Late last month, Kandyse McClure won a 2024 UBCP/ACTRA Award for her work as fearless firefighter Kaia Bryant on Netflix’s wildly popular dramatic serial Virgin River. Audiences first met Kaia early on in season five, when she delivers a baby on the side of a mountain with Mel and Cameron consulting over FaceTime. From the jump, it’s clear that Kaia is an alpha woman: she’s confident, shoots back sipping tequila, and goes after what she wants, which by the end of that first episode is Preacher, played by Colin Lawrence – and the fact that she has a douche-canoe of an estranged husband and a high-octane career aren’t going to hold her back from getting what she wants. As season five ends, Kaia is Virgin River’s new fire chief, and Kaia and Preacher are building something new together. Things would be perfect if it weren’t for the fact that the body of an abusive asshole that Preacher buried seasons before in order to help Paige has just been unearthed. What does this blast from the past mean for Kaia and Preacher? We’ll get closer to some answers to this and many other questions when Virgin River returns for its highly anticipated sixth season on December 19. In this fascinating interview, Kandyse dishes on what she learned about fighting fires from the pros, where Kaia ends and Kandyse begins, her Virgin River scene partner Colin Lawrence, and that fan-favourite leap over the bar. Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA

Powerhouse actress Sharon Taylor swings by the YVR Screen Scene Podcast to talk about her role on Cross, the number one Amazon Prime series in the world. Cross stars Aldis Hodge as the famous detective from James Patterson’s books and, later, films starring Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry – but this is not your grandparents’ Alex Cross. Yes, this Alex Cross, like the Alex Crosses of yore, uses forensic psychology to identify murderers and bring them to justice. But the Alex Cross of 2024 is more of a fully fleshed human being. We see the fullness of his life as a Black man, father, widower, friend, lover, and detective in a white supremacist world upended by the murders of George Floyd and Sandra Bland. Cross on Prime is sexy, dark, addictive, and made even more delicious by the presence of the aforementioned Sharon Taylor. Sharon plays Oracene Massey, Cross’s immediate boss, which is a tough position to be in, because it’s hard to be Cross’ boss sometimes, especially when you’re very pregnant, and there’s a serial killer terrorising your city and your team. In this funny and fascinating conversation between long-time friends, Sharon and Sabrina delve into the joys and beautiful challenges of Sharon’s juicy role in this critically acclaimed thriller. NOTE: Crucial spoiler talk re: Cross occurs between 34:34 and 44:28. If you don’t want to be spoiled, skip ahead! Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA

If you live in Canada, you’re probably familiar with Heritage Minutes. Produced by Historica Canada, these sixty-second short films educate viewers on fascinating or little-known stories from Canada’s history. Dozens of Heritage Minutes have been released since 1991, and many of them are iconic, like “Doctor Penfield, I can smell burnt toast!” and “You never know, it might be worth something someday” and especially “Both of you know I canna read a word.” The latest short film to join the pantheon of iconic Heritage Minutes tells the story of Mary Riter Hamilton, a brave Canadian painter who ventured into No Man’s Land in the aftermath of World War One. She bore witness to the destruction and devastation, painted what she saw, and suffered mentally and physically as a result. The haunting Heritage Minute – which stars Megan Follows (AKA Anne Shirley) as Mary – was written and directed by a Vancouver-based dynamic duo, Hayley Gray and Elad Tzadok, whose previous Heritage Minute told the story of Paldi, one of the most successful multicultural communities in our history. In this fascinating episode, get to know this trailblazing but little-known artist from the first half of the 20th century, as well as the dynamic duo who stepped up to tell her story. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

“If the Ghostbusters and the Scooby-Doo gang got stoned together in Stanley Park and Frankensteined a high-larious single-camera sitcom, it would probably look something like Paranormal Solutions Inc.” That’s how our valiant host Sabrina Rani Furminger opened an article she wrote in 2016 for the Westender newspaper about the first season of Paranormal Solutions Inc., a fabulous series from the funniest people in Vancouver. Eight years later – and nearly 10 years after visiting their set in Gastown where they filmed much of season one – the Paranormal Solutions Inc. gang is back, with season two. This time around, the PSI gang is even funnier, more of a collective hot mess, and getting themselves into even zanier and grosser paranormal situations than in season one, even serving up a delightful smorgasbord of homages to some of our favourite horror properties, from The Blair Witch Project to Halloween to The Shining to Cujo – and, for some reason, there’s also a lot of kale. Paranormal Solutions Inc. stars David Milchard, Julia Benson, Nicholas Carella, Daniel Bacon, Diana Bang, Christina Sicoli, and Matt Clarke, with cameos from local favourites like Sara Canning and Jordan Connor. It’s produced by Tilt 9 Entertainment and executive produced by another long list of our favourites: Milchard, Carella, Clarke, Michelle Ouellet, and Dylan Collingwood. In this rambunctious episode, Sabrina is joined by Nicholas Carella and Matthew Clarke to talk about the how’s and why’s and WTF’s (including the joys and challenges of acting opposite a taxidermied rodent) of this side-splitting horror comedy series. Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA

