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Orphan Black

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Orphan Black
Genre
Created byGraeme Manson
John Fawcett
StarringTatiana Maslany
Jordan Gavaris
Dylan Bruce
Maria Doyle Kennedy
Matt Frewer
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producersIvan Schneeberg
David Fortier
Graeme Manson
John Fawcett
Production companiesBBC America Original Production
Bell Media
Temple Street Productions
Original release
NetworkSpace
BBC America
ReleaseMarch 30, 2013 (2013-03-30)[1] –
present

Orphan Black is a science fiction television series that stars Tatiana Maslany as Sarah, a woman who steals the identity of a suicide victim who looks exactly like her.[2] The show premiered at WonderCon in Anaheim, California on March 29, 2013.[3][4] The television premiere of the first 10-episode season was on March 30, 2013.[5][1][6] On May 2, 2013 BBC America renewed Orphan Black for a 10 episode second season to air in 2014.[7]

Characters

  • Tatiana Maslany as Sarah Manning (orphan adult), Elizabeth "Beth" Childs † (police detective who committed suicide), Alison Hendrix (suburban housewife), Cosima (graduate student in science), Helena (Ukrainian assassin), Katja Obinger † (German victim of Helena)
  • Jordan Gavaris as Felix, Sarah's foster brother and confidant
  • Dylan Bruce as Paul, Beth's boyfriend
  • Kevin Hanchard as Art, Beth's partner
  • Maria Doyle Kennedy as Mrs. S, Sarah's foster mother and guardian of Kira, Sarah's daughter
  • Michael Mando as Vic, Sarah's abusive ex-boyfriend
  • Skyler Wexler as Kira, Sarah's biological daughter
  • Kristian Bruun as Donnie Hendrix, Alison's husband

Production

Orphan Black was initially developed at the Canadian Film Centre by Graeme Manson.[6] Bell Media announced on June 12, 2012 that they had commissioned a 10 episode season of Orphan Black that would be produced by Temple Street Productions and distributed internationally by BBC Worldwide.[8]

On June 26, 2012 BBC America announced that they had picked up the show in the U.S.[6] The casting of Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany as the lead was announced on September 17, 2012.[9] The rest of the principal cast was announced in late October 2012 as production began in Toronto for the first season.[10] On February 7, 2013 it was announced that Matt Frewer had been cast as an edgy philosophical professor, Dr. Leekie, and Évelyne Brochu was cast as a graduate student in molecular and cellular biology.[11] Filming of season 1 was scheduled to be completed by February 12, 2013.[10]

Maslany created different music playlists to listen to, to help her differentiate the various characters she portrays.[3] When filming scenes in which Maslany has multiple parts, cameras were mounted on dollies which would replicate movement, thereby allowing for more action in scenes where she interacts with herself.[3]

Location

Orphan Black is shot on-location in Toronto, Canada. Although some U.S. critics have suggested that the city shown is a "no-name" city that stands in for New York—and in the first episode the police use NYPD mugs and NYPD vehicles[12]—the show reveals clues about its Canadian location: cars sport Ontario license plates, the multi-colored money, and a plane ticket that is displayed in the pilot episode clearly identifies Toronto's Pearson International Airport.[13] In the first episode at the train station, there is a voice announcing the next train to New York City (meaning the station was not already in NYC), and when Sarah meets with Felix in the bar she references selling cocaine on Bay Street, which is Toronto's financial district. In the second episode, Sarah goes to a suburban area called Scarborough, which could be the former city of Scarborough, now a part of the Greater Toronto Area, or Scarborough, New York, a hamlet in Briarcliff Manor in Westchester County, New York, and in the third episode the police make a reference to Parkdale, a neighborhood in Toronto.

Episodes

Season 1 (2013)

