02x07 - The Man in the Stadium

[bunniefuu]

[NARRATOR]: In Toronto's w*r on crime,

the worst offenders are
pursued by the detectives

of the Specialized Criminal
Investigations Unit.

These are their stories.

[ECHOING GAVEL]

[AUDIENCE CHEERS]

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Please, thank you. Hi, I'm Kevin Russo.

[CHEERING]

Um, let's see, let's see here...

Do you mind if I try some new stuff?

[AUDIENCE ENCOURAGEMENT]

- I started going to a therapist.
- [SCATTERED APPLAUSE]

Please do not clap. I
quit after one session.

I'll tell you why, though,
and I think you'll understand.

Um, my therapist's name was Doug.

[LAUGHTER]

Doug is not a name for a therapist.

Doug is a name for a guy
who can score you ketamine

in Parry Sound. I
just don't want to tell

my secrets to a guy named Doug.

You know what I mean?
'Cause none of my secrets

have anything to do with jet skis.

Or getting out of an affair
with my wife's mother.

[LAUGHTER]

A lot of people here are doing that.

Are people sleeping with their
significant other's parent?

Is your name Doug?

And if we turn to page 19, line 318,

here you reference a major
airplane manufacturer's

recent string of mechanical
issues, saying, quote,

"At least the food is
better as the passengers

get to request their final meal."

[CHUCKLES] That's good.

That's good how you did that.
I should do it like that.

You'd make my life a whole lot easier

if you didn't perform this joke.

Yeah, but I really want
to do the joke, though...

Perhaps you don't mention
the manufacturer by name.

Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

Yeah, but that's gonna
be a lot less funny.

And a lot less liable
to lawsuits, Kevin.

If you want to stand
on the biggest stage,

you need to play it safe.

[KEVIN SIGHS]

What do you think, Crane-y?

[SILLY VOICE]: Go for the paycheck.

Listen to your manager,

- she's been through a lot.
- [CHUCKLING]

So if you were to have
advice for somebody that wants

to be the next Kevin
Russo, what would it be?

I would say don't be afraid to fail,

'cause it's going to happen a lot.

And don't apologize for jokes.

Right, yeah. Well, if our viewers

wanted to watch you live?

Yeah, which camera?

And here comes the shameless plug.

Only took him five minutes. Cue three.

- Uh, right here.
- Here we go.

- Here we go.
- Hi, my name is Kevin Russo.

I'm starting off a massive
tour in my hometown.

There are still a few tickets available.

Guys, you should come. It's
gonna be a hell of a show.

There you go.

The dizziness should stop soon.

I'll get your meds.

[SOFT FOREBODING MUSIC]

These were full yesterday.

I need to speak with the pharmacist.

It's an emergency.

Have you got it down to 65?

- Um, looking at 67 right now.
- Hmm.

Hey, what's going on
with the floor seats?

They're being set up later tonight.

Okay, and for VIP, I would like

Mom, Dad, Amy, Alex, Will...

[EXHALES]

This is all for you.

[WOMAN CHUCKLES]

Okay...

- Okay...
- [LAUGHING]

Woo! You are here.

We're here. We're here.

Oh, I just hope I got
something meaningful to say.

[WONDROUS MUSIC]

[SCOFFS]

- [MICROPHONE FEEDBACK]
- Okay, this is the sound of my voice.

How's everybody doing tonight?

How's everybody doing
tonight? Alright, looking cool.

This is me posing like
I'm cool. Right? Alright.

I... [COUGHS]

At some point, I'm going to whisper,

so that'll be fun for everybody. Ready?

Here's my whispering part.

[WHISPERS]: This is me whispering.

This is me whispering to the people

in the front with the good seats. Right?

That's good.

[EERIE MUSIC]

[NORMALLY]: Oh...

Hey, Jeff, can you turn down
the fresnels a little bit?

It feels like it's really yellow.

Is anyone else seeing
how yellow that is?

That's kind of... Hey, there we go.

That's good.

[COUGHS] What else? Uh, you know what?

Hold on a second.

[FOREBODING MUSIC]

[EXHALES SHARPLY]

Okay, you know what? [STUTTERS]

I-I'm just going to go from the, uh...

I'll just go from the top, I think.

[COUGHS]

Yeah. Yeah, that's fine.

[SINISTER MUSIC]

[COUGHS]

[MICROPHONE FEEDBACK]

Kevin. Hey! Kevin.

Kevin.

Call 911!

