Lyriq Bent Talks Shoot the Messenger

[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]

On this week’s Shoot the Messenger, Kevin learns his case overlaps another, which pulls him into a tangential investigation that may not exactly be on the up and up. While he’s working that new angle, Daisy and Simon work the other side, and there’s yet another intersection. Three episodes in, things are getting very complicated.

When I chatted with Lyriq Bent, we talked about Kevin’s balance of personal and professional. Last week, we saw him reeling in the aftermath of the drive by and then afterward sink even further when his ex-wife wouldn’t put his child on the phone just so he could level set his emotions.

Bent says we’ll explore some of that this season, and into next season, which he’s fairly confident will happen. “We’re going to make Season 2 happen. It’s going to happen because it’s a great show and you can’t deny great television. I’m a big believer that if you do the work, you get the results,” he says.

“You do get to see the introduction of the family life, or the personal life, more than enough [this season] to pique the interest of the viewers so that they want more. You get to follow how he does that … not just how he unfolds the case, but how he develops or ends his relationship with Daisy. I think the audience [will root] for something beautiful to happen.”

“[In Season 2] we can really connect with the viewers and [show] the ordinary issues like family, kids, and relationships. These are the elements of the story that will make the show have legs. Getting in-depth in this guy’s everyday makeup … we want to label him as a detective in this very high profile case [and] we want to know the everyday life of this character and what makes him who he is.”

“The family life is important for the audience to see and understand what shapes and molds him, and how that’s [affected] by Daisy. There’s that other layer that makes his life what it is. [It gives us] a full scope of this guy. This a great opportunity to really flesh out the other areas in his life.”

Bent just wrapped production on another drama series, Mary Kills People, coming to Global in 2017, which will focus on legal assisted suicide. He plays a character who doesn’t quite subscribe to that choice. “My character’s friend is dying of cancer and my character wants to create a bucket list for him,” he explains.

“[My friend] is approached by Mary, and they get kind of close, and there’s a little jealousy … my character doesn’t like Mary because she’s trying to take away my friend in a way I don’t agree with [as well as in an intimate way]. I was looking for the soul in their relationship [beyond the buddy aspect].”

Shoot the Messenger airs Mondays at 9 pm/9:30 NT on CBC.

Photos Courtesy of CBC

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