When CBC airs the first episode of new police drama Cracked on Jan. 8, its execs will be looking at the ratings very closely. They’ll be taking an interest because, in the face of a $115 million cut to the CBC’s budget, Cracked is the only new series in the corporation’s repeat-heavy winter lineup.
With CBC in all-out austerity mode and looking to get as many viewers as possible for the loonies it has left, the pressure is on for the new drama series to perform. And much of that pressure will fall on the shoulders of Calum de Hartog, the series’ rookie creator.
Cracked is de Hartog’s first network TV series, but he doesn’t seem to be feeling the pressure as he chats breezily about the trials and tribulations of launching a new prime-time drama. Perhaps that’s because he is doing it on the side of a day job that is arguably more stressful still: de Hartog works on the SWAT-like team of Toronto Police Service: Emergency Task Force (ETF), which is the team that handles some of the city’s most dangerous situations. (De Hartog is a bit evasive about what they do exactly, but a training schedule published on the force’s website includes such courses as “Hostage Rescue” and “Urban Sniper Operations.”)
It was some of his experiences as a police officer that helped de Hartog form the idea for Cracked. The 13-part series follows Aidan Black (portrayed by David Sutcliffe, of Gilmore Girls fame), a seasoned detective suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Black is paired with a psychiatrist, Dr. Daniella Ridley (NCIS’s Stefanie von Pfetten), and together they lead the fictitious Psych Crimes Unit.
“The CBC found it an unusual take on a police drama because it couples psychology with a fast police procedural,” says 35-year-old de Hartog, explaining why the corporation was keen to air the show.
The series, which wrapped production in December, took six months to shoot. It was an exciting time for de Hartog, as he saw his vision take shape on the screen, but it was also a challenging one.
“I was in the writers’ room a lot,” he says. “I tried to be there as much as I could while balancing the need to be well rested and alert for my normal job.”
The show is co-created by Tracey Forbes (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Flashpoint), but several of the characters and ideas in the show were inspired by de Hartog’s 12 years in policing. Having started as an officer in Parkdale and Regent Park in 1999 before moving into criminal investigations, de Hartog has a wealth of experiences from which to draw. He denies, though, that the characters are based on any real acquaintances in particular, saying that they are composites of many different people he knows with a lot of imagination thrown in.
“Creating a dialogue about mental health issues is important.”
And while de Hartog is conscious about trying to give the show an authentic feeling, the drama and story come first. “We aren’t making a documentary,” he says.
In the fall, the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder among officers came to the fore when a watchdog criticized the Ontario Provincial Police for failing to support officers suffering from the condition. De Hartog won’t be drawn out on whether PTSD is a serious problem in police forces but says he hopes the series at least creates a way for people to talk about it. “Creating a dialogue about mental health awareness and issues is important,” he says.
Although Cracked is de Hartog’s biggest project to date, he has been making films since he was a boy growing up in Ottawa. “I have always loved storytelling,” he says, “but I came from a small town and, in the ’80s, there just wasn’t any film industry there.”
After a stint living in Vancouver, de Hartog moved to Toronto in 1999 to take up his job with the police. Though he has moved around the city, he now lives in Leslieville and, given Toronto’s position as a major location for shooting films and TV shows, he says there are many creative people around to keep him inspired.
“There’s just such a range in the industry here,” he says.
The CBC picked up his show after de Hartog was introduced to Susan Morgan, its former head of drama, by a friend of a friend. Morgan helped de Hartog develop the show and get a production company on board before pitching it to the network. The CBC, knowing the popularity of police shows and on the lookout at the time for one with an original twist, snapped up the show.
In addition to his work on Cracked, de Hartog is currently working with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way company to develop Running Out of Dog, a Vietnam-era short story that de Hartog is hoping to turn into a feature film.
If you believe in karma, you may see de Hartog’s lucky break as payoff for another of his ventures: the City Life Film Project. Three years ago, de Hartog helped found the organization, which mentors youth from inner-city and underprivileged neighbourhoods in the art of filmmaking. In areas where up to 30 per cent of kids won’t graduate high school, City Life exposes the youngsters to real elements of filmmaking, giving them both skills they can use in the future and a voice to express themselves in the present moment.
“It is a really cool way of hearing these stories and creating a dialogue between police and these youth,” says de Hartog.
In February, City Life will be holding an awards ceremony at TIFF Bell Lightbox to highlight some of the project’s most exciting young talents. De Hartog says that the stories onscreen will showcase a range of styles and ideas, but many will reflect life growing up in some of Toronto’s toughest ’hoods.
“Most of the films are deeply personal,” says de Hartog. “They are about the makers’ life experiences, and it is just beautiful to see them come to life onscreen.”
Cracked airs Jan. 8 at 9 p.m. on CBC.
