Falcon Beach filming again in Manitoba*

WINNIPEG - OK, everybody back to the beach. The cast of Global teen soap Falcon Beach kicked off another summer of sand, sun and secrets on the first day of shooting at Winnipeg Beach yesterday. The water was cold, but the second season of Manitoba's first adult drama series promises to be hot, with more romantic twists, domestic warfare and a few new cast members to spice up cottage life.

Actor Steve Byers, who plays wakeboarding jock Jason Tanner, says there are more revelations about Jason's presumed-dead father. And his on-again, off-again romance with rich girl Paige Bradshaw (Jennifer Kydd) gets more complicated. That's probably thanks to a new rich girl in town, but Byers isn't spilling details.

"I don't want to give too much away, but there's a relationship struggle," he says, adding the constant conflict with Paige keeps the relationship edgy. "I think that's part of what makes it intriguing -- but there are rewards for the audience," he hints.

Byers, who shot a thriller in Germany and a slasher flick in Ontario between seasons, says he felt nostalgic when he returned to Winnipeg Beach.

"It's funny because I have a cottage in Ontario and I haven't been there for three years now because I've been in Winnipeg."

Returning is a real homecoming for former Winnipegger Melissa Elias, who now lives in Los Angeles. Her character, perky lifeguard Erin, was pregnant when she and boyfriend Danny (Ephraim Ellis) left the fictional town of Falcon Beach last fall. But nine months have passed in real time and on the show, which covers one summer from May to September each season, and there's no baby in sight.

"I can't tell you what happens," Elias says. "(But) It's absolutely astounding to me what they've done to my character."

The plot twists aren't the only changes in the series from Winnipeg's Original Pictures and Toronto's Insight Productions (Canadian Idol). The scripts have been punched up, with wittier dialogue and more action per episode.

"We had a pretty good wit quotient last year, but it's good to kick it up," says Ellis, who studies philosophy and English at the University of Toronto between seasons.

Producer John Murray says Peter Lauterman (North of 60) has signed on as head writer for the show, which airs on cablenet ABC Family in the U.S. and has been sold to the BBC and broadcasters in about 20 other countries.

"The genre is appealing," Murray says. "I call it a beach show but it's really a relationship drama with young people."

Young people and their troubled parents, who have a whole mess of romantic entanglements themselves. Having evicted his ex-wife Ginny (Allison Hossack) from the family cottage, Paige's father sets up a resort realty business in Falcon Beach this summer. And there may be scandal afoot after Paige invites a big-city journalist (Jay Brazeau) to check out the business.

Former Winnipegger Brazeau (Strike!) turns out to be a lecher with a nose for dirt. But, hey, if he wants to rake up mud, he's come to the right place.

*From The Winnipeg Sun – June 21st, 2006

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