Yearly Archives: 2015

Industry News

DHX Media licenses two series to U.S., Asia and Latin America

From a media release:

DHX Media (“DHX” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: DHXM; TSX: DHX.A, DHX.B), a key player internationally in the creation of content for families and children, has signed broadcast deals with Disney XD channels for two series recently commissioned by DHX TV to air originally on its Family CHRGD channel. DHX Media licensed the new 50×11′ animated fantasy series, Fangbone! to Disney XD channels in the US, Latin America, South East Asia and Taiwan. In a further deal, it also licensed the innovative original series Gaming Show (In My Parents’ Garage) to Disney XD in the US where it will premiere Wednesday, September 9 (9:30 p.m., ET/PT).

Fangbone! is a Radical Sheep Production. DHX Television commissioned the series for Canada where it will air on the wacky, wild and energy-filled Family CHRGD network, entering the market in early 2016. The series is aimed at 8–12 year olds and follows the quest of the titular character, a young barbarian from Skullbania, as he travels through a magical portal into the suburbs of our world with a most dangerous burden. His mission is to protect the blackened and slightly jam-smelling big toe of Venomous Drool from being reunited with its master – the evilest sorcerer in all the planes of existence! Fangbone becomes the best friend of Bill – a kid whose weirdness is his ultimate weapon – and who helps Fangbone survive in a world of spelling tests and waffles.

Together, Fangbone and Bill battle Drool’s monsterish creations, along with fat-fingered foot finders, independent magical contractors, and even the thieving Shadowsteppers – keeping the toe safe from any who would use its evil powers. Fangbone! is a tale of epic comedy, epic action and epic epicness! The series is based on the books by New York Times bestselling author Michael Rex.

Gaming Show is an innovative TV show that takes kids and tweens into the world of gaming in a new and exciting way. It’s a fun, authentic, comedic, and informative, semi-scripted gamer magazine series, “un-hosted” by three original, young and passionate gamers. The series is produced by Banger Films’ kids division, B-Minors and created by Jesse Shamata. Twenty-five new 30-minute episodes of the Canadian Screen Award-nominated, live-action show are in production for DHX Television’s Family Channel and Family CHRGD.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Children's Programming, Featured

Nick Cannon’s Make It Pop dances onto YTV

K-pop is invading Canada. The South Korean musical genre that celebrates a riot of visuals set to an addictive beat grabs the spotlight in YTV’s Make It Pop.

Debuting Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET/PT with two back-to-back episodes, DHX Media’s fast-paced tween series follows four freshman at Mackendrick Preparatory who are determined to win spots in the art school’s musical. There’s Sun Hi (Megan Lee), a sometimes overconfident gal who records every move she makes for her fans; Jodi (Louriza Tronco), a gifted choreographer; Corki (Erika Tham) a home-schooled bookworm who values her privacy; and Caleb (Dale Whibley), a clumsy but lovable dude and brilliant musician. Co-created by Nick Cannon and Thomas Lynch, Make It Pop already launched in the U.S. in Nickelodeon last summer; the sophomore go-round of the Canadian-American co-production is filming now.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with some K-pop artists in the past in Korea and that’s how I was introduced to the world,” Cannon tells us from the Degrassi set where Make It Pop is filmed. “I’ve been working in youth television for awhile and said, ‘This would make interesting television.’ I got with my mentor, my guide, Tommy Lynch who has been doing this for many moons and we started to discuss this.”

Make_It_Pop1

Wednesday’s debut is jammed with dance and musical performances—during the opening assembly for the new school year and when Sun Hi goes back to the dorm room to retrieve her cell phone—and laughs, from Caleb’s blissfully bombastic creation of beats to Mr. Stark, Mackendrick’s over-the-top theatre teacher played by Matt Baram, from Sun’s unbreakable positivity to Jodi’s biting sarcasm.

“Everyone is wild around me and then I have the one sarcastic line that brings everything to a halt,” Vancouver’s Tronco says with a laugh.

But make no mistake, Make It Pop has a message for its young viewers: follow your dreams. A veteran of kid’s programming via such projects as The Nick Cannon Show, All That, Star Camp and Incredible Crew, Cannon may have a laid-back air about him while slouching in a chair and sporting sunglasses, but he’s dead serious about his responsibilities to young TV viewers.

“We grow up on shows like Degrassi or my stuff from my Nickelodeon days, that’s when content and entertainment mean the most,” he says. “That’s when you’re the most inspired and informed by things. It more important to you because that’s all you have. Adults use entertainment to escape, but when you’re a teen or tween it’s helping shape you.”

Make It Pop airs Wednesdays at 7 p.m. ET/PT on YTV.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Lost Girl

Link: ‘Lost Girl’ Talk: Michael Grassi on “44 Minutes to Save the World”

From Emily Gagne of Cinefilles:

‘Lost Girl’ Talk: Michael Grassi on “44 Minutes to Save the World”
“Interesting you bring this up because it was a big conversation in our story room. Hades is many things, but we don’t think he’s a liar. Of course, everything he says can be open to interpretation. His idea of “make things better” might be different than yours or mine.” Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Highway Thru Hell hauls into Season 4

1 Comment

There’s something horrifying about watching a tractor trailer, weighed down with supplies, sliding slowly off an icy highway and into a ditch. It’s a bit of a mind-blower to witness the effect millimetres of frozen water has on such a big beast. But it’s something Jamie Davis and his staff see almost every day during winter travel on the Coquihalla Highway and he’s made a career out of it.

This Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on Discovery, Highway Thru Hell rolls on with 13 new episodes, documenting the successes, drama and disappointment that involves Davis, his staff and competitors. It takes a special type of person to go into the freezing cold and pull rigs off chunks of highway with nicknames like “The Smasher,” but it’s just another day for Big Al, who’s at the helm of Quiring Towing; within minutes of the Season 4 return he’s helping the occupants away from their smashed car, worried they’ll be injured by a sliding rig.

Meanwhile in Lac La Biche, Davis is busier than ever, and has expanded his fleet to cover not just the oil fields but Edmonton itself.

And while you can rest assured the Coq gets slippery in winter, there are changes afoot in Season 4. Davis’ right-hand man, Howie, left to work for a city-based towing company to be closer to his family, and Adam cut ties to work for a rival outfit in B.C., meaning Colin has to step into the role. Colin’s first job? To pull a tractor trailer upright using the rotator, a tougher machine to operate than a tow truck, and newbie John has two decades of towing on his resumé, but must prove he belongs on the B.C. team.

What I like about Highway Thru Hell is the lack of extra fluff. Sure, we learn the personal stories of the folks working these snowy strips of asphalt, but the focus is almost always on the men and women putting their lives on the line to help others out of a tight spot. (And kudos to the producers, who often include a quick science lesson as to how these trucks ended up in their precarious positions.) I may not have the skill-set to drive a tow truck and haul rigs around, but I can certainly appreciate and salute those who do.

And man, does it look stunning in HD.

Highway Thru Hell airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Discovery.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail