Ryan Robbins, Alex Paxton-Beesley, AJ Buckley, Peter Outerbridge and Rosie Perez to Star in CBC Drama PURE

CBC, Two East Productions and Cineflix Media Inc. today announced casting details for the highly anticipated dramatic series PURE (6×60), about a Mennonite pastor battling drug trafficking within his community. 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). Commissioned by CBC and produced by Two East Productions and Cineflix Media, PURE is shooting in Nova Scotia until mid-November and will premiere on CBC in winter 2017.

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, programming, CBC Television. “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, Two East Productions.

“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, Cineflix Media.

Commissioned by CBC and produced by Two East Productions and Cineflix, PURE is created and written by Michael Amo (The Listener) and directed by Ken Girotti (Orphan Black, Vikings). The executive producers are Amo, Brett Burlock, Peter Emerson, Girotti and David MacLeod (Call Me Fitz, Haven). Cineflix Rights has the exclusive worldwide distribution rights to PURE.

About Two East Productions
Two East Productions Inc. is a Canadian independent film and television production company based in Nova Scotia, Canada. Formed in 2008 by the award-winning writer-producer team of Michael Amo and David MacLeod, Two East’s mandate is to create ambitious and entertaining drama for an international audience.

About Cineflix Media Inc.
Cineflix Media creates, produces, and distributes popular factual and scripted content for the global market with operations in Montreal, Toronto, New York, London, and Dublin. Producing approximately 200 hours of internationally appealing programming per year across a wide range of genres, and with a growing catalogue of 4,500 hours, Cineflix is behind some of the most highly rated TV brands.

About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. We are Canada’s trusted source of news, information and Canadian entertainment. Deeply rooted in communities all across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also provide international news and information from a uniquely Canadian perspective.

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For more information, please contact:

Tanya Koivusalo, CBC 416-205-6863, tanya.koivusalo@cbc.ca 
Vanessa Marra, Cineflix Media Inc. 514-278-3140, vmarra@cineflix.com
Anne-Marie LaPointe, Unit Publicist 902-300-0048, alapointe@eastlink.ca