(September 29, 1998 - Halifax and Montreal) - Hailed by critics and loved by audiences, Emily of New Moon returns for its second season on CBC-TV Sundays at 7:00pm starting October 4th. Emily of New Moon has been nominated for 10 Gemini Awards including Best Dramatic Series, Best Performance by an Actress (Sheila McCarthy), Best Performance by an Actor (Stephen McHattie), Best Performance by a Supporting Actress (Jessica Pellerin), Best Performance by a Supporting Actor (Kris Lemche) and Best Writing (Marlene Matthews).
Filmed on Prince Edward Island and based on the books of Lucy Maud Montgomery, Emily of New Moon stars 13 year-old Martha MacIsaac as Emily, Sheila McCarthy as Aunt Laura, Stephen McHattie as Cousin Jimmy and Jessica Pellerin as Emily's best friend Ilse.
Joining the cast this season, as Emily's great uncle Malcolm Murray, is the illustrious stage and film actor John Neville. Mr. Neville, a Member of the Order of the British Empire, has left his elegant stamp on the landscape of Canadian theatre. He has served as Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival (1986-89), the Neptune Theatre (Halifax, 1978-83) and the Citadel Theatre (Edmonton, 1973-78). He has played at the National Theatre of Great Britain, the Haymarket Theatre, the Lyric Theatre and on Broadway in roles as diverse as Coriolanus and Henry Higgins. His extensive film and television credits include Billy Budd, The First Churchills, The Grand, Little Women and Regeneration. Mr. Neville has attracted a whole new generation of fans with his morally-conflicted X-Files character Well-Manicured Man.
Also joining the cast is Linda Thorson. Perhaps best known internationally for her role as "Tara King" in the television series The New Avengers, Linda Thorson has extensive theatre, film and television credits in Canada, England and the United States. Raised in Canada and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Ms. Thorson has appeared in London's The West End, at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Old Vic. She has appeared on Broadway in, among others, Steaming, for which she won the Theatre World Award; Noises Off, (the play took the Drama Desk Award). Her most recent film The Other Sister, directed by Garry Marshall with Diane Keaton and Tom Skerritt, will be released in the Fall, 1998. Her most recent television movie, Mind Prey with Eriq La Salle, is scheduled by NBC for the 1998 Fall/Winter sweeps.
Continuing stars in the second season include Richard Donat (Dr. Burnley), Peter Donaldson (Ian Bowles) and Kris Lemche (Perry Miller). Guest stars include Martha Henry, William Hutt, Greg Malone and Mary Walsh.
Emily of New Moon's highly-acclaimed directors include Don McBrearty, Michael Kennedy, Bruce MacDonald and Giles Walker. The series' senior producer is Marlene Matthews. Executive producers are Michael Donovan, Micheline Charest and Ronald A. Weinberg.
Emily of New Moon, a 26 one-hour series, is co-produced by Salter Street Films (Halifax) and CINAR Films (Montreal) in association with WIC Entertainment, a WIC International Communications Company.
Salter Street Films Limited (TSE:SSF) is an integrated entertainment company that develops, produces and distributes original film and television programming. Salter Street's television programs include the award-winning top-rated comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes, the family series Emily of New Moon (a co-production with CINAR Films Inc.) and the science fiction series LEXX (a co-production with TiMe Medienvertriebs GmbH, Germany).
CINAR Films Inc. is an integrated entertainment company involved in the development, production, post-production and worldwide distribution of non-violent, quality programming and educational products for children and families. CINAR's original productions include: the Emmy® Award-winning ARTHUR™ (with WGBH Boston), The Busy World of Richard, Scarry™, Are You Afraid of the Dark?™, Wimzie's House™ and Lassie™, as well as mini-series and family films, which are seen in over 150 countries, CINAR has expanded into the educational market with the creation of CINAR Education and the acquisition of Carson-Dellosa Publishing and HighReach Learning, two highly regarded U.S. educational publishers.
From Salter Street Films website.