[TENSE MUSIC]

[THEME MUSIC]

"Credit belongs to the man
who was actually in the arena.

Whose face is marred by
dust and sweat and blood."

That's from an old speech. A favourite.

Yeah, I know it well.

What, you also a fan of Roosevelt's?

Roosevelt? No. I'm
a fan of Lebron James.

He writes that on his
sneakers before every game.

- Sports.
- Sports.

Sports, always sports.

[CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING]

Brought you in for the VIP, Da Silva?

I only leave the lab
for the suspicious deaths

of politicians and dignitaries.

And in our victim's case? Celebrity.

Well, since you're already acquainted,

I will keep the introductions brief.

Kevin Russo, age 45.

He collapsed at 9:02 p.m.,
paramedics arrived at 9:05.

They used the de-fib, no luck.

Cause of death is cardiac arrest.

That's incredibly rare
for someone so young.

Even more rare is that
before he passed, on the ECG,

EMTs saw his heart go
into Polymorphic VT.

It's an obscure malignant
arrhythmia that means

one of two things:

overdose or poisoning.

Well, I'm assuming
we're here for the latter.

Okay, sir, we're going to
need this bagged for testing.

What makes you rule out overdose?

The responding officers were told

that he never touched
drugs, he wasn't suicidal,

and he had a clean bill of health.

Told by whom?

Last week, Kevin got a physical

in order to be insured for the tour.

And the doctors gave him
a clean bill of health,

so this makes no sense. He was so young.

Christine, could you
tell us a little bit

about your relationship with Kevin?

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Uh...

Yeah, we were like family.

I've been with him since the beginning,

before he became the
biggest comic in the country.

He always wanted to play a stadium.

He was so happy when we finally
booked the Rogers Centre.

And beyond being
hilarious, Kevin was kind.

He was generous. He donated
a theatre to Second City.

He had an unparalleled work ethic.

Yeah, I could tell that
just from his notebook.

Seemed he was tweaking his set list

- right up 'til the last minute.
- Yeah, he was a perfectionist.

He spent his last few moments

live adjusting the lighting cues.

He thought it looked too yellow.

Too yellow?

Is there a way to put that cue up?

Sure. [SNIFFLES]

[CLEARS THROAT]

Jeff, can you bring up cue 18, please?

[TENSE MUSIC]

There's cerulean.

A little bit of amethyst, but no yellow.

- Maybe he was confused?
- Quite the opposite.

Xanthochromia, it's a
condition where vision

becomes refracted through a yellow hue.

Kevin must have been experiencing it.

You know a lot about ocular anomalies?

Well, when it's associated
with famous artists.

There's speculation
that Van Gogh had it.

It's connected to
seizures and hemorrhages.

But Kevin died of cardiac arrest,

so why the yellow?

Xanthochromia and polymorphic VT

are such unusual conditions
that there's only one reason

they'd be showing up at the same party.

Digitalis poisoning.

Digitalis, otherwise known as foxglove.

Foxglove is processed into digoxin,

a medication used to treat
congestive heart failure.

In high doses, it becomes deadly.

Our victim had five
times the lethal dose

of digoxin in his system.
And before you ask,

the water bottle he
drank from was clean,

so he consumed the
poison somewhere else.

We have any timeline
on when he ingested it?

No, still working on that.

In the meantime, the
one thing that I do know

is that in addition to the
digoxin and the alcohol,

the tox screen found traces of wormwood,

crustacean, gentian,
horseradish, and marjoram.

Does that mean anything to you?

Unless Kevin visited an
apothecary before his death,

not really.

[TENSE MUSIC]

Um, I don't know what to say.

Nothing. That's the point.

Delete all correspondence,
anything linking you to Kevin.

- Okay.
- This is the last time

we'll ever see each other.

Good luck.

[SOFTLY]: Yeah.

So one of Canada's favourite
celebrities is k*lled,

and all we have so far is type of poison

and stomach matter.

Any ideas about motive?

It could be connected
to Kevin's vocation.

I wasn't familiar with his
work, so I did some research.

Kevin's brand of humour
lies in takedowns.

Kevin's whole thing
is telling cutting jokes

about problematic celebrities.

A tried and true art-form

dating back to medieval times.

Everyone loves watching the jester

poke fun at the king.

So who did Kevin piss off?

Oh, take your pick. But
my personal favourite

was Kevin's last show at Radio City.

A takedown of an American studio head

by the name of Andy Fogel.

See, normally Kevin just
embarrasses his targets,

but with Fogel, he basically
tried to cancel him.

