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Being Human (North American TV series)

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Being Human
Title card
Genre
Based onBeing Human
by Toby Whithouse
Developed by
Starring
ComposerFM Le Sieur
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes52 (list of episodes)
Production
Production locationsMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Running time43 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseJanuary 17, 2011 (2011-01-17) –
April 7, 2014 (2014-04-07)
Related
Being Human (British TV series)

Being Human is a supernatural drama television series, based on the BBC series of the same name. It followed the same premise as the original, and starred Sam Huntington, Sam Witwer and Meaghan Rath as a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost, respectively, who live together as roommates.

The show aired its first episode on January 17, 2011. It came to a close on April 7, 2014.

Unlike the BBC series which had experienced various cast changes throughout its run, the North American series has maintained its cast members playing the supernatural roommates through its entire run.

Plot

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Three roommates seemingly in their twenties each try to keep a secret from the rest of the world. Aidan (Sam Witwer) is a 200-year-old vampire, Josh (Sam Huntington) is a werewolf, and Sally (Meaghan Rath) is a ghost. The three try to help one another navigate the complexities of living double lives while trying to figure out their own at the same time.

Episodes

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Main article: List of Being Human (North American TV series) episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
113January 17, 2011 (2011-01-17)April 11, 2011 (2011-04-11)
213January 16, 2012 (2012-01-16)April 9, 2012 (2012-04-09)
313January 14, 2013 (2013-01-14)April 8, 2013 (2013-04-08)
413January 13, 2014 (2014-01-13)April 7, 2014 (2014-04-07)

Series summary

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Season 1

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In this season, the first episode opens up with Josh and Aidan moving into an old modern style home which they eventually find out is haunted by a ghost named Sally. They soon become close friends and learn the extremity of their living situation as well as life. By the end of the season the viewers find out just exactly how Aidan came to be a vampire and the background story of Sally's death while also getting a glimpse into Josh's life, as he meets a woman named Nora, with whom he eventually grows a romantic attachment.[3]

Season 2

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After Bishop's death, Aidan has the responsibility of handling all the orphan vampires and managing the vampires of Boston while also realizing his feelings for his old found love interest. During this period of chaos he is faced with trivial decisions that he must answer for, before it is too late. In the meantime, Josh and Nora meet fellow werewolves and go on a dangerous mission to kill Ray (Josh's creator) while Sally fights her inner self and meets her mother again for the first time since she died.[3]

Season 3

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Aidan resurfaces after being buried alive in a coffin and realizes everyone from his vampire family has been swept away. After figuring this out, he too comes face to face with death and has to figure out how to stop it. Nora and Josh meet a young girl and debate how to handle the situation she brings while Liam tries to turn them against Aidan. Sally accidentally runs into someone from her past and has to meet with a witch to try and fix it.[3]

Season 4

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Aidan and Nora make their new home for the moment in a trailer while trying to figure out how to turn Josh back to normal. Aidan learns of a new vampire boss whom he would not expect and tries to convince him otherwise while pursuing his new-found love interest Kat. Nearing the end of the series, Sally comes to terms with her emotions and finally tells a special someone how she truly feels.[3]

Cast and characters

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Main cast

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Main article: List of Being Human (North American TV series) characters

Recurring cast

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  • Sarah Allen as Rebecca Flynt, Aidan's one-night stand, whom he fatally drained of blood in a moment of weakness.
  • Alison Louder as Emily Levison, Josh's sister. She came out of the closet as a lesbian just before Josh was turned into a werewolf and forced to disappear.
  • Gianpaolo Venuta as Danny, Aidan's and Josh's landlord and Sally's ex-fiancé, who may be less friendly and helpful than he appears.
  • Terry Kinney as Heggemann, an ancient vampire and elder of the powerful Dutch clan.
  • Robert Naylor as Stevie Atkins, a ghost friend of Sally's who killed himself in high school.
  • Kyle Schmid as Henry Durham, a vampire created by Aidan during World War I who reappears in present day helping orphan vampires, 80 years after Suren's incident.
  • Susanna Fournier as Zoe Gonzalez, a nurse at the hospital in the newborn ward who has the ability to see ghosts even though she is alive and not a vampire or werewolf. She has the ability to merge ghosts' souls with the newborns as a form of reincarnation as well as merge her subconscious with a ghost's.
  • Natalie Brown as Julia, Josh's ex-fiancée and Aidan's ex-girlfriend. She works at the same hospital as Josh, Aidan, and Nora, and still has feelings for Josh.
  • Amy Aquino as Donna Gilchrist, a witch who works at a soup kitchen.
  • Dusan Dukic as Reaper/Scott, the thing that has been haunting Sally. He has the job of shredding ghosts who have over stayed on Earth.
  • Deena Aziz as "Mother", the head of all the vampires. She is the most powerful vampire in the series and is Suren's biological mother. Mother also made Suren a vampire.
  • Pat Kiely as Nick Fenn, a ghost and old collegemate of Sally's.
  • Jesse Rath as Robbie Malik, Sally's younger brother.
  • Connor Price as Kenny, a vampire who, turned by Aiden, who becomes the leader of the vampire community in Boston.
  • Rhiannon Moller-Trotter as Jackie, Emily's girlfriend who falls down during a 'shrooming accident and ends up in the hospital.
  • Bobby Campo as Max (season 3), an employee at the Howell & Holt funeral home.

