Being Erica is a show that takes us back in time to look at how we could’ve done things differently. But what if the producers of the show, Jana Sinyor and Aaron Martin, had made different choices? In a parallel reality, there’s a different actress playing Julianne Giacomelli, Erica’s sister never hooked up with Lenin and we might have met Dr. Tom in a previous life.

We sat down with Jana and Aaron and put together a list – not of their regrets – but of things that could have been incredibly different and things that you might not know about Being Erica.

1. Most shocking of all, Being Erica almost wasn’t called Being Erica. The show was first conceived as The Session, which isn’t quite as intimite as the title we’ve come to know and love!
2. Ultra metrosexual character Brent Kennedy (played by Morgan Kelly) has long been thought of as gay by viewers. Even Adam in this recent season has raised an eyebrow when Erica suggested Brent was heterosexual. However, Sinyor is adamant: “Brent was never gay in our minds – ever. Always been a red-blooded heterosexual man from the first moment we met him.”
3. When Erica’s sister Samantha (Joanna Douglas) split up with her husband Josh, she fell in love with laid-back janitor Lenin. But fans will be surprised to know that the original plan was for Sam to fall in love with an ultra-Orthodox Jew and become ultra-Orthodox herself.
4. Being Erica’s first season focused on her burgeoning romance with best friend Ethan, but the original plan had Erica in an on-going romance with her teacher from the pilot…
5. Ivan and Dave, the wonderful bear-like owners of Goblins, are named after Ivan Schneeburg and David Fortier, the two very straight, very un-bear-like owners of Temple Street. (Temple Street Productions is the Toronto-based production company which makes the show)
6. In Season 1, Erica was sent back in time to collegeIn and ripped off a Britney Spears lyrics for her poem. However, Sinyor and Martin originally wanted Erica to steal the lyrics from Alanis Morisette’s “You Oughta Know”. Which would have been much more controversial!
7. In an alternative casting universe, Reagan Pasternak might never have played publishing queen Julianne Giacomelli. Did you know that Anna Silk, who played Erica’s lesbian friend Cassidy, first auditioned for the role of Julianne. Can you imagine anyone other than Reagan Pasternak giving off air-quotes and demanding the perfect latte from her minions? Anna Silk can currently be seen investigating supernatural crimes in the brilliant fantasy series Lost Girl.
8. The Season 1 finale, “Leo” – in which Erica revisits her brother Leo’s death and ignites Doctor Tom’s temper by trying to change the course of events – was originally the penultimate episode of that season until CBC rightfully pointed out that it was the finale. It was quickly replaced with a new episode, which became “Erica The Vampire Slayer”.
9. Remember that penultimate episode in season three where Erica meets her first patient and taps him on the shoulder? Remember that frustratingly the next episode had absolutely no continuity and instead plunged Erica into a Christmas adventure? Well, according to Sinyor and Martin, “The holiday special in Season 3 is in its own Being Erica reality – one that doesn’t fall immediately after the events of “Erica, Interrupted”, even though it aired after that episode chronologically…”
10. There was a planned storyline that looked at reincarnation through Erica and Dr. Tom, taking us into their past lives and exploring the connection between them. Fortunately, or unfortunately – depending on how you look at it – that story line never saw the light of day.

And stay tuned to Spoilerville tomorrow when we publish our exclusive interview with Jana Sinyor and Aaron Martin where we talk more in-depth about Being Erica and give you some new insights into the series!

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