Accused him of workplace violence,

of whipping his phone
at assistants' heads,

that kind of thing. So Fogel sued Kevin.

Launched a smear campaign,

and Kevin hasn't
performed since, until now.

So you're thinking revenge?

This Fogel couldn't take a
joke and decided to get even.

It's possible. I
mean, what's the best way

to stop the laughter?

k*ll the jester.

Fogel might've been
the last one to sue Kevin,

but he was one of a dozen ongoing suits.

Yeah, your client was
no stranger to litigation,

- I take it.
- Well, with the jokes he did,

we put several of our lawyers' children

through college. A month ago,
I convinced Kevin to apologize.

Settle, pay damages, move on.

And to make sure this
never happens again,

I told Kevin, "From now
on, no more takedowns."

- You declawed him.
- I gave him a choice.

Continue eviscerating powerful people

from 200-seat clubs,
or he pulls his punches

- and we get to play a stadium.
- Hmm.

What about this upcoming
special, any punches?

No, I had a team of lawyers
vet his entire routine.

No takedowns. A declawed tiger,

but a successful one.

Over the past month,
Kevin received over 30 calls

from the same payphone
at Howland and Gerrard.

He never answered any of
them until one week ago.

Call lasted two minutes.

Any CCTV on our mystery caller?

No, Mark checked. There's
no cameras near the phone.

- What do you got?
- Lab results on our poison timeline.

Now, Kevin drops dead at the
Rogers Centre at 9:00 p.m.

The lab says that he ingested the poison

some time between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m.,

long before he set foot in the stadium.

Now, I checked his itinerary,

he had nothing scheduled
between 5:00 and 6:00,

but look where he was at 3:30 p.m.

Is there a line you won't
cross just for a laugh?

Well, the border. I'm not technically

supposed to cross the border.

- [GRAFF]: Watch the mug.
- That's the main one.

This could be the
moment Kevin was k*lled,

only he didn't know it yet.

Kevin came on for a
segment about comedy's role

in the modern media landscape.

But he very quickly turned
it into the Kevin Russo show.

I gotta hand it to the guy,
he was quite the self-promoter.

- Yeah.
- The National Report desk.

Or desks, rather.

- Would you mind?
- No, please.

I gotta ask. What
happened to the big old desk?

Watched you behind
it for years. Why two?

- [SIGHS]
- It's a relic from Covid.

We had these crazy plexiglass
dividers and the whole thing.

It's also much better
for isolated lighting.

- Sure.
- Do either of you happen

to recall what Kevin was
drinking during his interview?

Nothing, he was proselytizing
about his intermittent

fasting regimes.

Absolutely nothing before
five o'clock, I think.

- If we wanted to confirm that?
- Oh, my husband could help.

Andrew's our segment producer.

I make him only use
my good angles, so...

Thanks. [CHUCKLING]

Here's Jess's close-up.

And Neil's coverage.

We only use the wide shot with him,

wrinkles and 4k are not friends.

And this is Kevin. Camera five.

[TENSE MUSIC]

It's empty. Then why the mug?

People use it for something
to do with their hands.

Also makes them seem more approachable.

Hmm. Can we hear what
they're saying there?

[TYPING]

A bunch of our writers
would love to meet you.

Any chance you could stick around?

Oh, that would be cool, but I gotta go

to Little Italy and meet a friend.

- Oh.
- Otherwise I would,

but... I could send some tickets over,

- if you guys want to come.
- Oh, they'd love that.

I know where he went.

- See you later.
- Alright. See you later.

[ECHOING GAVEL]

So the bar upstairs is for walk-ins only,

but we reserve the cellar
for dinners or events.

Or to celebrities
who like their privacy.

What time did Kevin
Russo come in yesterday?

He was here from 5:00-7:00.
He rents out the cellar a lot.

Sorry, how did you know he was here?

And I take it here
likes to drink this amaro?

Yeah. San Antrani.
Mr. Russo's favourite.

It's rare stuff, we're
the only bar that has it.

Oh, turns out that Mr.
Russo and I share an affinity

for Mediterranean amari.

Light, vibrant.

As for San Antrani...

It's a blend of herbs
and botanicals including

wormwood, gentian, and the
only amaro to feature marjoram.

As for the crustacean and horseradish...

Did Kevin happen to
order a shrimp c*ck?

- Yes.
- It's Kevin's last meal.

- Hell of a way to break a fast.
- [CHUCKLES]

- Anyone meet him here?
- Mr. Russo liked his privacy.

