The Sticky aims to do for Quebec what Fargo did for Minnesota, and Chris Diamantopolous had high praise for star Margo Martindale.
A few weeks ago, Prime Video put out all six episodes of The Sticky, a terrific comedic/crime saga starring the great Margo Martindale as Ruth Landry, a Canadian maple syrup farmer who schemes to steal millions of dollars of maple syrup (it’s loosely based on an actual heist that took place in Quebec). Her co-stars in the show include Jamie Lee Curtis (who also produced the show with Jason Blum), as well as the great Chris Diamantopoulos, who’s been in loads of stuff over the years, including The Office, Silicon Valley, the movie version of The Three Stooges (he was Moe), Red One, and much more. He’s also the official voice of Mickey Mouse for Disney, a role which has netted him two Emmy nominations.
Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Diamantopolous, who discussed The Sticky and how he hopes it will turn into a long-running crime caper for Prime Video. One of the interesting things about the show is that it tried to depict Canada realistically, with it being shot in Montreal and having many Quebecois actors in major parts (as opposed to Parisian actors playing Quebecers – which happens a lot).
“The thing that I’m most excited about, particularly with Canadian audiences, but also with global audiences, is a television show that is shot in Canada that takes place in Canada, and that shows Canada for, I think, one of the first times as a proper player in the cinematic world.
We see Montreal’s underbelly, this darkness to the Quebecois, rural environments that are evocative of things like Fargo. Do you know what I mean? We actually see Canada in a Canadian story, the way that you would expect to see Dublin, you know, in an Irish story, and it’s not a parody.”
Diamantopolous also loved working with Martindale, who gets a rare turn as a lead in The Sticky, noting, “she’s so good, man. She’s so dynamic and so much energy and charisma and just a class act, a real pro.”
One thing he also appreciates is how – with streaming – the show’s runs are shorter but sometimes better. “I think it keeps people engaged, and it also sort of takes away this idea that you have to put out, you know, 12 or 22 episodes of this maximal quality, which is almost impossible to upkeep. Well, I remember even The Office, towards the end, had to go down from about 24 episodes a season to a little less because how do you maintain the quality for that long when you’re doing that?”
One show that’s coming up that Diamantopolous is part of is the adaptation of Ed Brubaker’s Criminal. “I could be wrong here, but I think they’re releasing them as events. The first event is with Charlie Hunnam and Richard Jenkins. And I wasn’t a part of that, but apparently, that’s going to just be amazing. The second event, the one that I’m part of is Emilia Clarke. If we had like four hours, it wouldn’t be enough for me to talk about how amazing Emilia Clarke is, and how much fun it was working with her. And Luke Evans is in it as well. The show and the world that they have created. It’s so good.”
The Sticky is now streaming on Prime Video and is well worth a binge-watch over the holidays. Read our review HERE!