Directors

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  • Toby Whithouse is an English actor, stand-up comedian and screenwriter. His highest-profile work has been the creation of the BBC Three supernatural television series Being Human. He also appeared in the film version Bridget Jones Diary in 2001 as Alistair.
  • Jeremy Carver is an American television writer and producer best known for his work on The CW series Supernatural, and as the co-developer of the North American version of Being Human and television adaption of the film Frequency.
  • Anne Fricke is an American television writer and producer best known for her work on shows like Dawson's Creek, Everwood, Men in Trees and Privileged and as the co-creator of the North American version of Being Human.
Toby Whithouse

Production and development

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On June 28, 2010, Entertainment Weekly reported that actor Sam Witwer had signed on to play the vampire in the remake, and Meaghan Rath had signed to play the ghost with Sam Huntington close to a deal to play the werewolf.[4] On July 7, 2010, it was announced that Lost and Supernatural alumnus Mark Pellegrino would be joining the cast as "Aidan's charismatic but menacing mentor Bishop".[5]

On March 17, 2011, Syfy announced that they would be ordering a second season of its new drama series,[6] slated to begin airing January 16, 2012.[citation needed]

On June 29, 2011, Variety reported that actress Dichen Lachman had signed on as a regular to play a reclusive vampire in season two.[7]

Husband-and-wife team Jeremy Carver and Anna Fricke were tasked with adapting the British series for North American television.[1] Carver said that he and Fricke hoped "to use elements of the original series while reimagining a series all of our own. I think that starts with many of the new characters and storylines that we created. I think you're going to see a show that gives a very nice nod to the original version."[8] Carver and Fricke said they intended to retain the original program's dark and morally ambiguous qualities.[9]

Being Human Cast at the Wizard World Toronto 2012

The first 13-episode season roughly follows the narrative arc of season one of the British original;[9][10] however, the British version was only six episodes, so the North American program developed new stories and arcs to fill out the story line enough for 13 episodes.[9][10] Some similar elements were also developed in a different manner; Carver said, "We explore these moments and what the characters experienced in the British version and say to the writers, 'What if we do this differently?"[10] However, elements of the directorial style of the first two episodes followed the original pilot and first regular episode of the UK series, in some cases shot-for-shot.[11]

One explicit tribute to the British series is the name of the vampire, Aidan; the character is named after Irish actor Aidan Turner, who played the vampire Mitchell in the original series.[12] The other main characters in the North American version at first appear to correspond to their British counterparts (werewolves Josh and George, ghosts Sally and Annie, vampire leaders Bishop and Herrick),[11] but actor Sam Witwer was keen to stress the differences between the characters in the two programs: "These are not the same characters.... There are a lot of similarities, but for example, Bishop is not Herrick. Not in the slightest. He's not the same guy."[12]

The North American series' writers, and actors, had avoided watching the British second series when it aired on BBC America[10] until after they had finished filming their (North American) first season. Witwer told an interviewer that he had watched only the first episode, and avoided watching any more in order to avoid subconsciously mimicking Irish actor Aidan Turner's performance.[12] At the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con Being Human panel, the actors confirmed that since finishing filming the first season they had finally caught up with watching the British series, but that the writers would deliberately maintain their policy of not watching anything beyond the first series of the British Being Human, in order to ensure the North American series developed down different paths as they moved into the second season.[13]

On February 8, 2012, Syfy announced that they would be ordering a third season of the drama series.[14] set to premiere on January 14, 2013.[15]

On April 10, 2013, Syfy announced that they were renewing Being Human for a fourth, with 13 episodes set to air.[16]

Reception

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According to Bill Gorman from the website TV by the Numbers, season one's premiere episodes of Being Human averaged 1.8 million viewers, making it Syfy's most successful winter season scripted series launch since 2005. "Through its first nine weeks on Syfy, and including repeat broadcasts, Being Human [was] seen by 19.1 million total unique viewers."[17]