We'd leave his meal,
put out some glasses,

and not come back until after he left.

But how come no one saw
him come through the bar?

He came through the service entrance,

through the Green P lot out back.

Now this bottle is sealed.

So where's the bottle
that you served Mr. Russo?

He must have finished
it. We would've tossed it

in the trash out back.

Lab tested Kevin's empty
bottle of San Antrani.

It's clean, but they also went through

the rest of the trash from the cellar,

and found traces of digoxin on this.

Folded up piece of paper.


Our k*ller hid the poison in this,
and then when Kevin wasn't looking,

mixed it into his glass of amaro.

- Hmm.
- She's clever.

- She?
- I looked into the Green P lot behind the bar.

Now, just before Kevin's
standing reservation,

a Talia Klein used her credit card

- to buy an hour of parking.
- Okay, but you're so certain

that this was Kevin's mystery date

- from a parking receipt?
- I hadn't gotten to the best part.

Talia was working at Second
City until a few months ago,

around the same time
that she set up this.

A YouTube page.

- No public videos?
- No, all private,

but Mark was able to retrieve this.

I'm back on Tinder and I recently

went on a Tinder date with
a man named Connor O'Connor.

I had a job once where
I worked with a guy,

his name was Grady O'Grady.

... we're having drinks and he said,

"Bet you can't guess what my family is."

And I said, "Yes, I can. Stupid."

... And he said, "Hey,
I bet you can't tell

what my family is, and I said, "Stupid?

Are they stupid, is that what it is?"

Goes on for five minutes. Give
or take a few word changes,

it's the exact same material.

And Talia did it all first.

Press one button,

and Kevin's dirty secret goes viral.

[HOLNESS]: Our victim is a joke stealer.

Is that something really
worth k*lling over?

It could be, if our thief was making

millions off somebody
else's intellectual property.

But how did he even manage
to steal from Talia Klein?

Judging from the video,
she performed these jokes

to an audience of six.

The Kevin Russo Theatre.

Kevin donated that to
Second City Toronto.

Talia worked there as a
server. He led workshops there.

I mean, he was a generous
guy who wanted to give back

- to the community.
- Oh. Maybe he liked to give and take.

So Talia wises up to the joke theft,

and she creates this
video that could ruin him.

Why does she sit on it for months?

We're still trying to figure that out.

But it's also possible that
Talia's our mystery caller.

Phones Kevin 30 times, finally
convinces him to meet up.

Day of the m*rder, Talia
visits Kevin in the wine cellar.

The exact location
where he was poisoned.

Maybe she buys him a drink.

Hmm. Okay, find this Talia Klein,

let's see if she got
tired of him getting rich

off her jokes and
decided to take matters

into her own hands.

[ECHOING GAVEL]

Good jokes are basically a land grab.

Whoever gets to a
premise first claims it.

Yeah, when I found out
Kevin was stealing my jokes,

I was pissed. So I made that compilation

to prove that I had my
flag in the ground first.

You had a silver b*llet

that could destroy Kevin's career.

But you didn't pull the trigger. Why?

Because destroying Kevin's career

wouldn't have helped mine.

You know what's better
than karmic justice?

Having a car, or a loft

that isn't an hour outside of the city.

So I DMed that video as a warning.

- You extorted him.
- Sure, but he was strangely cool about it.

Civil, in fact. He offered
me 30 grand for my silence,

and he offered to double that
if I started writing jokes

for him discreetly, which I did.

So you became his ghostwriter?

- Yeah, I was on the payroll.
- You met with Kevin the day he died.

What was that about?

Kevin flew me back early from vacation

so we could work on
punch-ups for the show.

We'd usually meet in the cellar.
I was there maybe 30 minutes.

Was Kevin drinking during this visit?

Nope, not when I was there.
We always got right to work.

It's possible that
someone else came to meet him

after you left. Can you think of anyone

who might've wanted to harm him?

When Kevin hired me, he
fired his old ghostwriter.

The dude did not take
it well, apparently.

Started stalking Kevin,
calling him, like,

- a dozen times a day.
- Did he mention a name?

- No.
- Someone as famous as Kevin

wouldn't be reckless enough to
pay for a ghostwriter himself.

There must've been a
backchannel. Handlers.

Who was yours?

[TENSE MUSIC]

I am the custodian of
Kevin's posthumous image.

I am negotiating licensing
deals, merchandizing.

