Friend of the pod Praneet Akilla returns to reflect on his recent on- and off-screen adventures – including SkyMed, currently airing its third season on CBC Television and CBC Gem. Praneet is back as Chopper, who is still coming to terms with the death of his astronaut dreams in season two while exploring what it means to be a leader and also the possibility of a new entanglement with recently arrived chief nurse from the big city, Marianne (portrayed by Nicola Correia-Damude). It’s fun to watch Praneet in the role of Chopper; we get to see him be funny and charming and also deal with the big dramatic beats and heart-pounding moments that make SkyMed must-see-TV. In this funny and fascinating episode, Praneet discusses the emotional beats and blockbuster fun of SkyMed’s third season, Chopper’s “dark” era, his guest role as a badass gang leader on the brilliant locally shot crime drama Allegiance, and why he’ll always make time for theatre.

Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA

Actress Natalie Moon is fully bidialectal, meaning she’s equally proficient in using two or more dialects of the same language. In fact, she’s so proficient at being bidialectal that she’s an in-demand accent coach, and has coached big bold names like Jon Voight and Kristin Chenoweth. She also produced How To Make it in Hollywood (When You’re Foreign AF), Alessandro Miro’s hilarious web series that skewered stereotypes around accents in the film biz. In addition to her work in the accent realm, Natalie is also a talented actor who has performed in an array of fan favourite productions, including The Flash, Motherland: Fort Salem, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Death Note, and a recent episode of Superman & Lois in which she portrayed Lex Luthor’s ex-wife, Erica Alexandra del Portenza Luthor.

In this fascinating conversation, Natalie talks about what it takes to be bidialectal, the creative ways she builds backgrounds for her characters, that time Sir Patrick Stewart read Moby Dick to her class at the Oxford School of Drama, and how she prepared to play Erica, Lex Luthor’s ex-wife, on Superman & Lois (also: Sabrina shares her unpopular opinion on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).

Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA

Chris Haddock’s impact on the Vancouver and Canadian television landscapes is undeniable. He’s a showrunner, writer, producer, and all-round storyteller whose filmography includes Da Vinci’s Inquest, Da Vinci’s City Hall, Intelligence, Boardwalk Empire, and The Romeo Section. He’s been instrumental in launching the careers of some of our local industry’s shining stars, and centred Vancouver in the majority of his shows. All of this is to say that, if anyone knows the television landscape in this country, it’s Chris Haddock – and with this landscape in the midst of profound change, we invited Chris onto the YVR Screen Scene Podcast to talk about about the lessons he’s learned over the course of his storied career, how artists can change with the times or resist, and the joys and challenges of both. Episode sponsor: Fish Flight Entertainment