''The Lake'' is a Canadian

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series created by Julian Doucet for

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

. The series is Amazon's first scripted Canadian Amazon Original series, and premiered on June 17, 2022. In advance of the official series premiere, the first two episodes received a preview screening at the 2022

Inside Out Film and Video Festival Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...

. In July 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on June 9, 2023.

Premise

After returning from abroad following a break-up with his long-term partner, Justin plans to connect with his teenage daughter he gave up for adoption. His plans to make new memories with his daughter at the family cottage go awry when he discovers his parents left it to his picture-perfect step-sister, Maisy-May.

Cast

Jordan Gavaris Jordan James Gavaris (born September 25, 1989) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Felix Dawkins in the BBC America and Space television series ''Orphan Black'' (2013–2017). He is the lead in '' The Lake'' opposite Julia St ...

as Justin, a gay man returning from abroad to reconnect with his birth daughter Billie. In an effort to bond with Billie, Justin brings her to the lake where he spent most of his childhood summers. *

Julia Stiles Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role in ''I'' ''Love Yo ...

as Maisy-May: Justin's picture-perfect step-sister. Conniving and ambitious, Maisy inherited the family's lake cabin from her stepfather, much to Justin's surprise and dismay. * Madison Shamoun as Billie: Justin's city-loving teenage birth daughter whom he gave up for adoption. Billie is mixed race as her mother is a Black woman and her father white. * Jared Scott as Killian (season 1), Maisy and Victor's eldest son and love interest of Billie. Like Billie, Killian is mixed race and has some understanding of what it feels like to be an outsider. *

Terry Chen Terry Chen (born February 3, 1975) is a Canadian film and television actor. Early life Chen was born in Edmonton, Alberta, to Taiwanese and Chinese parents originating from Taiwan (father) and mainland China (mother). After primary and secondary ...

as Victor Lin, a Chinese-Canadian ex-pro hockey player, married to Maisy-May. Like his wife, Victor is ambitious and shows no hesitation to manipulate those around him to ensure his family succeeds. * Travis Nelson as Riley, a gay man who is Justin's love interest, is a local artist, handyman, and store operator. *

Natalie Lisinska Natalie Lisinska (born 11 January 1982) is a British-Canadian actress. Lisinska was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England and grew up on Vancouver Island in British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmo ...

as Jayne, friend and sometime minion of Maisy, who has been passively bullied by Maisy since their teen years. *

Jon Dore Jonathan David Dore (born November 2, 1975) is a Canadian comedian and actor currently based in Juneau, Alaska. Education Dore attended Brookfield High School and studied broadcasting at Algonquin College in Ottawa. Career Jon Dore was forme ...

as Wayne, Jayne's often clueless husband. Wayne is immature and a man-child but has genuine affection for his wife and daughters. * Carolyn Scott as Ulrika, a cabin owner of Swedish descent who grows marijuana that she shares with some community members. * Declan Whaley as Opal Lin, Maisy and Victor's younger child who is gender-queer and finds himself identifying with Justin. * Emily Roman as Jeri Moore, Jayne and Wayne's daughter of 4 who is the middle child of triplets and most like Jayne.

Episodes

Season 1 (2022)

Season 2 (2023)

Production

Development

In early August 2021, Amazon ordered its first scripted Canadian Amazon Original series, ''The Lake''. Julian Doucet serves as writer and executive producer, with

Michael Souther Michael Souther is a Canadian television director, producer and television writer. He also earned a nomination for the Genie Award for Best Motion Picture for ''Saint Ralph ''Saint Ralph'' is a 2004 Canadian comedy-drama film written and dire ...

and Teza Lawrence also executive producing under their production company Amaze Film + Television. In May 2022,

Jordan Canning Jordan Canning is a Canadian director for film and television. She is known for her independent feature films '' We Were Wolves'' (2014) and '' Suck It Up'' (2017), as well as her work directing on television series ''Baroness Von Sketch Show,'' ...

and Paul Fox were revealed as directors. On July 13, 2022, Amazon renewed the series for a second season. The plot is based in part on the real-life experiences of series creator Julian Doucet.

Casting

With the series announcement,

, and Madison Shamoun were cast as the leads.

, Carolyn Scott,

, Travis Nelson, Declan Whaley, and

were also cast.

Lauren Holly Lauren Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. She has played the roles of Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the television series ''Picket Fences'', NCIS Director Jenny Shepard in the series '' NCIS'', Dr. Betty Rogers on ''Motive' ...

as Mimsy, Max Amani, and Jhaleil Swaby have joined the second season.'The Lake' Season 2 Officially Wraps Up Filming at Prime Video
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Filming

Filming began on August 5, 2021 in North Bay,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. Filming wrapped on September 1, 2021. The second season began production on August 15, 2022 and wrapped on September 29, 2022 in North Bay, Ontario.

Reception

For the first season, the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 63% approval score with an average rating of 5.3/10 based on 8 reviews.

Release

The first season of ''The Lake'' premiered on Amazon Prime Video on June 17, 2022. The second season premiered on June 9, 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lake, The 2022 Canadian television series debuts 2020s Canadian sitcoms English-language television shows Amazon Prime Video original programming Television shows filmed in North Bay, Ontario Television series about adoption Television series about vacationing 2020s Canadian LGBT-related comedy television series