The news of Kevin
collaborating with other writers

- will ruin all of that.
- See, what I don't get

is why hire a ghostwriter
in the first place

if Kevin is a
once-in-a-generation talent?

Because comedians need
to relate to their audience.

As Kevin's fame grew,
he became too elite.

Too inaccessible. Funny
things happen in coach.

Nothing funny happens on a private jet.

We're gonna have to
take your word on that.

Okay, so Kevin needed ghostwriters
for relatable material.

Sounded like his previous
writer was quite upset.

That he had an axe to grind.

Kevin never mentioned it to me.

What, you think I'm protecting him?

We don't think anything, but we do know

that you recently received
the insurance payout

for the cancelled
tour, and that is quite

- the severance package.
- Trust me,

it's a drop in the bucket compared

to what I was going to make

if he'd continued his career.

He was my golden goose.

Well, while you're out

searching for your next goose,

we're going to need the contact info

for Kevin's old ghostwriter.

Fine. Which one?

[ECHOING GAVEL]

I helped Kevin punch up his material.

So did a dozen other writers.

Yeah, well you're the only one who lives

right by a payphone
at Howland and Gerrard

that was used to call Kevin.

Did you ever meet together at a
private cellar in Little Italy?

When we worked together, all the time.

I haven't been back
there since he canned me.

So the 30 times you called
him this month was what,

to catch up?

[EXHALES]

I was worried he was using my material

in the new special, which
would go against our contract,

but he blocked my cell,

so I used the payphone to call him.

Eventually, he picked up.

He assured me the tour
was all new material.

Even invited me to a show last week

so I could see for myself.

He had a show? Why
don't we know about this?

Because you weren't supposed to.

It was a surprise preview
of the upcoming special.

- Where was this?
- Some tiny black box theatre.

Media blackout. They made us sign NDAs.

I may have snuck in a recorder

in case I needed proof to sue.

Do you happen to still
have that recording?

I can dig that up.

[AUDIENCE LAUGHTER]

[LAUGHING]

[KEVIN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

[LAUGHING]

Hard at work, I take it.

Um, we're only 20 minutes in,

and so far the jokes are cutting, crude,

and definitely not vetted by legal.

Which would explain
why Kevin kept this show

a secret from his manager.

So whoever was at this show

got a preview of whatever
Kevin was going to say

on stage night after night
to thousands of people.

Maybe someone didn't like the material?

Yeah, but what joke's
worth k*lling over?

Can you, um,

go to the end of his set?

May September, it was
the final addition.

- End on a bang?
- Alright, end of the set.

Let me scroll back a minute.

[KEVIN]: And I'll tell you
why, you can't trust the media

because you've got people
like Neil Kent out there

banging junior anchors on the news desk.

[AUDIENCE LAUGHS, SHOUTS]

And I mean on the news desk.

Like, Neil Kent got
caught bare a*s, gut out,

cheek marks on the
glass on the news desk.

[RECORDING STOPS]

Well, that is a career-ender
if I ever heard one.

Maybe Neil wanted to k*ll
the story before it broke.

[TENSE MUSIC]

So you're thinking that Neil Kent

k*lled Kevin Russo in order to
stop him from ruining his career.

How do we even know that
this sex scandal is real?

We had another conversation with Talia,

Kevin's ghostwriter who
wrote the joke for him,

and she learned about
Neil through a friend

who works at the station who
happened to walk in on Neil

and a colleague in a
compromising position.

She didn't tell us about it at first

because it was one of
about a dozen takedowns

she wrote for Kevin.

- Had Talia ever performed this joke publicly?
- Never.

Besides, if Talia
tells it, it's a rumour.

But if Kevin performs
it, it's a headline.

Mmm. And that's where
we hit a roadblock.

Access.

This pop-up show was
supposed to be airtight.

Your suspicion of a
revered public figure

hinges on him knowing about the joke,

but as far as we know,

Neil wasn't even in
the audience that night.

Was he?

No, but he knew someone who was.

[ECHOING GAVEL]

I started as Neil's assistant last May.

Plan is to stay here for a
year, then move up to editorial.

Working for a man like
Neil must open some doors.

Yeah, but in order
for those doors to open,

you'd need to prove yourself.
Exhibit a little loyalty.

Look out for him.

Sorry, I don't follow.

Did you tell your boss that Kevin Russo

wrote quite the inflammatory
joke about him recently?

Um...

Brooke,

this is your signature on the NDA

from Kevin's surprise show, isn't it?

Okay, look. I didn't even want to go,

but my friend dragged me and...

