(Left to Right) David Paetkau, Producers Anne Marie La Traverse and Bill Mustos, Hugh Dillon, Enrico Colantoni and Amy Jo Johnson
The biggest surprise to come out of yesterday’s CTV UpFront Presentation wasn’t that two new Canadian produced shows [FLASHPOINT and THE LISTENER] actually look like they can compete with the best the US networks have to offer. Rather its that this TV Addict may have just met the first Canadian actor who genuinely prefers Hollywood North [Toronto] to Hollywood.
Enrico Colantoni is back in his hometown of Toronto Canada shooting the new Canadian produced series FLASHPOINT and he couldn’t be happier.
As one of the stars of FLASHPOINT, Colantoni plays Sgt. Gregory Parker, the chief negotiator in Toronto’s Emergency Task Force. An elite team of police that’s tasked with thwarting the most heinous of crimes at the moment they get out of hand.
Yet while most of the press in attendance were content in asking the generic, “How accurately do you portray a cop on the show?” type of questions.” Which by the way, Colantoni was more than happy to answer in his trademark humorous style, “The real thing doesn’t really make for good TV, unless someone gets shot. Guns always make good TV.” This TV Addict had only one thing on his mind. Or to be more specific two words: VERONICA MARS.
But when I had the chance to ask Colantoni if he still keeps in touch with his former MARS cast members, I found myself slightly disappointed when all he could muster was a quick and succinct, “Yes.”
“The biggest difference is how close knit everyone is. In all the years I spent in the States, I don’t recall having dinner with any of the Producers. Yet right from the beginning Marie and Bill [FLASHPOINT Producers Anne Marie La Traverse and Bill Mustos respectively] have opened their house and heart.” elaborated Colantoni on the differences between US and Canadian television, “With FLASHPOINT it seems to be a lot more about the process rather than the success and the failure of the show. You can just do your job and not worry about who’s out to get you.”
Reading between the lines its pretty clear that the sudden and disappointing cancelation of VERONICA MARS took its toll.
“Anybody who decides to be an actor can’t really be in it for the job security.” explains Colantoni, “But on VERONICA MARS we thought we had a good thing going and then the landscape and the network changed. Heck at one point we thought we’d outlive the network. But apparently they thought that other shows could do better. I still can’t figure that one out.”
Neither can we Enrico, neither can we. 