The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
Medical shows may be standard fare on television, but Hard Rock Medical is different, says Sudbury artist and lead actor Stephane Paquette.
“I think what sets this show apart is the fact that the 13th character is really Northern Ontario,” says Paquette. “It plays a huge part in the show — we have scenes where we shot underground and scenes where we go moose hunting with the native communities. It’s really about the North.”
The TVO drama was filmed in Sudbury last year, and is set in the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and its Laurentian University campus. It showcases eight students as they make their way through the school’s courses and adapt to life in Northern Ontario.
Paquette stars alongside Patrick McKenna and Tamara Duarte. A well-known actor, musician and performer in Sudbury, Paquette plays Charlie Riviere, a father of three children who applies and gets accepted to the medical school.
The 13-episode series was shot in Sudbury from September to November of last year, and the show’s director, Derek Diorio, agreed there’s so much that makes Hard Rock Medical different, but the most prominent is the setting.
“One thing I love about this show is that it is set in Sudbury, in the north, and we’re actually shooting in Sudbury. Most shows shoot somewhere like Toronto and are set in New York, but this is different — it’s a show set in the North for people in the North,” says Diorio. “The people in Sudbury are incredible and they are very receptive. It’s been a fantastic run (in Sudbury), and I love the north.”
In the first episode, viewers will have a chance to get to know each of the characters, and see which applicants will be accepted into the school.
The back-handed compliment Diorio said he receives all the time is “it doesn’t look Canadian.” According to Diorio, another reason Hard Rock Medical is unique is that it’s set in the medical school.
“We found a niche that hadn’t been exploited before — there’s never been a medical show set in an actual medical school.”
Diorio said the Northern Ontario School of Medicine is “different from any other medical schools. The real school is like the show — we didn’t have to make up anything.”
The show also features only northern musicians for its soundtrack, and Paquette said viewers might even see some of his own tracks in the show.
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