[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]
In last week’s Allegiance episode, “The Mission,” Sabrina (Supinder Wraich) and Zak (Samer Salem) teamed up with Mitch (Steve Byers), a vice detective, to track down a serial predator preying on sex workers. This week, in “Blue Monday,” Mitch is back for a much darker storyline that finds the CFPC closing ranks to protect one of their own in a case of domestic violence. I spoke with Byers last week about the episodes.
Byers was excited to join the cast for a month last summer. “The experience was amazing. They were so welcoming, they were so kind. The entire cast, crew, and everybody were so talented,” he shares. That kindness was on full display when the crew worked through a heat wave to get Byers out early so he could fly home for a family engagement.
“It was the hottest day in Vancouver that I’ve ever experienced. And the crew were absolutely dying,” he recalls. “They are such a hard-working crew, but it was so awful. And they knew that I had to make this flight. I think everybody walked away with sunburn, even though we had gone through a liter of sunblock.”
The series also reunited Byers with Enrico Colantoni. “We worked together in Remedy a decade ago, and he directed an episode I was in. He’s clearly very good at that. We also did an episode of Ransom together,” he says.
“The first day I was there, we were shooting and Rico came in. We were rolling and he walked into the scene anyway and said, ‘I have to come and say hi to my boy,’ as he was pushing through. He came in and gave me a big hug.”
“He’s the nicest guy in showbiz. He knew that I [was away from home]. He called me up and invited me for lunch [because] he was just concerned that I might not have people out there. It was that kind of energy across the board.”
The character of Mitch is first introduced in “The Mission” as an old colleague and friend of Zak, an immediate kinship that Byers felt with Salem offscreen, too. Mitch is integral to catching the killer in that episode, but in episode four, airing Wednesday, we find out the degree to which that persona is a facade when Mitch’s girlfriend, Amy (Yvonne Chapman) is assaulted and left for dead but won’t disclose her attacker. Sight Unseen‘s Agam Darshi, who was a story editor on the first season, guest stars as Jaya, an ally for Amy.
Byers was intrigued by the arc that establishes the character in a particular way before revealing his true nature, so it’s as much a shock to the viewer as it is to Zak and Sabrina. “When we were talking about it, it was [always] meant to be two episodes,” he shares.
“They had said, ‘The idea is to make people think he’s almost going to become part of the team,’ because in episode three, I’m part of the stakeout [and] we’re trying to figure out who this guy is. So you get the sense that he’s being embraced by the team.”
“And then to have the carpet pulled out from underneath you, I thought, was really satisfying for me to play. Knowing that he was going to have that turn was a really enjoyable part as an actor.”
“Obviously, fundamentally, I don’t agree with him, but that’s always fun to act because it’s actual acting. It’s also a nice way to think ahead in terms of the writing, having a thread running through the two episodes.” Byers has played his fair share of heroes and villains, this role, which is a bit of both, follows his most recent appearance in the true-crime-based television film, The Little Girl Who Lived, where he played a serial killer.
“I don’t know what I’ve done to get myself into a place where I’m playing serial killers and ostensibly bad people, but I’d rather a good person be playing these bad characters than rewarding some bad person who would have a bad spirit playing a bad person,” he explains.
“I don’t know how my path ended up here, but I’m not upset that, by rights, I feel like I’m a good person playing some bad people.”
While there’s a very clear understanding of the violence that transpires, it’s never shown on screen, and Byers credits the creative team, including director Nimisha Mukerji, who directed the block, and writer/producers JP Larocque and Tanvi Bhatia, who wrote episodes 303 and 304, with telling instead of showing. “I’m appreciative of what JP and Tanvi did with writing these episodes in a way where you don’t need that,” he says.
“It was clever enough just by its concept, so that you don’t need to see that. You’ve got the evidence in front of you. It’s very clear what’s going on, so why put that in there if you don’t need to. It’s much smarter writing to be able to do it without having to show that.”
Byers also credits executive producers Anar Ali, Erin Haskett, and Penny Gummerson with infusing the series with empathy throughout, and especially with the lead character of Sabrina, whose emotional intelligence is always on display. “You get this real feminine energy. It’s much more intelligent than procedurals where a female lead is stone cold and hard, or whatever that message is supposed to be.”
“Here, you’re showing real emotions in these characters. I think that’s what people connect to.”
Allegiance streams Wednesdays at 9 am on CBC Gem and premieres linearly at 9 pm on CBC.
Note: This episode may be triggering for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised for “Blue Monday.” If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or feels unsafe, confidential support is available in Canada 24/7 through the Assaulted Women’s Helpline at 1-866-863-0511 and www.awhl.org.
Photos and video courtesy of CBC.
