Series based in historic Little Burgundy
A new TV series for CBC and the BET Plus streaming service in the U.S. will depict the lives of Black railway porters and their families in Montreal’s historic Black neighbourhood of Little Burgundy.
The show, with the working title “The Porter,” is set in the 1920s and follows four men in their “fight for equality and dignity,” as well as “the women in their lives, facing sexism and colourism,” and striving “to claim their independence and identity,” a news release says.
It’s inspired by real events and “highlights the moment when railway workers from both Canada and the United States joined together to give birth to the world’s first Black union.”
The show comes from Winnipeg’s Inferno Pictures, whose projects include the movie “Goon,” and Toronto’s Sienna Films, which produced the CBC series “Cardinal.”
Two actors, Arnold Pinnock (“Travelers”) and Bruce Ramsay (“Cardinal”) created the series with producers Annmarie Morais (“Killjoys”) and Marsha Greene (“Mary Kills People”), who will serve as writers and showrunners, and Aubrey Nealon (“Cardinal,” “Orphan Black”). Charles Officer and R.T. Thorne will executive produce and direct.
The series, whose eight-episode first season will be set primarily in Montreal, Chicago and Detroit, will debut on CBC during the 2021/22 season.