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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

APTN casino drama holding a solid hand

By: Brad Oswald / Watching TV

Posted: 03/2/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

AS they say in the casino game, you've got to know when to hold 'em.

And it's pretty clear, judging from a sampling of Cashing In's second-season episodes, that the producers of this locally made drama made the right call when they decided not to fold 'em.

Cashing In, which has its second-season premiere tonight at 9 on APTN, returns to the airwaves as a much more focused, geographically grounded and narratively confident show than the one that endured a somewhat rocky rookie season last year.

The series, which follows the high-stakes gambling and backroom/bedroom double-dealing at the fictional North Beach Casino on the equally make-believe Stonewalker First Nation in rural Manitoba, begins its sophomore set of episodes with a clear declaration that it intends to conduct its business much closer to home.

Where the first season seemed a bit tentative about being a Manitoba-based story, Cashing In's new season gathers all its main characters at or near North Beach, adds a couple of extra complications and then lets the misbehaviour begin.

At the centre of the action are casino owner Mathew Tommy (Eric Schweig), who seems to have left his high-rise digs in T.O. behind and taken up residence in his rural-Manitoba gambling palace, and his right-hand schemer Liz McKendra (Karen Holness); they're still at odds with rancher/property owner John Eagle (Glen Gould), whose refusal to sell off his land might prevent Tommy from completing his casino/condo/golf course dream.

Things heat up early in the season when a temptress named Rebecca Craig (Jennifer Baxter) strikes up a relationship with Tommy's rebellious son, Justin (Wesley French) -- it looks like at-first-sight love, but Rebecca is actually a lawyer working undercover for local mayoral candidate William Eastman (John B. Lowe), who's hoping to use his political aspirations to leverage a cut of Tommy's real-estate profits.

Meanwhile, on the casino floor, entertainment booker Cheyenne Blueweed (Sarah Podemski) scores a big win by landing aboriginal blues musician Derek Miller for a short-notice show that, both on- and offstage, she's hoping will develop into more than just a one-night stand.

The storylines are well in motion as the second season opens, but viewers who missed out on Cashing In's first year will have no trouble catching up with the action. Adding heat to the mix are the presence of artist Aura Sphere (Tina Keeper), who's taken to mentoring young Justin and may have some crucial information about his family background, and the ambitious-cougar antics of Claire Eastman (Nancy Sorel), who's determined to keep racking up young male conquests while forcing her hands-off hubby to elevate her to first-lady status.

There's an appealing maturity to Cashing In as it resumes its place in APTN's; it's a show that has shuffled its deck just enough and now seems ready to play a winning hand.

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca

TV PREVIEW

Cashing In

Tonight at 9

APTN

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 2, 2010 D3

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