So yeah, after the show, I
told Neil about Kevin's joke,

but he deserved to know.

Then what did he ask you to do?

He wanted Kevin's home address.

That's all.

Look, when Brooke told me
about the joke, I laughed.

Unfortunately, comedians
aren't held to the same

editorial standards as we are.

There's no vetting or fact-checking.

That joke was a baseless claim.

And if we were to ask
your colleague, Jessica,

she'd say the same?

Years ago, you two were
thick as thieves on camera.

I mean, there was this spark.

But then something happened,
and after Covid ended,

the separate desks stayed.

It's typical for coworkers
to seek as much separation

as possible after a breakup.

Jessica and I had a relationship.

It was completely
consensual, I might add.

Well, albeit, an abuse of power.

Back then, she was just starting out.

She was a junior anchor.

It was a brief affair.

Less than a year after
we call things off,

she met Andrew. She got married.

She brought her husband onto the show,

which squashed any kind
of chance of rekindling.

- It's all in the past.
- All the more reason

you'd be furious to
learn that a comedian

is about to air your
dirty laundry to the world.

When we spoke to your
assistant, she mentioned

that you also asked for Kevin's
home address to have a chat.

How'd that conversation
go, you know, man-to-man?

It didn't. I went to his condo, yeah,

but I couldn't get past his doorman.

So you can't appeal
to him to cut the joke,

and what do you know,
a week later, he's here,

on air, in your domain.

What strings did you
have to pull to land that?

None. Booking agents handle all of that.

I didn't even know he was on the show

until about an hour before the segment.

Well, like an hour after he left,

he was poisoned and your secret,

the one that would've destroyed
your marriage, your career,

just happened to die with him.

That, I'm afraid, is where
your story stops making sense.

My career is not that
fragile, I'm afraid.

This country trusts me,
and they have turned to me

for perspective for 35 years.

If the joke came out, I knew
I could weather the storm.

Sure, take a leaf out of
the cancelled men playbook.

Apology tour, then an extra-long hiatus

in Tuscany to weather the backlash, huh?

And be back in front of
the cameras before year end.

That little comic's
stunt didn't phase me.

- I never get it wrong.
- Well, you did last time.

- Hey.
- Hey, Jessica.

Could I have a quick
word, please, alone?

- Yeah, it's fine.
- I'll be outside.

[JESSICA CLEARS THROAT]

I don't have a lot of time. What's up?

They know, now. The cops know.

- What?
- About us.

[TENSE MUSIC]

Sorry. I, uh, thought you should know.

And, uh...

I owe you that much.

[DOOR OPENS AND SHUTS]

Thank you so much for your time.

Turns out Canada's most trusted
anchor was telling the truth.

Now, this one never made it to air,

but was filmed at the same time

Kevin was poisoned.

Good evening, I'm Neil Kent.

I'm Bianca Cruz.

Neil's on camera, he's not our k*ller.

Yeah, but who else is on the broadcast?

Bianca Cruz.

... after the NDP ended
their deal with the, uh,

sorry, the minority
Liberal government...

Look at her, she's dropping her words.

She's all over the place. Why?

Because she was pulled in last minute.

Filling in for Jessica.

Okay, that's interesting,
because I just got off the phone

with the show's booking agent.

It turns out Jessica is
the one who asked for Kevin

to be on the show.

[TENSE MUSIC]

Neil was right.

The joke wouldn't end him,
he was too established.

But someone like Jessica,
a young emerging talent,

Kevin's bit would tarnish her career.

She'd never be able
to outrun the scandal.

When Neil told me about the joke,

the first thing I did was
tell Andrew about our fling.

Even though the joke
didn't mention my name,

it wouldn't take long for
people to connect the dots.

So I wanted to get ahead of
the story in case it came out.

He didn't know about it?

You want to tell your spouse

that they've actually
been working for your ex

the past few years?

So, look, I talked to Andrew about it,

and he was understanding.

I wasn't gonna let some comedian

have the power to blow up my marriage.

Is that why you invited him on the show?

No, I...

wanted to give him free
PR to promote his show.

Maybe, I don't know,
garner some good will,

and then ask for a favour.

- To cut the joke?
- Mm-hmm.

And how'd that conversation go?

[SIGHS]

Okay, um...

I...

begged him...

alright, to spare my reputation,

my work, and you want
to know what he said?

He thanked me for the free publicity

and offered me tickets
to his opening night.

Are you afraid of losing your job?

No.

