Pure (Canadian TV series)

Pure is a Canadian television drama series that first aired on CBC Television in January and February 2017,^[1] and subsequently on Super Channel. The show stars Ryan Robbins as Noah Funk, a Mennonite pastor working undercover within an organized crime network in order to clean up a drug trafficking problem in his community.^[2] The show also stars A. J. Buckley, Peter Outerbridge, Alex Paxton-Beesley, and Rosie Perez.^[3]

Pure
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Michael Amo
Directed by	Ken Girotti
Starring	Ryan Robbins A. J. Buckley Peter Outerbridge Rosie Perez
Country of origin	Canada
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	12
Production
Production companies	Two East Production Cineflix
Original release
Network	CBC Television (season 1) Super Channel (season 2)
Release	January 9, 2017 (2017-01-09) – July 2, 2019 (2019-07-02)

Pure is produced by Two East Productions and Cineflix Media^[4] and is directed by Ken Girotti.^[5]

Showrunner Michael Amo stated that he pitched the show to television networks in the 2000s but "didn't get any takers".^[4] It is inspired by the operations of a Mennonite organized crime ring that smuggled cocaine and marijuana from Mexico to Canada and the United States.^[4][6]

The series premiere was watched by 858,000 Canadian viewers.^[7] On April 12, 2017, the show was picked up by Hulu in the United States.^[8] WGN America acquired the US television rights to the series in August 2017.^[9]

Initially, Pure was not renewed for a second season;^[10][11] however, in April 2018 the show was picked up by Super Channel, CBC, Hulu, and WGN America for a season two with six episodes, set to premiere in 2019.^[12][13] The series is scheduled to debut on WGN America on May 28, 2019.^[14]

In June 2018, Super Channel announced that actors Alyson Hannigan, Christopher Heyerdahl, Zoie Palmer, and Victor Gomez were joining the production for Season 2.^[15][16]

Cast

The cast includes:^{[4][5][6][17][16]}

• Ryan Robbins as Noah Funk, a pastor
• Alex Paxton-Beesley as Anna Funk, his wife
• Gord Rand as Abel Funk, his brother
• Dylan Everett as Isaac Funk, his son
• Jessica Clement as Tina Funk, his daughter

• A. J. Buckley as Bronco Novak, a police detective
• Peter Outerbridge as Eli Voss, a gang leader
• Rosie Perez as Phoebe O'Reilly, a DEA agent
• Alyson Hannigan as Esther Dunkel
• Christopher Heyerdahl as Augustus Nickel
• Zoie Palmer as Valerie Krochack
• Alex Crowther as Johan Fehr

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	6		January 9, 2017 (2017-01-09)	February 13, 2017 (2017-02-13)
2	6		May 28, 2019 (2019-05-28)	July 2, 2019 (2019-07-02)

Season 1 (2017)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Canada viewers (millions)
1	1	"Ordination"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	January 9, 2017 (2017-01-09)	1.021[18]
2	2	"The Singing"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	January 16, 2017 (2017-01-16)	N/A
Having agreed to accept a shipment of drugs from Mexican gang boss Eli Voss, Pastor Noah faces a crisis when the shipment is lost.
3	3	"As One"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	January 23, 2017 (2017-01-23)	N/A
With the drugs not easily accessed, Pastor Noah turns to a group of buyers led by Crowbar for help - but is unable to promise them 25% off the drugs as they demand. Meanwhile police detective Bronco re-asserts himself, demanding a fourth call on Noah's allegiance. Noah's son announces his intention to seek baptism.
4	4	"Funeral"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	January 30, 2017 (2017-01-30)	N/A
With substantially more dead bodies than foreseen, Noah strives to face the enormity of his own place in the crime gang even with his good intentions; meanwhile his wife has chosen a path to intimidate a local community member that brings down new sin on the enterprise.
5	5	"Communion"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	February 6, 2017 (2017-02-06)	N/A
6	6	"Baptism"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	February 13, 2017 (2017-02-13)	N/A

Season 2 (2019)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	U.S. viewers (millions)
7	1	"Excommunication"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	May 28, 2019 (2019-05-28)	0.241[19]
8	2	"Faspa"	Ken Girotti	Andrew Wreggitt	June 4, 2019 (2019-06-04)	0.219[20]
9	3	"Return of the Lamb"	T.W. Peacocke	Waneta Storms	June 11, 2019 (2019-06-11)	0.107[21]
10	4	"The Proposal"	T.W. Peacocke	Michael Amo	June 18, 2019 (2019-06-18)	0.166[22]
11	5	"Penance"	Ken Girotti	Andrew Wreggitt	June 25, 2019 (2019-06-25)	0.195[23]
12	6	"Wedding"	Ken Girotti	Michael Amo	July 2, 2019 (2019-07-02)	0.194[24]

Setting

Though filmed in Nova Scotia, Pure is set in a fictional town called Antioch in southern Ontario, and during the first season, it also included the U.S. state of Texas and the Mexican state of Chihuahua.^[17]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref
2017	ACTRA Maritimes Award	Outstanding Male Actor in a Supporting Role	Gary Levert	Nominated	[25]
	Directors Guild of Canada Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series	Ken Girotti (episode: "Ordination")	Nominated	[26]
2018	Canadian Screen Awards	Best Dramatic Series	Pure	Nominated	[27]
		Best Direction, Drama Series	Ken Girotti (episode: "Ordination")	Nominated
		Best Original Music, Fiction	Jonathan Goldsmith (episode: "Ordination")	Nominated
	Screen Nova Scotia Awards	Best TV Series	Pure	Won	[28]