Notably, the show's audience was as high as 52% female during the second season, a first for the SyFy network.[18]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref
2011 Directors Guild of Canada Awards Best Production Design - Television Series Zoe Sakellaropoulo Won [19]
Gemini Awards Best Achievement in Make-Up Erik Gosselin, Emilie Gauthier Nominated [20]
Best Direction in a Dramatic Series Paolo Barzman Nominated
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role Sam Witwer Nominated
Best Picture Editing in a Dramatic Program or Series Simon Webb Nominated
Best Visual Effects Catherine Hébert, Jonathan Laborde, Benoît Brière, Philippe Sylvain, Raphaël Hubert, Marie-Ève Bédard-Tremblay, Carl Gagnon, Jean-Francois Lafleur, Pierre-Simon Lebrun-Chaput, Mario Rachiele Nominated
2012 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards Top Television Series FM Le Sieur Won [21]
Directors Guild of Canada Awards Best Production Design - Television Series Zoe Sakellaropoulo Nominated [22]
Saturn Awards Best Youth-Oriented Series on Television Nominated [23]
SFX Awards Best New TV Show Jeremy Carver, Anna Fricke Nominated [24]
2013 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Series - Recurring Young Actor Robert Naylor Nominated [25]
Canadian Screen Awards Best Achievement in Make-Up Erik Gosselin, Emilie Gauthier Won [20]
Best Visual Effects Maxime Entringer, Marie- Eve Bedard Tremblay, Cynthia Carrier, David Raymond, Aelis Heraud, Jean-Francois Lafleur, Pierre-Simon Lebrun-Chaput, Vanessa Delarosbil, Gabriel Morin, Dominic Marcotte Nominated
2014 Best Achievement in Make-Up Edwina Voda, Erik Gosselin Won
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role Sam Huntington Nominated
Best Visual Effects Aélis Héraud, Benoit Brière, Élaine Phaneuf, Gabriel Morin, Marc-André Poulin, Marie-Ève Bédard-Tremblay, Maxime Entringer, Michael Beaulac, Pierre-Simon Lebrun-Chaput, Vanessa Delarosbil Nominated
2015 Best Achievement in Make-Up Edwina Voda, Erik Gosselin Nominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role Meaghan Rath Nominated
Best Visual Effects Michael Beaulac, Marie-Eve Bedard-Tremblay, Benoit Brière, Vanessa Delarosbil, Maxime Entringer, Gabriele Gennaro, Pierre-Simon Lebrun-Chaput, Jonathan Legris, Élaine Phaneuf, Antoine Rouleau Nominated
ACTRA Awards (Montreal) Outstanding Female Performance Meaghan Rath Won [26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Sullivan, Brian Ford (January 10, 2010). "Syfy Gives Target Dates for 2010". The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  2. ^ "Zodiak Rights — Being Human USA". Zodiak Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d Being Human (TV Series 2011–2014), retrieved April 11, 2018
  4. ^ Ausiello, Michael (June 28, 2010). "'Smallville' baddie joins Syfy's 'Being Human' remake". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 1, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  5. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 7, 2010). "Patrick J. Adams To Star In 'A Legal Mind'; Mark Pellegrino Joins 'Being Human'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 16, 2010. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  6. ^ "Syfy renews Being Human for second season". Entertainment Weekly (Press release). March 17, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  7. ^ "'Being Human' adds Lachman to cast". Variety. June 29, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  8. ^ Hatala, Josh (January 14, 2011). "Q&A with Being Human's Sam Huntington, Meaghan Rath, Jeremy Carver and Anna Fricke". Poptimal. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  9. ^ a b c Abrams, Natalie (January 17, 2011). "Syfy's Being Human Remake Won't Be Watered Down". TV Guide. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  10. ^ a b c d O'Connell, Mikey (January 13, 2011). "Syfy's 'Being Human' cast and crew haven't really watched British version". Zap2it. Archived from the original on February 3, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  11. ^ a b Keng, Diana (January 18, 2011). "American 'Being Human' Strives for Individuality, Retains Humor". CinemaSpy. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  12. ^ a b c Radish, Christina (January 18, 2011). "Sam Witwer Interview Being Human". Collider.com. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  13. ^ San Diego Comic Con 2011 Being Human panel, filmed for and included with the Being Human Season 1 DVD extras.
  14. ^ "Being Human for a third season by SyFy". TV by the Numbers (Press release). Zap2it. February 8, 2012. Archived from the original on April 11, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  15. ^ On April 8th, 2013, SyFy announced that they would be ordering a fourth season of the drama series."'Being Human' Season 3 to Premiere Monday, January 14 on Syfy". TV By the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 30, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  16. ^ Ausiello, Michael (April 10, 2013). "Being Human Renewed: Syfy Orders Season 4". TVLine. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  17. ^ "NBC renews 'Community,' 'Parks & Rec,' 'The Office;' Syfy keeps 'Bein…". Archived from the original on June 29, 2013.
  18. ^ "SyFy Renews Being Human for Second Season" (Press release). NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  19. ^ "'Barney's Version' among 2011 Directors Guild of Canada Awards Nominees - Jolt Left". joltleft.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  20. ^ a b "Awards Database". academy.ca. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  21. ^ "ASCAP Honors Top Film & TV Music Composers at 27th Annual Awards Celebration". www.ascap.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  22. ^ "2012 Directors Guild of Canada Awards nominees announced". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  23. ^ "'Hugo,' 'Harry Potter' Top Saturn Award Nominees". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 12, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  24. ^ "List of winners from the SFX 2012 awards". Hypable. February 6, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  25. ^ "34th Annual Young Artist Awards - Nominations / Special Awards". youngartistawards.org. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  26. ^ "ACTRA Montreal – 2015 ACTRA Awards in Montreal nominees announced". www.actramontreal.ca. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
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