Diggstown (TV series)
Diggstown is a Canadian legal drama television series created by Floyd Kane.[1] The first Canadian drama series to feature a Black Canadian woman as its lead character,[2] the series stars Vinessa Antoine as Marcie Diggs, a lawyer who leaves her high-powered corporate job to work for a legal aid clinic in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, after her aunt commits suicide.[3][4]
Diggstown | |
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Genre | Legal drama |
Created by | Floyd Kane |
Directed by | |
Starring | |
Country of origin | Canada |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Production locations | Halifax, Nova Scotia and Martinique Beach Provincial Park, Nova Scotia |
Running time | 44 min. |
Production companies |
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Release | |
Original network | CBC |
Original release | March 6, 2019 – November 16, 2022 |
The first season premiered on CBC Television on March 6, 2019.[5] A second season was announced in May 2019, following the conclusion of the first season.[6][7][8] On June 21, 2020, the series was renewed for a third season which is set to premiere on October 6, 2021.[9][10] In early 2021, Fox picked up the series for distribution.[11]
The CBC announced in October 2022 that the show's fourth season would be its last, with the finale scheduled to air on November 16.[12]
Plot
Diggstown follows Marcie Diggs (Antoine), a star corporate lawyer who reconsiders her priorities and moves to work in a legal-aid office after her beloved aunt takes her own life following the pressures of a malicious prosecution.[11]
Cast
- Vinessa Antoine as Marcie Diggs[1]
- Natasha Henstridge as Colleen MacDonnell[1]
- C. David Johnson as Reggie Thompson[1]
- Stacey Farber as Pam MacLean[1]
- Brandon Oakes as Doug Paul[1]
- Shailene Garnett as Iris Beals[1]
- Tim Rozon as Constable Carson Myers[1]
- Dwain Murphy as Avery Mueller [1]
- Mpho Koaho as Percy Lincoln[13]
- Kim Roberts as Ona Reeves
Episodes
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 6 | March 6, 2019 | April 3, 2019 | |
2 | 6 | March 4, 2020 | April 1, 2020 | |
3 | 8 | October 6, 2021 | November 24, 2021 | |
4 | 6[14] | October 12, 2022 | November 16, 2022 |
Season 1 (2019)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Canadian viewers | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Willy MacIsaac" | Kelly Makin[3] | Floyd Kane | March 6, 2019 | 338,000[15] | |
Marcie struggles with her anger towards the pastor she blames for her aunt Rolanda's suicide (pastor banned her from her church and called her filth). Marcie represents a father charged with DUI. Pam represents a friend. | |||||||
2 | 2 | "Renee Joy" | Cory Bowles | Floyd Kane | March 13, 2019 | 291,000[16] | |
Marcie is representing Renee Joy, a girl strip-searched by police. But an activist lawyer, Percy Lincoln, pursues the matter as a human rights complaint, which could result in Renee not getting a much needed scholarship. | |||||||
3 | 3 | "Taisir Ahmed" | Lynne Stopkewich | Andrew Burrows-Trotman | March 20, 2019 | 296,000[17] | |
Taisir, one of Marcie's clients, is grabbed by secret police and being held with an accusation of terrorism (which will make him unavailable for upcoming appointment that he has to be at for getting his mother a visitor's visa). Marcie tries to find Taisir, but the authorities keep shuffling him around so his lawyer can't be present to represent him. Pam takes over case of one of Marcie's client who is in dispute with a slumlord and Pam works on getting client a new place to live. Doug Paul is concerned his daughter is being taken advantage of by her 'mentor'. | |||||||
4 | 4 | "Delroy Nelson" | Kelly Makin | Ellen Vanstone | March 27, 2019 | 279,000[18] | |
Matthew Clarke starts a bar fight (with Delroy) that ends with Matthew on ground and not breathing. Delroy starts to do CPR, but his action is misinterpreted and he is dragged away from patient. Skip to weeks later and deceased's mother is charge of media that are attacking Delroy's character. | |||||||
5 | 5 | "Nikki LeBlanc" | Cory Bowles | Lynn Coady | April 3, 2019 | 231,000[19] | |
6 | 6 | "Kim Bond" | Lynne Stopkewich | Floyd Kane | April 3, 2019 | 162,000[19] |
Season 2 (2020)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Canadian viewers | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 | 1 | "Vince Hu" | Kelly Makin | Floyd Kane & Priscilla White | March 4, 2020 | 195,000[20] | |
A newly graduated RCMP patrolman is involved in a high-speed road traffic accident, where a mother of two dies at the scene. Marcie faces persecution from her neighborhood and friends when she tries to defend him. Some of his colleagues take matters into their own hands to bias the case, further hampering Marcie's work. | |||||||
8 | 2 | "Cheryl Battiste" | Cory Bowles | Lynn Coady & Priscilla White | March 11, 2020 | N/A | |
A young Miꞌkmaq woman stands accused of murdering a white teen after she and her friend are racially and physically attacked by the teen and his companion. | |||||||
9 | 3 | "Willy MacIsaac Redux" | Cory Bowles | Floyd Kane & Priscilla White | March 18, 2020 | 141,000[21] | |
10 | 4 | "Tanya Ivanova" | Sharon Lewis | Ellen Vanstone | March 25, 2020 | N/A | |
11 | 5 | "Vi Bayley" | Lynne Stopkewich | Lisa Codrington & Priscilla White | April 1, 2020 | N/A | |
12 | 6 | "Dani Ewing" | Cory Bowles | Priscilla White | April 1, 2020 | N/A |
Season 3 (2021)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 | 1 | "Nina Francis" | Cory Bowles | Floyd Kane | October 6, 2021 |
