Credit: Image: Craig Sjodin/ABC

Daytime actress headed to primetime.

Updated: April 13: Soaps.com can report that General Hospital alum Vinessa Antoine’s (Port Charles’ ex-Jordan Ashford) Canadian television show Diggstown will air on BET’s streaming platform BET+.  It will debut on April 23.

On January 28, 2019, Soaps.com learned that Vinessa Antoine’s new show Diggstown will premiere March 6 on the CBC. As previously reported, the show is expected to eventually be distributed outside of Canada. Scroll down to watch the latest trailer for the program.

On September 27, Soaps.com alerted viewers missing Vinessa Antoine on General Hospital as Jordan Ashford will be able to watch her new Canadian show Diggstown here in the United States. Soaps.com has learned that Entertainment One, a global independent studio that specializes in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution, and sales of entertainment content, has picked the international television rights for the show and will handle distribution for the series outside of English-speaking Canada. Noel Hedges, eOne’s executive VP of acquisitions and international distribution commented, “Adding to our diverse and robust slate, Diggstown builds on our offering of distinctive episodic dramas featuring compelling characters and multifaceted storylines in a distinct and unique location.” Floyd Kane, who is the creator, executive producer and showrunner of Diggstown added, “We are pleased to have eOne, a world-class media company, as our partner on Diggstown. Noel and his team are the perfect fit for the brand of elevated episodic drama we’re hoping to make.” Diggstown is currently in production and will be introduced to buyers at MIPCOM next month.

On July 16, Soaps.com congratulated General Hospital’s Vinessa Antoine (Port Charles’ Jordan Ashford) on being cast in the upcoming Canadian Broadcasting Corporation drama series Diggstown. Antoine shared the news on social media stating, “So honored and excited for this!!” The actress joined GH in 2014 and this past January Antoine signed a new contract with GH. However, she will no longer be on GH, as reported by The Toronto Star.

Antoine’s casting in Diggstown sets a first in Canadian TV history. The actress, who hails from Toronto, will be the first black Canadian actress to star in a primetime drama on legacy network television. She tells The Toronto Star, “I’m just very excited to be chosen to do this. I think it’s something that’s been long overdue. But everything is changing right now and it’s definitely time.” In the show she will play Marcie Diggs, a top corporate lawyer who decides to dedicate herself to a legal aid office in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Of the character, Antoine notes, “She’s complex, not stereotypical, and that’s refreshing.” The show also focuses on an under-represented segment of Canada, the historic black communities of Nova Scotia. “There is a huge community with a rich history in Nova Scotia that is finally going to be spotlighted and I think it’s time for their stories to be told,” Antoine states.

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As for the future of her character Jordan Ashford on GH, Antoine reveals, “We were in the planning stages of the wedding [Jordan and Curtis] and ABC hasn’t announced what will happen. But it’s a soap opera and something traumatic always happens at a wedding. But it would have been a first for a black couple to be married on General Hospital, but we’re not sure where the storyline is going. Since giving the original interview, Vinessa Antoine revealed Jordan is being recast and she is leaving the show.

Antoine begins taping her new show in August. Diggstown is scheduled to air in the fall and winter seasons on the CBC.