Pure (Canadian TV series)

Pure is a Canadian television drama series that first aired on CBC Television in January and February 2017,^[1] and subsequently on Super Channel. The show stars Ryan Robbins as Noah Funk, a Mennonite pastor working undercover within an organized crime network in order to clean up a drug trafficking problem in his community.^[2] The show also stars A. J. Buckley, Peter Outerbridge, Alex Paxton-Beesley, and Rosie Perez.^[3]

Pure
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Michael Amo
Directed by	Ken Girotti
Starring	Ryan Robbins A. J. Buckley Peter Outerbridge Rosie Perez
Country of origin	Canada
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	12
Production
Production companies	Two East Production Cineflix
Original release
Network	CBC Television (season 1) Super Channel (season 2)
Release	January 9, 2017 (2017-01-09) – July 2, 2019 (2019-07-02)

Pure is produced by Two East Productions and Cineflix Media^[4] and is directed by Ken Girotti.^[5]

Showrunner Michael Amo stated that he pitched the show to television networks in the 2000s but "didn't get any takers".^[4] It is inspired by the operations of a Mennonite organized crime ring that smuggled cocaine and marijuana from Mexico to Canada and the United States.^[4][6]

The series premiere was watched by 858,000 Canadian viewers.^[7] On April 12, 2017, the show was picked up by Hulu in the United States.^[8] WGN America acquired the US television rights to the series in August 2017.^[9]

Initially, Pure was not renewed for a second season;^[10][11] however, in April 2018 the show was picked up by Super Channel, CBC, Hulu, and WGN America for a season two with six episodes, set to premiere in 2019.^[12][13] The series is scheduled to debut on WGN America on May 28, 2019.^[14]

In June 2018, Super Channel announced that actors Alyson Hannigan, Christopher Heyerdahl, Zoie Palmer, and Victor Gomez were joining the production for Season 2.^[15][16]

Cast

The cast includes:^{[4][5][6][17][16]}

• Ryan Robbins as Noah Funk, a pastor
• Alex Paxton-Beesley as Anna Funk, his wife
• Gord Rand as Abel Funk, his brother
• Dylan Everett as Isaac Funk, his son
• Jessica Clement as Tina Funk, his daughter

• A. J. Buckley as Bronco Novak, a police detective
• Peter Outerbridge as Eli Voss, a gang leader
• Rosie Perez as Phoebe O'Reilly, a DEA agent
• Alyson Hannigan as Esther Dunkel
• Christopher Heyerdahl as Augustus Nickel
• Zoie Palmer as Valerie Krochack
• Alex Crowther as Johan Fehr

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	6		January 9, 2017 (2017-01-09)	February 13, 2017 (2017-02-13)
2	6		May 28, 2019 (2019-05-28)	July 2, 2019 (2019-07-02)

Season 1 (2017)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Canada viewers (millions)
1	1	"Ordination"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	January 9, 2017 (2017-01-09)	1.021[18]
2	2	"The Singing"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	January 16, 2017 (2017-01-16)	N/A
Having agreed to accept a shipment of drugs from Mexican gang boss Eli Voss, Pastor Noah faces a crisis when the shipment is lost.
3	3	"As One"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	January 23, 2017 (2017-01-23)	N/A
With the drugs not easily accessed, Pastor Noah turns to a group of buyers led by Crowbar for help - but is unable to promise them 25% off the drugs as they demand. Meanwhile police detective Bronco re-asserts himself, demanding a fourth call on Noah's allegiance. Noah's son announces his intention to seek baptism.
4	4	"Funeral"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	January 30, 2017 (2017-01-30)	N/A
With substantially more dead bodies than foreseen, Noah strives to face the enormity of his own place in the crime gang even with his good intentions; meanwhile his wife has chosen a path to intimidate a local community member that brings down new sin on the enterprise.
5	5	"Communion"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	February 6, 2017 (2017-02-06)	N/A
6	6	"Baptism"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	February 13, 2017 (2017-02-13)	N/A

Season 2 (2019)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
7	1	"Excommunication"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	May 28, 2019 (2019-05-28)	0.241[19]
8	2	"Faspa"	Ken Girotti	Andrew Wreggitt	June 4, 2019 (2019-06-04)	0.219[20]
9	3	"Return of the Lamb"	T.W. Peacocke	Waneta Storms	June 11, 2019 (2019-06-11)	0.107[21]
10	4	"The Proposal"	T.W. Peacocke	Michael Amo	June 18, 2019 (2019-06-18)	0.166[22]
11	5	"Penance"	Ken Girotti	Andrew Wreggitt	June 25, 2019 (2019-06-25)	0.195[23]
12	6	"Wedding"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	July 2, 2019 (2019-07-02)	0.194[24]

