CBC, Two East Productions and Cineflix Media Inc. recently announced casting details for the highly anticipated dramatic series Pure about a Mennonite pastor battling drug trafficking within his community. It is shooting in Nova Scotia until mid-November and will premiere on CBC in winter 2017.
Inspired by true events, the series stars Ryan Robbins (Arrow, Continuum, The Killing), Alex Paxton-Beesley (Murdoch Mysteries, Copper), AJ Buckley (CSI: NY, Justified, Narcos), Peter Outerbridge (Orphan Black, Bomb Girls, ReGenesis) and Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Rosie Perez (White Men Can’t Jump, Fearless).
Pure tells the story of Noah Funk (Robbins), a newly-elected Mennonite pastor, who is determined to rid his community of drug traffickers by betraying a fellow Mennonite to the police. But instead of solving the problem, Noah’s actions trigger an ultimatum from mob leader Eli Voss (Outerbridge): in order to protect his family he must get involved in the illegal operation. Noah decides that if he must work for the mob, he will secretly gather enough evidence to dismantle the organization.
Noah finds his beliefs and principles challenged every step of the way. Struggling to save his soul and complete his mission, Noah receives help from an unlikely source: his high school nemesis, local cop Bronco Novak (Buckley). With his law-enforcement career hanging by a thread, Bronco sees the case as his ticket to redemption. Rounding out the cast, Perez plays DEA Agent Phoebe O’Reilly, who’s made it her personal mission to take down Voss.
“Pure is a powerful singular vision brought to life by a stellar cast, and we’re excited to share it with Canadians in the new year,” said Sally Catto, general manager of programming at CBC Television in a press release. “This exploration of crime and community is a perfect example of our distinctly Canadian content.”
“It’s a unique world that audiences have never seen before and we’re thrilled that the CBC is bringing this groundbreaking drama to the screen,” said executive producer David MacLeod.
“We are very excited to be working with the CBC on Pure and are confident that Michael Amo, Ken Girotti and their creative team will deliver a bold and unexpected series that will resonate both here and abroad,” said Brett Burlock, SVP of Scripted at Cineflix Media.
