WGN America Renews ‘Pure’

WGN America has renewed crime drama Pure well ahead of the show’s early 2019 premiere, said network officials.

The series, which stars Ryan Robbins and Alex Paxton-Beesley, follows the journey of a newly elected Mennonite pastor whose efforts to rid his community of the scourge of drugs and its ties to ruthless Mexican cocaine cartels thrusts his family into a world of violence, greed and betrayal, the network said. 

Related: WGN America Secures Rights to Three Scripted Series

WGN America's "Pure"

WGN America's "Pure"

The first season of Pure will debut in early 2019, and the second season is scheduled to begin production in Nova Scotia later this spring. Pure is produced by Two East Productions and Cineflix, and executive produced by Michael Amo (The Listener), Ken Girotti (Orphan Black, Vikings), Brett Burlock, Peter Emerson and David MacLeod (Call Me Fitz).

Pure is a stand-out scripted drama series with powerful characters and intense conflict in a very unique world,” said Gavin Harvey, president of WGN America in a statement. “We are fully committed to this riveting series and knew we wanted to extend the story before the first episode even hits our air."

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.