.

I think we are coming into our own, in a way. Probably we’re in a really good place right now with the productions that are coming out, but I’ve got to say that I think some of them are dictated by the American audience / the American broadcasters’ tastes.

I would like to see the CBC do Canadian productions where they feel they don’t have to compete with the Flashpoints and the Rookie Blues of the world.

MRH: They should all be able to exist on their own, but if it doesn’t turn into a success immediately, then it’s axed, and the network moves on to the next thing – which isn’t a uniquely Canadian problem, but the hesitation to stick with an original concept must make it harder for series creators to sell.

Adrienne Mitchell: Well you’re right, and that’s very much an American model [but] I think we still give things here a little more of a chance than they do in the U.S. [where] you’re out after 3 episodes, but here we try to give things a chance.

Durham County is not a mainstream show. It’s HBO; it’s made for its particular audience, so you’ve got the other Canadian programs [where] you’re working for a network that’s much more ratings-reliant.

Our Canadian audiences are more used to tapping into an American framework for television, and we are trying as Canadian producers to find our way around that and still find our own stamp.

A lot of the talented writers here are trying to find a way within those restrictions to put forth their unique voices. I just would love to see a time where they were backed more; to really allow their voices to surface without so many other agendas.

But then how then do you argue when you have a situation where you’ve got shows where the broadcasters are working with the writers in such a way that are strong collaborations, and they’re getting the results they want with huge ratings?

I think it’s just different worlds out there now; there’s that world, then there’s the world of HBO Canada, which is another kind of world where they’re working with writers and producers in a very different way. I’m not going to say one’s necessarily better than the other, but what’s fun about the HBO Canada or more rewarding is that we’re really encouraged to develop our unique voices, and take some risks in a way that we can’t in another forum/form.

I think you’ve got to look at it that way. What’s great about Durham is that it has sold to 110 countries, so it’s not just that it’s we’re making it for ourselves; there is an audience for this series. It’s a pay audience [and] we’ve sold it all over the world. I know a lot of writers and producers would really love an opportunity to work with the [pay networks] and find projects like that.

Janis Lundman: We got a lot of critical acclaim. A lot of people appreciate the show [and] now that it’s out on video, they’re renting the video and just enjoying it.

MRH: It’s changed so much in the last 3 or 4 years where people go to a rental shop and load up on a show that they haven’t had time to watch, and they’ll just blow through the run in an entire weekend. That’s the experience many have now when it’s a TV series, which is radically different from catching a show each week with commercials, and waiting for the next episode.

Janis Lundman: Yup, and I have a lot of people come up and say that’s exactly what they doing: they’re buying or renting the DVD, and they just sit for the whole weekend, or the whole evening in some cases, and go through all of them.