CBC and BET Plus partner on ‘The Porter,’ depicting 1920s Little Burgundy in Montreal
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on brandonsun.com
- Read the Brandon Sun E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
*Your next Free Press subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/12/2020 (1978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A new series depicting railway workers in the historically Black Montreal community of Little Burgundy in the 1920s is bound for the CBC.
The public broadcaster says it’s partnered with the U.S. streaming service BET Plus on the eight-part original drama, which is inspired by real events and has the working title “The Porter.”
A news release says the show follows four characters “who hustle, dream, cross borders and confront barriers in the fight for liberation, on and off the railways that crossed North America.”
With its proximity to train stations, Little Burgundy became a central point of migration, had a thriving jazz scene, and is where acclaimed pianists Oscar Peterson and Oliver Jones grew up.
The CBC says the show will feature railway porters and their families, and the impact they had in Black communities in cities across North America.
That impact included the creation of the world’s first Black union.
The first season is set primarily in Montreal, Chicago and Detroit after the First World War, when Little Burgundy was dubbed the “Harlem of the North.”
The show, from Inferno Pictures and Sienna Films, is set to debut in the CBC’s 2021/22 season.
Co-executive producers Arnold Pinnock and Bruce Ramsay created the series, with Annmarie Morais, Marsha Greene, and Aubrey Nealon.
MoraisandGreene are writers/showrunners on the series, while Charles Officer and R.T. Thorne are set to executive produce and direct.
“‘The Porter’ is more than a healthy dose of history. It’s a bold, sexy, unapologetic look at Black ambition,” Morais said Thursday in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2020.