Brenda O’Farrell
The Advocate

On some level, it’s a story that the Quebec Maple Syrup Federation would rather forget. But a newly released six-part series now on Prime Video is bringing the tale of the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist to a new and very wide audience.

Days after its Dec. 6 release, The Sticky topped the rankings on the streaming service as the most-watched series in Canada. It also attracted wide media coverage – from a feature in The Globe and Mail to the topic of conversation on the widely viewed Quebec television talk show Tout le monde en parle.

Described as “The Breaking Bad for the world of maple syrup,” the series is far from a documentary. In fact, it is only very loosely based on the real events of 2011-’12, when thieves made off with more than $18 million worth of maple syrup from a warehouse in central Quebec, a feat that earned the distinction of being the biggest theft in Canadian history. But as the producers clearly state with a message that runs across the television screen at the beginning of each episode: “This is absolutely not the true story of the great Canadian maple syrup heist.”

But the parallels to the Quebec crime are apparent – from the setting in the snow-covered maple bushes in central Quebec, to the warehoused strategic syrup reserve and the distinct Québécois accents.

In real life the famed theft exposed the Producteurs et productrices acéricoles du Québec’s incompetence as it stored its cache of barrels of maple syrup worth more than a $100 million in a former furniture warehouse with barely any security. But the series frames the tale as more of a David-and-Goliath battle.

The series stars well-known U.S. character actress Margo Martindale, who plays Ruth Landry, an English-speaking maple syrup-maker’s wife, who teams up with a Boston-based mobster, played by actor Chris Diamantopoulos. They get in league with the warehouse security guard to steal syrup from what is referred to as “the association,” the maple syrup marketing board that controls who can produce and sell the sweet Quebec staple. The rest of the cast is comprised of well-known Quebec actors who switch from speaking French to English.

The series even has a dash of Hollywood, as producer Jamie Lee Curtis has a small but important role.

The six-episode series is now on Prime Video.

Cutline:

Chris Diamantopoulos and Margo Martindale star in The Sticky, a true-crime-inspired heist thriller based on the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist of 2011-’12. Producer Jamie Lee Curtis also appears.

Credit:

Courtesy Prime Video