Trickster author imagined TV cast for third book
TORONTO — Eden Robinson says the actors in CBC’s upcoming mystical-thriller Trickster have winnowed their way into her imagination.
The Son of a Trickster author, who’s from the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations, found that once she saw who was cast in the adaptation, she couldn’t unsee the actors as the characters she created.
“It’s weird to see someone alive, saying your dialogue,” Robinson said.
That presented her with a challenge as she wrote the third novel in the series earlier this year.
Instead of picturing her protagonist Jared in the way she always had, she says she started seeing the TV show’s stoic teen
age lead actor Joel Oulette in his place.
Actor Crystle Lightning took the part of Jared’s mother, Maggie, in her mind, and she pictured Anna Lambe as Jared’s friend Sarah.
The experience was “surreal,” she admits, and it’s one she’s still coming to terms with ahead of the anticipated CBC debut of Trickster on Oct. 7.
The six-episode first season dives into a supernatural world of mystery that unfolds when Jared, an Indigenous high school student from Kitimat begins to experience an escalating series of strange events.
First, he runs into his doppelganger for a brief moment, and not long after he’s confronted by a crow who delivers a cryptic message before vanishing.
The experiences send him in pursuit of answers that point back to secrets harboured by his own family and special powers he might not yet recognize they all share.
Trickster arrives with much promise for Indigenous creators who are aspiring to a career on mainstream television.
It’s a highly accessible show that leans heavily on fantasy elements, from its magical teenager who evokes characteristics of Harry Potter, to the shadowy monsters that seem inspired by the works of Guillermo del Toro and David Cronenberg.
Co-creator Michelle Latimer won the rights to the book after sending Robinson a heartfelt letter that explained why she was the right person to make the series over bigger production houses who were chasing the project.
Robinson said she was floored by Latimer’s commitment to not just Indigenous representation in front of the camera, but establishing “an incubator of talent” on her production team as well.
Latimer pledged to hire skilled Indigenous crew members and pay interns who would be part of a mentorship program designed to bolster their film experience and help them take control of their own futures in the industry.
“That really excited me,” Robinson said.
“I have a sense of how frustrating it is to have our stories told by other people and not being trusted with the reins.”
Even before its debut, CBC has shown considerable confidence in the series, which could easily be a franchise in the making.
The broadcaster has already renewed the show for a second season, and put significant heft into marketing it across the country, with sneak previews of episodes at several Canadian film festivals, and ample TV spots plugging the launch date.