From a media release:
THE BOOK OF NEGROES continues to capture the attention of Canadians, with 1.3 million Canadians turning to CBC to watch the second episode of Aminata Diallo’s journey unfold, played by the luminous Aunjanue Ellis.
The award-winning novel by Lawrence Hill has been given a new life on the small screen; Canadians can watch on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC until February 11, 2015.
Sunnyside, City – “The Poniesâ€
You can change your life in a big way, or just a small one – for a fee – at Sunnyside’s new Alternate Reality store. Plus, Carla (Kathleen Phillips) and Graham’s (Rob Norman) joke, pretending to have a baby on social media, gets a little carried away; and a bachelorette party just doesn’t know when to stop.
The Nature of Things, CBC – “Lion in Your Living Room”
Cats are the most popular pet in the world, but it turns out that we don’t really know them at all. Meet the real lion in your living.
From a media release:
The fur is about to fly on Space when Season 2 of its most-watched original drama series BITTEN, premieres Saturday, Feb. 7 at 9 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT. Immediately following the Season 2 premiere of BITTEN, Space unleashes for the first-time ever its all-new, original insider series, INNERSPACE: AFTER BITE. Every Saturday night at 10 p.m. ET/11 p.m. PT, Ajay Fry, Morgan Hoffman, and Teddy Wilson, co-hosts of Space’s daily flagship entertainment show INNERSPACE, dissect each thrilling new episode of Space fans’ favourite original series. And feeding the fan frenzy for the series even more, Space is also launching The Undoing, a digital companion series for BITTENproduced by Space and interactive agency Secret Location.
Season 2 of the 10-episode, one-hour thriller sees the return of Laura Vandervoort(SMALLVILLE, Ted) as Elena, the world’s only female werewolf; Greyston Holt (ALCATRAZ,DURHAM COUNTY) as Elena’s passionate partner Clay Danvers; and Greg Bryk (A History Of Violence, THE BOOK OF NEGROES) as the Alpha Pack leader Jeremy Danvers.
Season 2 also introduces a coven of witches who turn to the Pack for support. Tammy Isbell(SAVING HOPE) stars as the calm and level-headed Coven leader, Ruth Winterbourne;Tommie-Amber Pirie (MICHAEL: TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS) is cast as Ruth’s daughter, the outspoken spitfire, Paige Winterbourne; and Kiara Glasco (COPPER) stars as the young and impressionable, Savannah Levine. Returning to BITTEN are Steve Lund (BEING ERICA, HAVEN) as Nick Sorrentino, Michael Xavier (THE BEST YEARS) as Dr. Logan Jonsen, and Genelle Williams (WAREHOUSE 13) as Rachel Sutton.
AFTER BITE is the newest series from Bell Media Productions. Along with the cast, crew, and other special guests, AFTER BITE offers BITTEN fans a chance to revel in the events that just unfolded in the most recent episode. Each episode features lively discussions about revealing hints at plot twists, theories on future episodes, special segments including secrets from set, fan interaction and a weekly online poll.
Set to launch late January on space.ca, The Undoing supports the storyline for the second season of BITTEN, delving into the rich backstory of a mysterious new character revealed in Season 2, by releasing a series of “found†materials, original photos, videos, and footage from the series. A Bell Fund initiative, with support from No Equal Entertainment, Entertainment One Television (eOne), and Hoodwink Entertainment, The Undoing will populate new content throughout the season in conjunction with each new episode.
Season 1 of BITTEN tested Elena’s strength and pushed her to embrace her fierce inner wolf. From the Mutt uprising orchestrated by Pack leader Jeremy Danvers’ father Malcolm, to finding the severed head of ex-boyfriend Phillip (Paul Greene) in her bed, Elena is out for blood. Reunited with The Pack and her true love Clay Danvers, nothing stands in the way of protecting her family and hunting down those who seek to destroy them. Season 2 sees The Pack on the hunt for Malcolm (James McGowan, DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION). In their quest to capture him, they uncover a more sinister force that threatens the existence of the werewolf species.
In the Season 2 premiere episode, “Bad Blood†(Saturday, Feb. 7 at 9 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT.), Elena and The Pack are on the hunt for Malcolm. Meanwhile, back at Stonehaven, Jeremy receives an ultimatum from the Council of International Alphas that challenges his leadership over North America.