14 | 2 | "Jojo Carvery" | Cory Bowles | Lynn Coady | October 13, 2021 |
15 | 3 | "Percy Lincoln" | Cory Bowles | Lakna Edilima & Ellen Vanstone | October 20, 2021 |
16 | 4 | "Enter Vivian Jefferson" | Lynne Stopkewich | Floyd Kane | October 27, 2021 |
17 | 5 | "Ivy Maloney" | Juanita Peters | Lynn Coady & Amber-Sekowan Daniels | November 3, 2021 |
18 | 6 | "Miles Jones" | Lynne Stopkewich | Floyd Kane & Motion Brathwaite | November 10, 2021 |
19 | 7 | "Christian Spry" | Shamim Sarif | Ellen Vanstone & JP Larocque | November 17, 2021 |
20 | 8 | "Riley Seaver" | Robert Adetuyi | Floyd Kane & Lynn Coady | November 24, 2021 |
Season 4 (2022)
No. overall | No. in season | Title [22] | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [22] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
21 | 1 | "Larissa Crooks" | Cory Bowles | Floyd Kane | October 12, 2022 |
22 | 2 | "Basil Allen" | Rama Rau | JP Larocque & Caleigh Bacchus | October 19, 2022 |
23 | 3 | "Donald Kitpu Christmas" | Cory Bowles | Ellen Vanstone & Roxann Whitebean | October 26, 2022 |
24 | 4 | "Trudy Willis" | Shamim Sarif | Floyd Kane & Lakna Edilima & James Battiston | November 2, 2022 |
25 | 5 | "Marcie Diggs" | Shamim Sarif | Lynn Coady | November 9, 2022 |
26 | 6 | "Cruz Diaz" | Floyd Kane | Floyd Kane | November 16, 2022 |
International release
BET+ acquired U.S. streaming rights to the series in April 2020.[23] Fox acquired the U.S. television broadcast rights for the series in January 2021.[11]
Reception
The series has received positive reviews. The Globe and Mail called the series "a charming, no-glitz legal drama".[24]
References
- David, Greg (21 August 2018). "ADDITIONAL CASTING CONFIRMED FOR NEW CBC ORIGINAL LEGAL AID DRAMA DIGGSTOWN AS PRODUCTION BEGINS". TV, Eh?. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- "Diggstown's Vinessa Antoine is the face of change as first Black woman to star in prime-time TV drama". Toronto Star, March 4, 2019.
- Ryan, Haley (1 October 2018). "Halifax legal drama bringing Black stories to life in our own backyard". StarMetro Halifax. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- Wong, Tony (2 June 2018). "In casting a new crime show, CBC is looking for Canada's Kerry Washington". Toronto Star. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- Greg, David (1 November 2018). "CBC ANNOUNCES WINTER 2019 PREMIERE DATES FOR HEARTLAND, SCHITT'S CREEK, WORKIN' MOMS, KIM'S CONVENIENCE AND MORE". TV, Eh?. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- CBC, Diggstown on (2019-05-29). "It's official! #DiggstownCBC will be back for SEASON 2 on @CBC in 2020! Stream full episodes of season 1 right now on #CBCGem! #Season2 #CBCUpfront @CBCTelevisionpic.twitter.com/pA2UpvDjWA". @DiggstownCBC. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- "Season 2 Premiere of Diggstown is Slated for Winter 2020". premieredate.news. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- Eades, Chris (2019-05-30). "Vinessa Antoine's Primetime Series Renewed for Season Two". ABC Soaps In Depth. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- "CBC Renews Original Legal Dramas "Burden of Truth" and "Diggstown"". The Futon Critic. July 21, 2020.
- CBS, Diggstown [@DiggstownonCBC] (June 2, 2021). "And we now have a premiere date! See you all on OCTOBER 6 for the #DiggstownCBC season three premiere on @cbc and @cbcgem" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021 – via Twitter.
- White, Peter (January 26, 2021). "Fox Picks Up Canadian Legal Drama 'Diggstown'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- David, Greg (October 6, 2022). ""MARCIE DIGGS' FIGHT FOR JUSTICE TO END IN SEASON 4 OF DIGGSTOWN"". TV, eh?. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- Diggstown (TV Series 2019– ) - Full Cast & Crew at IMDb. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- "CBC Announces Fall 2022 Premiere Dates for New and Returning Series". CBC Media Centre (Press release). July 26, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
- Brioux, Bill (March 8, 2019). "NUMBERS IN CANADA: Strong start for Big Brother; Diggstown under the Legal limit". Brioux.tv. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- Brioux, Bill (March 15, 2019). "NUMBERS IN CANADA: Mon, Tues & Wed overnights". Brioux.tv. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- Brioux, Bill (March 21, 2019). "NUMBERS: Good start for Jann". Brioux.tv. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- Brioux, Bill (March 29, 2019). "FRIDAY NOTES: Canadian viewers turning into bankers". Brioux.tv. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- Brioux, Bill (April 5, 2019). "NUMBERS IN CANADA: Jann slips in overnights". Brioux.tv. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- Brioux, Bill (March 5, 2020). "The tribe has spoken with Survivor still a top draw in Canada". Brioux.tv. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- Brioux, Bill (March 22, 2020). "News numbers, Survivor and Grey's big winners in Wednesday, Thursday overnights". Brioux.tv. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- "Diggstown". Zap2it. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- Barraclough, Leo (April 23, 2020). "BET Plus Acquires Legal Procedural 'Diggstown' From Entertainment One". Variety. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- "CBC's Diggstown is a charming, no-glitz legal drama". The Globe and Mail. March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2019.