By George
George F. Walker’s new TV show is about vigilante cops determined to clean up their neighbourhood. Will the master of dark comedy triumph again? By Stéphanie Verge
Image credit: Ken Woroner
Ten years ago, playwright George F. Walker boldly abandoned a prolific theatre career—nine Chalmers Awards, five Doras, two Governor General’s Awards and the Order of Canada—for one in television. His first foray, the courtroom series This Is Wonderland, had a devoted following but was dropped by the CBC in 2006 after three seasons, a decision that soured him on network TV. The Line, his gritty new dramedy made for the Movie Network and Movie Central, follows a pair of rule-breaking cops flirting with disaster and out to raise a little hell. All sex, drugs and moral ambiguity, it’s pure cable.
You’ve had a lot of different jobs. You were a cabbie before you were a playwright. And before that, you were a cop. I was on the force for a year when I was 17. Thank God they didn’t let you become a full-fledged police officer until you were 21. I was just a baby.
The Line is about renegade cops who favour questionable methods. Was this some sort of wish fulfillment for you? Everybody’s fascinated by vigilantism. We fear that that’s the way the world is going to go, and maybe we also hope that it will go that way and simplify things.
How do you think cops will react to the show? They’ll be appalled. They have to say “That’s not how we operate,” but c’mon. When I was a cadet, I saw one guy use his handcuffs as brass knuckles. He was the exception, but he still existed. The show isn’t set on Mars.
A lot of the filming took place in Scarborough. It’s not a location we frequently see on TV. In some of the areas where we filmed, we were surrounded by gangs, and there were shootings all the time. We’d often go to work and find the streets blocked off. This stuff is taking place there, but it’s also taking place all over North America. It’s universal.
Most of the cast is Canadian, but Ed Asner is one of the guest stars. Are you a secret Mary Tyler Moore fan? Are you kidding? I’m not even secret. He would tell stories and I would just melt. I actually found myself crying at one point. I mean, it’s Lou Grant!
The Line premieres on the Movie Network on March 16.
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