AHEAD BY A CENTURY
Anne with an E continues to tackle contemporary themes and issues
Like its title character, Anne with an E is a series with a growing voice and maturing sense of identity as it explores themes and characters that were never in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s original Anne of Green Gables stories more than a hundred years ago.
The series, which uses The Tragically Hip song Ahead By A Century as its opening theme, has been incorporating more distinctively modern storylines than diehard fans of the 1908 novel will recognize. Season 2 introduced black characters and LGBTQ characters, while the newest season, which premières Sunday, sees an Indigenous storyline woven into Anne’s world — an addition that has always been part of creator and writer Moira Walley-Beckett’s overarching vision for the show.
“From the beginning, it was my intention to add diversity to L.M. Montgomery’s world,” Walley-Beckett said. “For season 3 it was my stated intention to tell the story of the Mi’kmaq on P.E.I. and delve into the origin story of residential schools.”
From the second episode of season 1 onward, Walley-Beckett has chosen iconic moments from the novel, but almost all of the plots and character experiences are new and “off book,” according to Tracey Deer, a Mohawk filmmaker and writer who was hand-picked by Walley-Beckett to co-write season 3.
“I grew up with this strong, fearless, opinionated character that is Anne,” Deer said. “So to have the possibility to work on the new version of the show was humongous.”
Just as season 2 explored the Bog, Prince Edward Island’s black community just outside Charlottetown, Deer confirms the Indigenous characters are based very much on history. Extensive research was done to prioritize accuracy and authenticity.
“There are whole pieces of the Canadian population and the Canadian experience that are non-existent in the book. And I think that’s very telling of the time when the book was written,” Deer said. “P.E.I. was not occupied only by white people.”
Newcomer Kiawenti:io Tarbell plays Ka’kwet, a Mi’kmaq girl and friend of Anne in the new season. She hopes the audience enjoys season 3, but also wants fans to learn some historical truths from it. “I think it’s really important to share the First Nations story with the world,” Tarbell said by phone. “And I’m really grateful to be chosen to tell that story.”
Where the series mostly uses the Anne of Green Gables books as a jumping off point and almost immediately diverges from the book, this season Anne turns 16 just as she does in the novel.
“It’s a really exciting time for her,” says Amybeth McNulty, the 17-year-old Irish-Canadian actress who plays the iconic redhead. “Emotionally, she’s also growing into herself a lot.”
Female friendships are explored and emphasized, from early bonds established in the first season, to Tarbell’s character.
“The girls and their friendship is building and they’re all realizing that they’re growing up together, becoming young ladies,” McNulty said, adding the ever-expanding cast is an absolute joy.
“It’s like a family that’s sort of adopting new people. It’s so, so beautiful.”
McNulty’s enthusiasm and jubilance instantly call to mind her character. She says part of what makes Anne such a classic is that every generation can connect with her. The writers’ room, which has been exclusively female for all three seasons, was specifically selected to reflect diverse perspectives and create a comfortable space to examine women’s issues and stories, Walley-Beckett said.
For Deer, a huge fan of the books and the 1980s miniseries, Anne still speaks to the experience of young women.
“The struggle to find her voice and stand up for what she believes in, back 100 years ago, versus the same struggles we have today, you know, there’s a strong parallel there,” Deer said. “And I think that’s what’s resonated decade after decade.”