One of the most deliciously terrifying shows on the planet recently returned for its third season. From – an MGM series that airs on Paramount Plus in Canada – takes place in a town in the middle of America that imprisons everyone who enters. As the residents struggle to maintain a sense of normality and seek a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest. There’s a lot to love about From: how it’s at once a scary show about monsters AND a show about how humans can thrive and crumble under extreme pressure; how it forces us to consider how we would fare in similar circumstances; how it features Vancouver actress Angela Moore in a critical role.

Angela is Bakta, a bus driver who arrives in the cursed town at the helm of a bus of passengers who have no idea the hell they’re about to encounter. Bakta is a wonderful character – a woman who was only working this job to pay off her student loans, and stuck around a bit longer for some extra money – but she’s got nothing on Angela, who is a phenomenal actress and remarkable activist who has worked on behalf of her community for many years. In this compelling interview (which begins with surprise cameo by a crow!), Angela discusses her experiences filming From, her “Actor Origin Story," her own relationship to spooky film and television, and how the industry has (and has not) changed since 2020. Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA

To say that actress Teagan Vincze’s filmography is varied is an understatement. Her lengthy list of credits includes critically acclaimed roles in indie hits – like when she played a compassionate sex worker in Daughter, Anthony Shim’s critically acclaimed first feature that screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival, or when she played a fiery adult film star in The Cannon, a nuanced role for which she was nominated for a Leo Award – as well as nuanced performances in an array of studio and network fare, including Dead Boy Detectives, The Unauthorized Melrose Place Story, and a long and growing list of Christmas movies, including A Cowboy Christmas, where we finally got to see her as the romantic lead . [NOTE: This episode was recorded before it was announced that A Cowboy Christmas will be available to view in Canada on Tubi; check our episode footnotes for more information] . No matter the role or genre, Teagan’s work is fearless, and lifts roles above any cliches. In this compelling and introspective conversation with Sabrina Rani Furminger, Teagan talks about what she’s learned portraying “taboo” roles in multiple screen projects (including Daughter and The Cannon), the importance of intimacy coordinators, and the special magic of her first time as the lead in a holiday rom-com. Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA

In this special episode, Sook-Yin Lee, the iconic radio and TV broadcaster, musician, film director, actress, and trailblazing MuchMusic veejay, and Chester Brown, the acclaimed alternative cartoonist, swing by the YVR Screen Scene Podcast studio to talk about Paying For It. The feature film – which had its premiere in Toronto and screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival – is a live-action adaptation of Chester’s best-selling graphic novel that was inspired by the end of his relationship with Sook-Yin (who, in the film, is represented by a character named Sonny who works as a veejay at MaxMusic). Here's the premise for both the book and the film: In the late 90s, Chester and Sonny are a long-term, committed, romantic couple. When Sonny wants to redefine their relationship, Chester, an introverted cartoonist, starts sleeping with sex workers and, in the process, discovers a new kind of intimacy. “Paying For It: a comic strip memoir about being a john” was adapted for the screen by Sook-Yin and Joanne Sarazen; the film was directed by Sook-Yin and stars Dan Beirne as Chester and Emily Le as Sonny. In this riveting interview, Sook-Yin and Chester speak candidly about their journey to bring this story to the screen, art as activism, and if Canadians are ready to talk about sex work as work.

Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment

Content warning: This episode contains frank and graphic talk about mental health, mental illness, and suicide. If you’re thinking about suicide or are worried about a friend or a loved one, the Suicide Crisis Helpline is available 24/7/365 at 9-8-8. You can also find links to international suicide prevention and mental health support services in the footnotes for this episode at YVRScreenScene.com. You matter. You’re not alone.

In honour of World Mental Health Day on October 10, Sabrina Rani Furminger is joined by Alice Ride from Set Protect, a company with a mission to help the entertainment industry better handle issues of mental health and wellness. Their conversation covers the challenges faced by film workers navigating mental illness in the film and television industry, the importance of authentic on-screen representation of mental health issues, and how to be a good ally to people experiencing poor mental health. Says Sabrina: “We need to do everything we can to ensure we don’t lose anyone else.”

Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment