Motive’s Kristin Lehman

For this murder show, Vancouver can unapologetically play its own dark self

Kristin Lehman isn’t a police woman, but she sure has played a lot of them on TV. Det. Danielle Carter on Killer Instinct. Det. Jordan McGuire on the ’90s Kung Fu reboot The Legend Continues. And especially, Det. Angie Flynn in the CTV crime drama Motive, beginning its second season March 6.The city-shot show, which drew over a million viewers in its first season, upends the buddy-cop genre, starting each episode by revealing killer and victim, then exploring in 44 tightly scripted, sometimes gory minutes the passion behind for the crime.Lehman finds pleasure in many aspects of the show, which films in (and name-checks) locations throughout Vancouver. “I really thrive on the fact I get to be in the city I was born and raised in — a place I want to raise my family,” she says on a break at Burnaby’s Bridge Studios.Life isn’t perfect, of course. Her character is, after all, immersed in murder. “It’s not psychologically pleasing, necessarily, for me, constantly exploring the darker side of human frailties.” The commute from West Van sucks. And long filming days take their toll. “I go to work in a pretend police station. I arrive when it’s dark, I go home in the dark — after a while I start to crave more constant involvement with real life.” Overall, though, she’s having a ball. “I’m extremely patriotic and fiercely proud to be in Vancouver filming. I feel blessed to call this home, and for it to be the place I work.”