Setting

Though filmed in Nova Scotia, Pure is set in a fictional town called Antioch in southern Ontario, and during the first season, it also included the U.S. state of Texas and the Mexican state of Chihuahua.^[17]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref
2017	ACTRA Maritimes Award	Outstanding Male Actor in a Supporting Role	Gary Levert	Nominated	[25]
	Directors Guild of Canada Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series	Ken Girotti (episode: "Ordination")	Nominated	[26]
2018	Canadian Screen Awards	Best Dramatic Series	Pure	Nominated	[27]
		Best Direction, Drama Series	Ken Girotti (episode: "Ordination")	Nominated
		Best Original Music, Fiction	Jonathan Goldsmith (episode: "Ordination")	Nominated
	Screen Nova Scotia Awards	Best TV Series	Pure	Won	[28]

References

1. "CBC Unveils Winter Schedule". Broadcaster. November 14, 2016. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
2. "CBC adds daytime series, Mennonite mob drama in new TV lineup". Toronto Star. May 26, 2016.
3. "Production underway on CBC's Pure". Playback. October 6, 2016.
4. Wong, Tony (January 7, 2017). "CBC does Breaking Bad – with Mennonites". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
5. "Rosie Perez joins cast of CBC's new Mennonite mob drama Pure". CBC News. The Canadian Press. October 6, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
6. Brioux, Bill (January 5, 2017). "CBC's 'Pure' a drug smuggling tale in Mennonite country". The Chronicle-Herald. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
7. Bill Brioux [@BillBriouxTV] (January 10, 2017). "MON o'nites CBC: solid start for #Pure 858k; #MurdochMysteries 1138k" (Tweet). Retrieved April 5, 2018 – via Twitter.
8. Tartaglione, Nancy (April 12, 2017). "Hulu Acquires CBC Crime Drama 'Pure'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
9. Andreeva, Nellie (August 8, 2017). "WGN America Picks Up Swedish Drama '100 Code', Canadian Series 'Pure' & 'Shoot The Messenger' For 'Prime Crime' Slate". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
10. David, Greg (May 24, 2017). "CBC sets 2017-18 primetime schedule; plus new, returning and cancelled series". Retrieved May 24, 2017.
11. A. J. Buckley [@AjohnBuckley] (April 23, 2017). "CBC dropped the ball 4 sure. This cast was GOLD!" (Tweet). Retrieved April 5, 2018 – via Twitter.
12. "Super Channel announces casting for second season of PURE". Super Channel. June 27, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
13. Ramos, Dino-Ray (April 5, 2018). "WGN America Crime Drama 'Pure' Gets Second Season Ahead of Series' 2019 Premiere". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
14. "WGN America Releases Key Art, First Trailer And Sets Premiere Date Of Its Anticipated Religious Crime Drama Series "Pure" For Wednesday, January 23". PR Newswire. November 12, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
15. Liszewski, Bridget (June 27, 2018). "Pure: Season 2 Casting Announcements". The TV Junkies. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
16. Petski, Denise (June 27, 2018). "'Pure': Alyson Hannigan Set To Recur in Season 2 of WGN America Crime Drama". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
17. Doyle, John (January 6, 2017). "CBC's Pure is about more than Mennonites – it's about morals". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
18. Top Programs – Total Canada (Eng) January 9, 2017 - January 15, 2017 - Numeris
19. UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.28.2019 - Showbuzz Daily
20. UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.4.2019 - Showbuzz Daily
21. UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.11.2019 - Showbuzz Daily
22. UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.18.2019 - Showbuzz Daily
23. UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.25.2019 - Showbuzz Daily
24. UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.2.2019 - Showbuzz Daily
25. "Screen Nova Scotia - ACTRA Maritimes announces 2017 award nominations!". mailchi.mp. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
26. "2017 DIRECTORS GUILD OF CANADA AWARDS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED | Directors Guild of Canada". www.dgc.ca. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
27. "2018 TV Nominees - Academy.ca". academy.ca. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
28. "Your 2018 Screen Nova Scotia Award winners". thecoast.ca. Retrieved May 17, 2018.

Further reading

• "Mennonite Mob". The Fifth Estate. Season 17. March 10, 1992. CBC Television.

External links

• Pure at IMDb