Archive for the ‘Exclusives’ Category

Cassie let us listen to her new song “Shape-shifter” Let us know what you think!

Plus, Cassie talks about watching younger sister Alex make her ‘Degrassi’ debut: ‘She lights up the screen.’

When Canadian drama The L.A. Complex premieres on The CW, Cassie Steele will have stateside viewers in a permanent state of jaw-on-floor. But while she’s excited for fans to get a taste of what’s next (and believe me, I’ll be gushing over the new drama closer to its April 24 debut) you’ll also be glad to know she’s sticking close to her Degrassi roots. “With the right story line, I’d definitely like to [return],” she tells HollywoodLife.com. “And there have been talks!”

Cassie’s fellow Degrassi grad Lauren Collins recently reprised her role as mean-girl Paige Michalchuk in a webisode, and Cassie says she’s open to doing the same with the iconic Manny Santos.

“It’s really just finding the opportunity for it,” she explains. “I’m not on the show anymore, so it’s not about us anymore, and we really need to capitalize on the new characters — the budding careers these young actors have. It has to suit their story line. So if I have the chance, I’d love to. It’s a really big part of my life, and it’s so great to see these young adults working and being amazing at what they’re doing.”

One of those young adults, of course, is Cassie’s younger sister Alex Steele, who joined Degrassi this year as Tori Santamaria — a boy-stealing, bow-wearing freshman — and Cassie couldn’t be more proud.

“I love watching her,” Cassie says. “I think she lights up the screen; she really worked hard to get that part, and it shows. … She’s a quick learner, she’s professional, she’s fun — she’s just a really sweet girl.”

Alex stopped by our NYC offices back in February — I attached the video interview below — and I can definitely vouch for that sweetness. So don’t be fooled by her cat-fighting Degrassi persona; Cassie assures me that “all the Steeles” have a little cat-fight spirit in them.

The Canadian soap about wannabe stars chasing dreams in Hollywood also airs on The CW stateside.

Canadian broadcaster Bell Media has ordered another 13 episodes of The L.A. Complex from Epitome Pictures.
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The latest order gets the homegrown soap, which also airs on The CW stateside, to 19 episodes in all on Bell Media’s youth-skewing MuchMusic cable channel.

The one-hour series about Canadians chasing the Hollywood dream was first ordered by Bell Media in August 2010, ahead of production in Toronto and Los Angeles in fall 2011.

Production on the next 13 episodes will shortly get underway.

The L.A. Complex was created and is executive produced by Martin Gero, who wrote for HBO’s Bored to Death before returning to Canada to write the homegrown drama tailored for the U.S. market.

The ensemble cast includes Jonathan Patrick Moore (Neighbours) as Connor, an Australian with a dark past, and Cassie Steele (Degrassi) as Abby, a Toronto girl looking to make it far from home.

The L.A. Complex is executive produced by Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn of Epitome Pictures, and Gero.

The Bell Media execs on the project include production executive Trish Williams and Corrie Coe, senior vp of independent production.

Last Tuesday’s episode was all about hook ups and heartbreak on The L.A. Complex. Abby and Nick took their friendship a step further, and Connor’s insecurities at work and with women were explained with a devastating flashback.

Check out Cassie Steele, Joe Dinicol and Jonathan Patrick Moore recap the season thus far and give a sneak peek into where their characters are headed in the final two episodes of Season 1!

Watch a brand new episode of The L.A. Complex Tuesday at 9 pm ET exclusively on MuchMusic. Want more of The L.A. Complex? Click here for photos, episodes, interviews, blogs and more!

Cassie Steele is the star of one of the coolest TV shows right now, The LA Complex. And with that level of cool comes a level of swag. Not everyone is so confident in their favourite ice cream choice, right? I mean is mine mint chocolate chip? Strawberry? Cookies ‘n cream? I can’t decide! Anyways, find out what Cassie’s fave is and a whole bunch of other interesting facts about her in the clip below.

On Tuesday’s brand new episode of The L.A. Complex there was no shortage of OH EM GEE moments. From Abby catching Connor in bed with his co-star to finding out that Connor self-harms, Episode 3 brought the dramz in a big, big way.

For a full recap of the episode click here, but why not find out what Cassie Steele and Jonathan Patrick Moore had to say about their shocking episode as well? Check out their interviews under the jump!

If you want to get the scoop on what’s next in Canadian television, you have to come to L.A.

More and more, with production costs ever rising, Canadian networks are looking to partner up with American broadcasters on content deals both countries can share.

It doesn’t always work. For every Flashpoint you have a couple of Combat Hospitals. That shot-in-Toronto series was the most watched scripted hit in Canada last summer, but when it failed to find an audience on ABC it was shut down, an example of a Canadian hit being cancelled by a U.S. network.

Being on brand may be the key to landing a two-country content deal. A good example is The L.A. Complex, a shot-in-Toronto drama about aspiring young Canadian actors in Hollywood just picked up by The CW network.

“We’re leaving no stone unturned, we’ll look at everything,” says Thom Sherman, head of development at The CW. Sherman says The L.A. Complex was brought to him by CTV and the agency that represents the project for international sales, William Morris Endeavor.

“We loved it,” says Sherman. “It’s an authentic look at people trying to make it in Los Angeles. It was edgy and smart, funny and fresh, and it just felt like a show that belonged on our network.”

The original plan was to air the series in summer, but The CW is so high on The L.A. Complex, which hails from the people behind the Degrassi franchise, the plan now is to put it on after One Tree Hill ends in April or May.