Month: June 2022

“The Lake” begins with the very white, unquestioningly gay Justin (Jordan Gavaris) trying to buy politically correct ice cream for his mixed-race biological daughter, Billie (Madison Shamoun), who was adopted by black parents and identifies accordingly. Chocolate? “Pandering,” he says to himself. Vanilla? “Probably triggering.” Rainbow pops? “Too on the nose.” In the end, no ice cream.

Amazon’s first Canadian original series (June 17) is full of family drama, small-town charm, and lots of laughs. After infidelity causes the end of a long-term relationship, Justin (Jordan Gavaris) heads back home to Canada to reconnect with his life there, including his birth daughter Billie (Madison Shamoun). While he hasn’t spent much time with Billie since she was adopted, they have always known about one another, and their summer at the lake is a chance to connect. “Whether he realizes it or not, he is also reconnecting with some fundamental part of himself from when he was younger, as we do when our adult life blows up,” Gavaris tells EW.

TORONTO – Best known for his scene-stealing comedy chops in “Orphan Black,” actor Jordan Gavaris takes the lead in “The Lake” as a gay man trying to reconnect with the biological daughter he gave up for adoption as a teenager.

Prime Video has set its first scripted Canadian Amazon Original series, The Lake. Jordan Gavaris (Orphan Black), Julia Stiles (Hustlers, The Bourne Identity) and Madison Shamoun (#blackAF, Black-ish) star in the half-hour comedy, produced by Amaze (Carter).

Chuck Tatham, a co-exec producer of CBS sitcom The United States of Al, has teamed with Amaze, the production company behind The Lake, Amazon’s first Canadian scripted series, on a new comedy. Tatham, who has also worked on Modern Family and Central Park, has created Return to Edenview.

Teams from Starstruck, Rutherford Falls and Among the Stars will also speak in Master Class sessions at next month’s Banff World Media Festival.

“What we kind of poke fun at in the show is the gossip and the insular nature of those groups,” said Stiles, who plays Maisey-May, the step-sister.

In The Lake, Justin (Jordan Gavaris) returns from living abroad after a break-up with his long-term partner, in the hope of reconnecting with the biological daughter that he gave up for adoption in his teens.