Because they wouldn't
fire me right away,

but that joke,

that was career cancer. Okay?

I'd be pushed onto smaller
shows at worse time slots,

until a few years later,

once everyone had forgotten...

that's when I'd be let go.

Kevin didn't care. He'd
do anything for a laugh.

It wasn't his story to tell.

I agree with you there.

So is that why you left work,

after he denied you,
to follow him to a bar

in Little Italy, to silence him before

he destroyed everything?

No.

I had just found out that
my life was about to blow up.

So I didn't want to be on camera.

I went home to think,

to make a plan.

That's all.

Personal files, calendars,
notes, we want it all.

Hi. Do you want to
completely embarrass us? Huh?

You could've given her warning, we
would've dismissed our staff early.

Search warrants tend to work
best when delivered unannounced.

- Trade secret.
- I'm done.

It's all happening anyway.

Okay, okay. Let me get this straight.

Jess gets taken advantage
of by a manipulative boss,

and you're trying to
make her the villain?

We don't make anyone anything.
It's not our job to judge.

We just perceive the facts, unbiased.

Oh yeah? Have you even looked into Neil?

- He hated Kevin.
- Well, at the time

Kevin was poisoned, Neil was on camera.

Unfortunately, your wife was not.

[TENSE MUSIC]

This isn't fair. You're crucifying her

for one stupid mistake
she made years ago.

I never said it was a mistake.

Again, not our place to judge.

Password?

Our lab can crack into it,

but you could save us the trouble.

You have nothing to hide,
so just show them, okay?

Can I? Can I?

Can you tell me what this is?

It's my notes from
yesterday's broadcast.

Forest fires in Western Canada...

I'm more interested in
the medium than the message.



Yeah, the thickness
helps it not shake on air.

Ah, another trade secret.

What concerns me is its other purpose.

You see, this exact type of card stock

was also used to deliver the poison

in Kevin's final drink.

[TENSE MUSIC]

Ey!

There you go. Good game, Alicia.

Well done. Fantastic.

Jessica learns about Kevin's
joke, leaves work early,

follows him to a private
cellar, poisons him.

- Problem solved.
- There's more.

Mark managed to pull Jessica's
credit card statements.

It turns out that the day
after Kevin previewed the joke,

Jessica paid for a consult
with Gafari PR crisis firm.

So she wanted them to run damage control

- when the scandal broke.
- Yeah, but the day after

Kevin died, she cancelled the meeting.

Why manage the crisis
if you can eliminate it?

Either that, or her problem

just so happened to be solved for her.

I'm more interested in the smoking g*n.

- The digoxin.
- How did Jessica get her hands

on it? I doubt there's a
charge in that statement

for a digoxin prescription.

No, but I may have
found the next best thing.

I'm sorry, he's taking a nap right now.

He gets tired in the afternoons.

Would you like to come back later?

No, we don't need to bother him.

Does Jessica visit her father often?

I mean, she pays for
his stay here, right?

She's been incredible to the facility.

Organizes fundraisers.
She's very generous.

How long has he had his heart condition?

For the past two
years, but we do our best

- to keep him comfortable.
- And medication helps.

Digoxin, modern-day miracle.

But I notice here the
script says interim supply.

I had to refill it early.

I must've replaced some of the pills.

Irene,

did Mr. Cartwright have
any visitors last week?

What is this? What am I looking at?

My resignation letter.

I'm honestly surprised

they're still putting me on the air.

[JESSICA SIGHS] Andrew...

This scandal is going to leak.

Alright? At least this way,
I can be out of the spotlight

when it does.

Why'd you have to do this?

- I don't know.
- Why Neil?

Why at work?

If you didn't, we wouldn't
be in this situation.

You wouldn't have to write this.

I know. I'm sorry.

Please, just help me spin this.

I need you.

I have cherished every moment here

working with an incredible crew.

And I don't take lightly the privilege

of being welcomed into your homes,

your living rooms,

for the past five years every night.

But unfortunately, this
will be my last broadcast

for some time, as I need
to take a personal leave

for some family matters.

But I am confident that I
will be back here shortly.

So until then,

I'm Jessica Cartwright.

Goodnight, Canada.

And we're clear.

[BELL RINGS]

[APPLAUSE]

- How was it?
- Come here.

- It was okay?
- You were perfect.

We just have a few
more questions for you,

if you don't mind.

Yeah, do you mind

just giving me a moment?

I really don't want an audience.

- Yeah, of course.
- Okay, everyone, thank you.

