Endlings Season Two, Johnny, Julia, Tabby, and Finn Are Not Yet Prepared to Take Action, an Inability That Could Cost Ling Its Life
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SEASON 2 FORMAT: 12 x 22’ • GENRE: FAMILY • YEAR: 2021 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH • COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: CANADA CREATOR'S STATEMENT Set 20 years in the future the first season of Endlings began with the disappearance of the last elephant on earth, a striking real-life possibility based on a 2016 WWF Living Planet report that originally inspired me to create the series. Over the first twelve episodes, it’s revealed that this elephant has been collected by Ling, an alien creature who travels the universe collecting the last of every species, also known as an endling, with the hope of bringing them back from the brink of extinction. When Ling’s ship crash lands at a farm that is home to four kids in foster care it unintentionally releases all of the creatures it has collected from distant planets into the nearby farmland and needs to enlist the kid's help to get them back. Even though they’re are dealing with their own individual hurts, together they manage to move past their own pain to help Ling collect the missing endlings. “If you knew something bad was going to happen, wouldn’t you do everything you could to stop it?” Abiona, episode 202 “What We May Be” As we begin Season Two our young heroes have been working together to help Ling finish their mission and collect all of the lost endlings that were released, while simultaneously battling their own individual demons. Each character, including the adults, carries with them the traumas of their past; from the loss of a parent or child, rejection from a biological parent, or abuse from people you are meant to trust. With Ling providing glimpses of possible futures, the characters must choose whether to resign themselves to these fates, or work together to save the future, ultimately demonstrating that in order to move forward you have to let go of the past, or as Mr. Leopold puts it: “you can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” This season is about changing the ending; for ourselves, for our friends and family, and for the other living beings we share this world with. It’s about recognizing our similarities over our differences and appreciating that we’re all in this together. One world. One family. J.J. Johnson SYNOPSIS The year is 2041; Julia, Johnny, Tabby, and Finn continue to help their extraterrestrial friend Ling save fantastical endlings. With the aid of their foster father Mr. Leopold and animal activist Dr. Abiona Maina, the group is getting closer to retrieving the remaining ‘last of its kind’ creatures and completing their mission. But when Ling accidentally shows Tabby a vision of their quest failing, the team learns that Ling’s powers don’t just allow the alien access to their pasts but also their futures. This glimpse of what’s to come reveals Infinitum CEO Tresa Hewes, who has been tracking them for her own illusive reasons, capturing Ling and tearing their foster family apart. Together, the group makes the choice to confront the pain of their pasts in order to change their futures and save Ling. This decision to fight fate kicks off a season of high-octane adventure where four wounded teens must learn to let their hopes, not their hurts, shape the future. SEASON TWO ARC There are six stages of grief: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Season One of Endlings dealt with the first five; we watched as four very different kids learned to lean on each other as they confronted parts of their painful pasts - all in an effort to save their futures. Acceptance, the final phase, can only happen when the individual is ready to take action to get closure with what has happened to them. In Endlings Season Two, Johnny, Julia, Tabby, and Finn are not yet prepared to take action, an inability that could cost Ling its life. Early in Season Two, our heroes inadvertently discover that in addition to Ling’s unique ability to open up people’s pasts to them, Ling can also dip into their future. And in a vision of the not too distant future, they see that their family has been split apart and Hewes has discovered and captured Ling. Fortunately, they’ll each learn that though their pasts cannot be changed, the future is still in their power. And the vision that seemed a beacon of hopelessness was actually a call to action - a call all four kids, Mr. Leopold and Abiona decide to heed in the present to prevent this possible future outcome. And in order to move forward, they must first look back. That means Johnny must face his father, while Finn lets go of his birth mother. As Tabby prepares to be reunited with her old family, Julia needs to learn to accept her new one. For Mr. Leopold, it means fully embracing his second chance, moving past the fear that he’ll lose it like he did his son. And Abiona must accept that while she may have failed Tuko and the other elephants, there are more creatures to save. But seeking closure to your past is hard to do when your present is consumed with capturing ever more challenging endlings. This includes a shapeshifting endling that feeds on fear and sadness, a crablike endling that is looking for a new home, an energy based endling that doesn’t want to go back into a trap, a newly extinct earth animal, and an endling that can manifest your greatest hopes and dreams in order to lure you closer. In Season One, Ling was able to give the kids a glimpse into their past to help them navigate the present. This season, Ling will offer the kids a different gift; the chance to see what will happen in the future if they don’t fully come to terms with the past. A gift that will not only save them, but Ling and the planet as well. CAST BIOS EDISON GRANT Edison Grant III resides near Dallas, Texas. He’s the son of Brenda and Edison Grant, Jr. Edison discovered his love of acting at age 10. Most recently, he has worked on Lockdown, a YouTube original which was shot in his room during quarantine as well as wrapping Season 2 of Endlings, a Hulu/CBC original earlier in 2020. Other work on his resume includes, a principal role in Forget Me Not, which won Best Short Film Drama in the North Hollywood Cinefest, a series regular on a YouTube series, Konnect HQ, industrial work for Cancer Treatments of America and many different commercials. He’s a Premier Student at Cathryn Sullivan’s Acting for Film in Lewisville, Texas and a member of Concord Baptist Church where he loves to serve in the media ministry. Some of his hobbies include playing X-Box, watching TV and spending time with his family. KAMAIA FAIRBURN Kamaia is best known for the lead role as Julia in Hulu/CBC's original series, Endlings. She is also known for playing the role of Piper Parish on 2 seasons of Hulu's popular TV series, Holly Hobbie as well as her co-starring role as Diamond Brooks on Nickelodeon's, Star Falls. Her work also includes Aaliyah Princess of RnB (Lifetime) and Odd Squad (TVO). Kamaia currently resides in Toronto with her mother, sister, and the family dog Coco. She is fluent in French and is a dedicated vegan, a reflection of her care and love of animals. When not in front of the camera, Kamaia loves to catch up with her favorite shows and movies, work out, and spend time with her family. MICHELA LUCI Michela Luci is a Canadian actress and singer. Michela won the 2019 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's, Family Viewing or Special Class Program for her starring role as "Dana" in Dino Dana on TVOKids and Amazon Prime Video. Michela has been nominated twice for a Canadian Screen Award (2019, 2018) and was nominated for her first Daytime Emmy in 2018. Michela first gained recognition as a judge on YTV's Cook'd and went on to book the recurring role of Agent Orchid on the Emmy award-winning TVOKids and PBS hit series Odd Squad. She is the title voice of "True" in the Netflix animated series True and the Rainbow Kingdom. Michela also voices the roles "Princess Flug" in Abby Hatcher (NickJr.), “Farmer Faye” in Mighty Express (Netflix) and “Octobella” in PJ Masks (Disney Jr.,Netflix). She is a member of the Toronto based indie girl group GFORCE that advanced to the semi-finals on Season 14 of America's Got Talent. Most recent credits include title star of “Dana” in Dino Dana The Movie and “Tabby” in the Hulu/CBC series, Endlings. CALE FERRIN Cale Ferrin (14), who plays the role of Finn, is extremely proud to be joining the cast of Endlings, a Hulu/CBC series. Cale is a talented young actor from Omaha, Nebraska. Cale first appeared as a guest star on the Nickelodeon series Nicky, Ricky, Dicky Dawn, at the age of 8. Since then, he has held other guest star and feature roles for television, national commercials and print modeling, public campaigns, news articles, and on two music videos. Cale was also cast in a lead role as Freddie, in the Nicole Conn independent film More Beautiful For Having Been Broken. In this film, Cale plays a special needs boy who changes the lives of everyone he meets.