‘The Porter’ Creators Discuss Season 2 of Civil Rights Drama: ‘We’re Opening a New Chapter’

CBC and BET+ are making another call Goalkeeper.

There is no official announcement yet, but Canadian and American television platforms are poised to renew the civil rights drama about black 1920s train workers and their families in Montreal and Chicago for a second season.

Showrunner Anmarie Morais and director Charles Officier spoke the hollywood reporter As scripts are produced to further represent the efforts of black train conductors to start North America’s first black union.

Season two also takes another step towards reinventing black Canadian history as the first Canadian drama to feature an all-black creative team, with the pressure to succeed and the opportunity for others to tell their own stories that reflect black identity. GoalkeeperThe second season is especially important as the show’s cancellation is seen as a direct blow to the cause of creating more diversity and inclusion in Canadian television.

“We really want to be in a place where the diversity story is standard procedure in our industry. So it’s very valuable to be first, to correct what has been an uneven playing field for so long,” Morais said. Goalkeeperwhich features an all-black Canadian creative team.

Season two will return to the St. Antoine in Montreal, home to a black Canadian and Caribbean working class in the 1920s, including many of the train porters, their families, and the community that inspired the drama. Goalkeeper.

The series is created and co-created by Arnold Pinnock and showrunners Annmarie Morais and Marsha Greene, and directed by Officer and RT Thorne. GoalkeeperThe first season starred Amal Amin, Ronnie Rowe Jr., Muna Traore, Lauren Lott, Olunik Adele and Alfre Woodard, who also produced the series.

GoalkeeperThe first season followed train porters Junior Massey and Zeke Garrett on dramatically different paths to a better life. During the finale, Junior rises to the top of the broken system and Zeke claims a new alliance, the Order of Sleeping Car Chargers. What can fans expect from season two?

morals: In season two, the ghosts of World War I and St. Antoine will return home. Zeke Jr. and, in a sense, the community will have to deal with the effects of the past, more specifically, the criminal unrest and that part of the war. They will have to deal with the past.

Will Season 2 be about what Junior, Zeke, Junior’s wife Marlene, and budding artist Lucy will do to pursue their dreams, dealing with those who stand in their way?

morals: Theme umbrella focuses on what happens when you get what you want, not what you expected. That’s not enough. Everyone is looking for an agency. It’s not enough to be gangster number two or number one, it’s not enough to have some sort of association without actually being a rising star when someone surpasses you. So all of our central characters are experiencing some kind of success, and yet they find they want to fully experience it.

Marlene Massey gets a new building to open her clinic at the end of the first season. Can we expect him to become a doctor at some point?

morals: The clinic allows access to healthcare exemptions, not what a hospital can do. For some it is the only care they will have, and if they feel they are being treated with the dignity and respect to which we are entitled, and the clinic becomes a touchstone for the community to unite with, they feel they can succeed. .

In the end, Lucy Conrad travels to New York to pursue her musical dreams. Will he be fully successful in season two?

morals: What people love about Lucy is what Lauren (Lott) brought to the role, that energy and fervor, that hunger for more than what she wrote. I don’t think she ever leaves. What we do know about Lucy is that she fights against all odds for her dreams, no matter what. He got a taste of life on the New York stage and we know you can’t escape his past. We will see Lucy fight for the future, but she will still have to face her past in St. Antoine.

As with any series, the second season allows the writers to expand on the characters introduced in the premiere season. How will you take advantage of this opportunity?

morals: This is one of the joys of the second season. You can remove some of the skin to see how the characters emerged. It’s part of the prequel’s rise where you want to know how the man became a superhero. And our series is no different. We want to explore the roots of the attitudes and perspectives that drive today’s heroes. How and where were they formed? How did they become people with a mission?

Goalkeeper Uses the N word in creative contexts until the end of the first season, including the last episode. Tell us about this decision.

Official: This word is one that evokes many of us. This word was used by a white actor. [in the final episode]. It was something we all knew, not something we wanted to get rid of. But it was used in a very specific way. We trained our background community artists who were there to use the word. We didn’t say a word during rehearsals. So we found a way to minimize what was not taken seriously.

Was there any kind of public reaction?

Official: I really didn’t hear anything. But the word has been used in so many ways that it’s far more harmful. [than] The way we use. I’m not saying it’s any less harmful, but we are aware of our use.

Did you do anything on set, for example, limit the use of racial slurs, to protect the crew and cast?

Official: Acting is a job. it’s a craft, but actors are still real people. Everyone has their own experience with this word. For me on set, I have to protect the black actors around me who understand the word and make sure they’re supported. That’s how the word is used. We’ve used it since the end of black slavery and when they were still in indentured servitude. We played for realism and that was a choice.

Goalkeeper Produced in the context of the Canadian television industry’s push for greater diversity and inclusion. How will season two accelerate that goal?

morals: The breadth of the series really covers the actual process of making the connection for so many years. Season two allows us to travel through this story, this mystery. We’ve had so many pages of Canadian history that aren’t credited to black people. Season two covers edited chapters of Canadian history, but we hope viewers will engage with the characters. And like any other series, you’re so attached and connected with Zeke, Junior and Marlene that many viewers will come back to see what happens to them, people who love them or hate them, and want to know more and what the next chapter is.

Official: The meaning of the second season is twofold: we are creating a new chapter, a space for storytelling in this country. Depending on the commercial sensitivity, the development and growth of the show, and the talent that emerges through the production, this is what will fill the experience gap. I hope this allows actors, writers, directors and creatives to develop their skills so they can work in this industry. For people who have worked at other jobs and shows, the idea of ​​developing a show that has a second and third season allows them to branch out. You need a program that allows that, where people trust the broadcasters.

Does the request for a second season allow for a quick follow-up to the first season to more easily develop and nurture Black Canadian creators, rather than people having to wait three, five, or even more years between storytelling opportunities?

morals: We really want to be in a place where the history of diversity is common practice in our industry. So it’s important to be the first to fix what has been an uneven playing field for so long. We want to have more diverse half-hours, more diverse science fiction, in all genres and abilities. [and have] The frequency of these news becomes more stable and constant. More doors open to closed avenues. So yes, it’s hard when you’re doing regular work, and it’s a big shift towards diversity, inclusion, training and opportunity in all its forms.