Thank you for a great broadcast.

Jessica wants a moment
before she leaves. Thank you.

Your father must be sad

to learn that you're taking
a break from the show.

We understand he
watches every broadcast.

Never misses one.

Irene told us that.

She seems like an excellent caregiver.

She's very on top of
things, like, you know,

your dad's digoxin prescription.

Ran out a few days ago, but she managed

to get an interim supply.

He's lucky to have such a strong circle

of care with her, you, and Andrew.

You, the loving daughter, and Andrew,

the supportive son-in-law.

You know, Andrew even went to visit him

a couple of days ago. Just
stopped in to check on him,

see how the old man's doing.

- Yeah, I drop by there often.
- Hmm. I bet you do.

We spoke with some of your crew earlier.

Great team.

You know, they said the
day that Kevin was here,

after Jessica left,
not 10 minutes later,

you also left the building?

Jess was distraught.

I saw her run out of here,

I went to find her, to console her.

Right.

And did he find you?

Did he call you?

I don't blame him.

Well, he was pretty busy himself,

following Kevin to a bar across town.

You know, Andrew's quite the mixologist.

I bet Kevin didn't even taste
the digoxin in his drink, did he?

You know, when all this comes out,

and after all the dust is settled,

I bet he's gonna try to convince you

that he was doing it all
to protect your career.

Okay, alright. Jess, we
don't need to be here for this.

- Come on. Jess?
- I'm sorry,

- what are you saying?
- You know, it took me a while

to really see you.

You masked it very well, you know,

but eventually, you revealed yourself.

The way that you
commented about Neil's age.

Or when you spoke about
Jessica and him together

with such revulsion.
But the funny thing was,

you didn't seem angry with him,

you were more angry with her

for being with him in the first place.

Now, I'm no therapist,

but I believe your husband

suffers from Retroactive Jealousy

- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
- Oh.

Oh, look, I know it's a mouthful,

but it's a real thing.

A disorder where one becomes obsessed

with a partner's past relationships.

- Okay.
- And somebody with that condition, like Andrew,

will go to extreme
lengths to seek reassurance

from their spouse, like
demanding the password

for your work computer to make sure

that you're not messaging your exes.

Is there any part of your life

that he hasn't pried his way into?

He's fragile.

He's just sensitive.

They all say they're just sensitive,

that they care too much.

It's just excuses for
controlling behaviour.

Okay, I don't know
what you're talking about

and I am not here for your diagnosis.

That's fine, I just still have
a few questions for your wife.

Does he obsessively grill you
about your past relationships

and explain to you why
they're beneath you?

Does he tell you that
he doesn't understand

why you were with them
in the first place?

When you learned about Kevin's joke,

were you nervous to tell your husband

about you and Neil?
Afraid of how he'd react?

No, I was wrong for doing what I did.

What? Having a life before him?

You know, most men
experience the garden variety

of retroactive jealousy. I know I have.

It's a pointless, useless feeling,

and the key is to ignore it.

But in your case, Andrew, your jealousy

was exacerbated by OCD.

Whereas instead of washing
your hands religiously

or checking on the perfect positioning

of an object multiple times,

your mind returned to these jealous,

negative, intrusive thoughts.

Feedback loop. A vicious cycle

that you couldn't escape.

And if Kevin's joke got out, this loop,

it would consume you. You
wouldn't be able to stop it.

It's one thing to learn
that you're working for a man

who slept with your
wife, but the humiliation

you would suffer if Kevin
told that joke over and over,

night after night, to
stadiums full of people?

It would be unbearable.

Andrew...

That joke, it had
nothing to do with you.

It had everything to do with me.

My reputation,

who I am as a man,
how the world views me,

and, and it kills me
that you can't realize

that you did this to me.

I mean, what, it wasn't
enough for you to screw him,

you had to make me work for him, too?

Did you like that?!

Was that funny to you?

That joke was going to ruin me

for a dumb mistake you made.

Someone had to shut him up,

and it sure as hell
wasn't going to be you!

You k*lled a man.

Are you kidding me?

A dumb mistake? You k*lled a man!

- It's over.
- Don't you touch me.

Don't, don't you dare. [GROANS]

Jess, don't just stand there. Jess!

[MELANCHOLY MUSIC]

[EXHALES]

How did I not see it?

How did I not see him?

Because he worked very hard
to conceal his darkest thoughts,

his true self.

And it worked, for a while.

For a while,

until the mask slipped.

[THEME MUSIC]