Diggstown creator says N.S.-shot show will be 'more connected to the community'

CBC legal drama Diggstown is shooting its second season in and around Dartmouth, N.S. The show follows black lawyer Marcie Diggs, who leaves her high-powered job in corporate law to work for legal aid in Nova Scotia.

Vinessa Antoine stars in the show as Marcie Diggs.

"For a while, I didn't know if we were going to come back," she said. "Then I got the call from Floyd [Kane, creator of Diggstown] that we got picked up and I was jumping up and down."

The show is centred around North Preston, the oldest black community in Canada, which viewers in Canada and the U.S. may not be aware of before watching the show.

"Particularly in the States, I think people ... their mind kind of opened up to this idea of it's not just African-American history. We have so much history," said Antoine. "I think that's sparked and perked people's interest now."

Floyd Kane is the writer, executive producer and showrunner of Diggstown. He's excited to be back on set.

"It was great to be able to come back here and start this up again, and have a proper set this time," he said.

Kane said upgrades to the show include access to a courtroom and a larger legal aid office.

He said the second season of the show will deal more in dark humour. He said the first episode of season two involves a woman from North Preston who is killed by a police officer during a high-speed chase.

"There's a lot of issues that come up within the context of that show around violence with respect to the cops and the black community, but we're also taking time within that story to find moments of humour," said Kane.

He said he's also looking forward to capturing more of the surrounding community. He said more parts of the show will be shot in East and North Preston this season.

"I feel like the show's going to be more connected to the community than it was last year," he said.

Diggstown is set to return to CBC television in 2020.