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Natural Selection"John FawcettGraeme MansonMarch 30, 2013 (2013-03-30)1.03[14]
Sarah, a streetwise hustler on the run from a lifetime of bad decisions, witnesses the suicide of a stranger who looks just like her. Sarah assumes her identity, hoping that cleaning out the dead woman's bank account will solve all of her problems. Instead, the street smart chameleon is thrust headlong into a kaleidoscopic mystery. After taking on the new identity, Sarah quickly finds herself caught in the middle of a deadly conspiracy and must race to find answers.
2"Instinct"John FawcettGraeme MansonApril 6, 2013 (2013-04-06)N/A
With a body in her car and nowhere to turn, Sarah is forced to continue her con and earn "Beth" a second chance on the force. But with a killer on her tail, her only hope of finding answers lies with another apparent "identical", Alison.
3"Variation Under Nature"David FrazeeGraeme MansonApril 13, 2013 (2013-04-13)0.409[15]
Rocked by the revelation that she and her fellow "Orphans" are clones, Sarah just wants to get her hands on the money and skip town. But Sarah's fake detective ruse stretches thin when the cops find the body she buried and assign "Beth" to the case. As Sarah closes in on the killer, the hunter becomes the hunted.
4"Effects of External Conditions"Grant HarveyKaren WaltonApril 20, 2013 (2013-04-20)0.361[16]
Sarah realizes that the Orphans' survival is going to take more than police work. But tracking the killer threatens Sarah's long awaited reunion with her daughter, Kira. As Sarah gets closer to the killer, the killer gets closer to the truth — the ensuing showdown threatens to expose her ruse as a cop.
5"Conditions of Existence"T.J. ScottAlex LevineApril 27, 2013 (2013-04-27)0.327[17]
When terrifying evidence suggests the Orphans are part of a sinister ongoing experiment, Sarah's suspicions turn to Paul, Beth's boyfriend. But her probing inadvertently triggers Paul's own investigation, bringing him dangerously close to the truth. Meanwhile, paranoid Alison piles on a whole new level of complication.
6"Variations Under Domestication"John FawcettGraeme MansonMay 4, 2013 (2013-05-04)0.340[18]
Sarah's hunt for answers is interrupted by a trip to the suburbs. Alison's paranoia has boiled over, putting all the Orphans at risk. But when Sarah, Alison and Beth's worlds dangerously collide, Sarah must decide with whom she can share her secret.
7"Parts Developed in an Unusual Manner"UnknownUnknownMay 11, 2013 (2013-05-11)N/A
8"Entangled Bank"UnknownUnknownMay 18, 2013 (2013-05-18)N/A
9"Unconscious Selection"[14]UnknownUnknownMay 25, 2013 (2013-05-25)N/A
10"Endless Forms Most Beautiful"[14]UnknownUnknownJune 1, 2013 (2013-06-01)N/A

Season 2 (2014)

The show was renewed for a second season of 10 episodes on May 2, 2013. The second season will air in 2014.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b "Orphan Black". BBC America. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  2. ^ "About the Show". BBC America. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  3. ^ a b c Lundy, Bill (March 11, 2013). "Toronto ComiCon: Orphan Black panel". Bell Media. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  4. ^ "BBC America's Doctor Who and Orphan Black Screening". WonderCon. Archived from the original on March 29, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  5. ^ "Orphan Black". space. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  6. ^ a b c "BBC AMERICA ORDERS NEW ORIGINAL SCRIPTED SCI-FI ADVENTURE" (Press release). BBC America. June 26, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  7. ^ Seat42f. "BBC America Renews Orphan Black". Retrieved 2 May 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "SPACE Orders New Original Drama Series ORPHAN BLACK" (Press release). Bell Media. June 12, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  9. ^ "SPACE, BBC America, and Temple Street Productions Announce Canadian-Born Actor Tatiana Maslany as the Lead in New Original Series ORPHAN BLACK" (Press release). Bell Media. September 17, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Additional Casting For SPACE Original Series ORPHAN BLACK Announced as Production Begins in Toronto" (Press release). Bell Media. October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  11. ^ "When Did I Become Us? New SPACE Original Series ORPHAN BLACK Premieres Saturday, March 30 at 9 p.m. ET" (Press release). Bell Media. February 7, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  12. ^ Stasi, Linda (March 20, 2013). "Identity thief". New York Post.
  13. ^ http://www.criticsatlarge.ca/2013/04/orphan-black-and-new-face-of-canadian.html
  14. ^ a b c "Supernatural Saturday Line-Up of 'Doctor Who', 'Orphan Black', & 'The Nerdist' Delivers Strong Ratings for BBC America". TV By The Numbers. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  15. ^ "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Wins Night, 'MTV Movie Awards', 'Vikings', 'Mad Men','The Client List', 'Veep' & More". TV By The Numbers. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  16. ^ "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Wins Night + NBA Playoffs, 'Real Housewives of Atlanta', 'Vikings' & More". TV By The Numbers. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  17. ^ "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Wins Night, NBA Playoffs, 'Vikings', 'The Client List', 'Mad Men', 'Veep' & More". TV By The Numbers. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  18. ^ "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Game of Thrones' Wins Night + 'Ax Men', 'Mad Men', 'Army Wives', 'The Client List' & More". TV By The Numbers. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  19. ^ "'Orphan Black' Renewed for Season 2 by BBC America". TV By The Numbers. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
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