From a media release:
Paul Lafrance (Disaster Decks, Canada’s Handyman Challenge) takes his creative talents and breathtaking designs indoors this winter in the new series Custom Built premiering Tuesday, February 17 at 10pm ET/PT on HGTV Canada. Paul breaks the mold of standard home renovations with unrivalled imagination to produce spectacular results stunningly tailored to the homeowner. Every week, viewers are treated to two exciting reveals as Paul and his crew take on a custom home renovation and a made-to-order piece in his workshop.
Whether hanging a vintage canoe from the ceiling or blinging out a bathroom with Roman-style columns, Paul defies traditional design and produces custom work that is truly one-of-a-kind. In each episode, viewers get a backstage pass into Paul’s busy workshop where he builds jaw-dropping projects like a zombie vanity or a showpiece wine cabinet made of old barn doors. Behind every request is a fascinating story that motivates Paul and the team to push their limits.
Paul is joined by his trusty crew of Kate Campbell, Joey Fletcher, and David Kenney to help execute each project. While always willing to lend a helping hand, they can also be seen causing mischief when Paul’s not around, even working on their golf swing from time to time.
If you’re a regular Saving Hope viewer, you’re a little more than well aware of Alex’s terrible track record as a walking, breathing beacon of bad luck. So after checking out those severely ominous previews, it certainly looked like her streak of misfortune would only continue with Wednesday’s all-new episode, as a very pregnant Alex stumbled upon a trapped boy deep in the woods. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s to never trust a trailer—a lesson hammered home through “Narrow Margin.”
Like all classic horror movies, the episode certainly set us up to be prepared for the life of Alex’s baby to be in potential jeopardy. Not only did it seem like every resident at Hope Zion suddenly feel the need to remind Alex to take it easy for the sake of her baby, Alex then decided to take a hike all by her lonesome on a trail with no cell reception. (How the heck is a girl supposed to update her Instagram account like that?!)
After stumbling upon the body of a teenager, Sam, trapped under a tree, I was convinced Alex would somehow try and lift the massive piece of wood from on top of him in some she-Hulk style manoeuvre. Instead, and to my utmost surprise, Alex was able to keep a level head, coming up with the brilliant plan to use Sam’s EpiPen in small doses to help keep him alert. Not only did she save the boy, but her own baby was never in any danger AND we found out that she’s having a boy, which was probably all for the best considering how often it feels like some part of Alex’s life is in peril. Sometimes the duller conclusion to a storyline is the best conclusion.
While Alex was doing her thing (most likely with Taylor Swift’s “Are We Out of the Woods Yet?” lyrics streaming in her mind), her two potential baby daddies were once again acting civil to one another in the pursuit of a medical miracle. I’ve enjoyed the past two weeks of the duo putting their paternity power struggle on the back burner in order to do their jobs in a civil manner. What I didn’t really enjoy, however, was the storyline that accompanied their patient, Sue (or Soo? I’m not sure), someone Joel had seen at the clinic. While treating her, Charlie connected to the spirit of Sue, who told the tragic tale of her untimely death while travelling with Sue on a boat from Cambodia. The kicker? Sue had to eat her sister in order to keep from starving. Certainly didn’t see that twist coming. Although it was nice to see the two remove a (disgusting) tumour from Sue’s mouth, the storyline really glided over Charlie’s pursuit of Sue’s now-grown son in order to help put her sister’s spirit to rest. Â One minute he was tasked with what sounded like the impossible, the next her son was by his mom’s bed.
What actually ended up being my favourite storyline of the night involved Zach and a stripper named Champagne (Continuum and Slings & Arrows star Melanie Merkosky) with a mystery diagnosis Zach was determined to figure out. The two had really great chemistry together—that vodka scene made me chuckle—as Zach finally figured out she’d been poisoned with anti-freeze by a crazy ex-boyfriend. Even more so, she helped distract Zach from stressing about whether he had prostate cancer (does it feel like Saving Hope always drops storyline bombs in the most subtle way to anyone else?).  Luckily, Zach is cancer free and won’t be going anywhere—except maybe straight to a Magic Mike audition with that strip scene through the hospital.
In more good news, looks like Joel won’t be going to prison, which leaves him still in the running for dad duty when Alex finally pops. Even more so, the scene gave us a chance to see Charlie, winner of the nicest guy on the planet award, sit down and help Joel come to terms with the fact that he may be innocent, but he still killed a man. This whole baby situation has really helped grow both characters and I’m all for it continuing.
Notes:
Saving Hope airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CTV.
What did you think of the episode? Drop us a comment below!
