All posts by Greg David

Prior to becoming a television critic and owner of TV, Eh?, Greg David was a critic for TV Guide Canada, the country's most trusted source for TV news. He has interviewed television actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes folks from hundreds of television series from Canada, the U.S. and internationally. He is a podcaster, public speaker, weekly radio guest and educator, and past member of the Television Critics Association.
Bitten, Industry News, Orphan Black

Will Pascoe announced as showrunner in residence for the Pacific Screenwriting Program’s 2021 Scripted Series Lab

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From a media release:

The Pacific Screenwriting Program (PSP) is excited to announce that award-winning Writer/Producer/Director Will Pascoe will serve as Showrunner-in-Residence for the 2021 Scripted Series Lab. Pascoe will mentor six up-and-coming BC-based screenwriters selected to participate in the program. He will lead the Writer’s Room as they develop his original series in the PSP’s flagship training program starting in January.

Going into its third year, the lab will implement a hybrid-style Writer’s Room combining in-person and virtual meetings that reflect the current production protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants will still get the full PSP experience including mentoring on their original pilot, additional workshops and information sessions with other industry leaders to equip them with the skills, experience and connections necessary to help establish a sustainable career in the province’s dynamic screen industry. The Pacific Screenwriting Program is a collaboration between Netflix, CMPA, the Writer’s Guild of Canada and Creative BC.

Will Pascoe most recently wrapped Showrunning the third season of Amazon’s hit series, Absentia. Previous to that, he wrote for Fox’s The Finder, Bell/SyFy Channel’s, Bitten; NBC’s drama series Chicago Med; BBC Worldwide/Starz’s Da Vinci’s Demons and Hulu’s Shut Eye starring Jeffrey Donovan and Isabella Rossellini. While working as writer and co-producer on Bell/BBC America’s Orphan Black, his episode “Variations Under Domestication” earned Pascoe a Canadian Writer’s Guild Award and nominations for an Edgar Allan Poe Award and a Hugo Award. A graduate of the Writer’s Guild of America’s prestigious Showrunner Training Program, Will has also developed television series for Twentieth-Century Fox, Playtone, and Universal Studios.

The Scripted Series Lab is a 15-week intensive training program providing support and career-advancement opportunities for active and aspiring screenwriters from across British Columbia, where they receive the necessary support to expand their portfolio and pursue opportunities in the evolving TV marketplace. Throughout the program, participants hone their craft, strengthen their collaboration and presentation skills, and obtain a deeper understanding of the global television industry and how to market themselves within it. As the Scripted Series Lab showrunner, Pascoe will mentor the six selected participants within a real-world story room over 10 weeks, breaking stories and writing scripts for the original project he brings to the room and will subsequently be pitching to streamers and networks around the world.

For more information, please visit the Pacific Screenwriting Program website.

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Industry News

New production company Big Time Decent Productions launches in Vancouver

From a media release:

Producer and director Matt Shewchuk has launched a new Vancouver-based production company, Big Time Decent Productions, which will focus on developing and producing unscripted and scripted series, feature films and digital content. The company is in development on a number of new projects with Corus Entertainment, has partnered with finance executive Pricilla Hui to run business affairs, and has brought industry veteran René Brar on board as Head of Development.

Big Time Decent Production’s first series, Backroad Truckers, produced in partnership with Mayhem Entertainment and distributed by Corus Studios, will premiere on HISTORY® in Winter 2021. The unscripted series follows the crazy world of “hot-shot truckers” as they tackle some of the most harrowing roads and dangerous off-road locations in northern British Columbia in their custom ‘monster’ trucks.

Rene Brar

The company has also secured strategic partnerships including post-production services with producer and editor Bridget Durnford (Chicago Med, Fargo), a development deal with showrunner Tommy Blacha (Metalocalypse) for a new half-hour animated comedy series, as well as a talent deal with social media sensation Larry Enticer. They are currently in development on a new series featuring the much-loved internet star.

Company founder, Matt Shewchuk, is Executive Producer for the hit factual series Rust Valley Restorers, which airs domestically on HISTORY and internationally on Netflix as one of the streaming service’s most viewed car shows. Shewchuk recently produced the OUTtv series Dog Dudes which is distributed internationally by Cineflix and directed the hit Discovery Channel series Highway Thru Hell and Heavy Rescue: 401. He was also a producer on the romantic comedy feature film, Three Night Stand, starring Meaghan Rath and Emmanuelle Chriqui.

Larry Enticer

Bringing 20 years of scripted and unscripted experience to the team, Head of Development René Brar was formerly an independent producer with Soshefeigh Media, where he co-created and executive produced The Algorithm (TV3 Ireland) and Battle Cats (Blue Ant & Channel 4 UK), and was previously a development executive for director Ridley Scott on feature films such as Hannibal and Black Hawk Down. He also developed a range of unscripted docs and formats for Stone & Company Entertainment, including Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style (Bravo) and The Mole (ABC).

For more information on the company, visit bigtimedecent.com.

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Tribal

APTN’s Tribal returns for Season 2 production

From a media release:

APTN and Prairie Dog Film + Television’s one-hour crime drama series, TRIBAL begins Season 2 production today in Calgary.

In Season 2 of TRIBAL, Chief Sam Woodburn and Detective Bukansky’s grisly discovery causes them to question who they can trust. Connie appoints a new leader of the Task Force as they try to uncover who is responsible for the “Tomb”, Indigenous bodies buried under a water treatment plant. An uprise of crime continues. A white poacher is found dead on a reserve. A hostage is taken into custody. Murders linked to ritualistic manners take place. Are the “Starlight Tours resurrected”? Sam and Buke come face-to-face with the memory of Buke’s shooting. The divide escalates between the Metro and Tribal police departments, affecting Sam and Buke’s partnership.

TRIBAL’s cast and crew return to set following health and safety protocols due to COVID-19. TRIBAL’s Showrunner Ron E. Scott shares, “It has been an interesting journey. We are looking forward to getting back to shooting with our hard-working cast and crew. Season 2 includes new dimensional, ripped-from-the-headlines stories, including missing and murdered Indigenous people, police corruption and the effects of PTSD. We look forward to welcoming the new cast and crew to the series.”

TRIBAL’s award-winning cast returns including Jessica Matten (Frontier, Blackstone) and Brian Markinson (Mad Men, Unspeakable). The series will again feature the talented Garry Chalk, and Julian Black Antelope with new characters featuring Marci T. House, Stephen Huszar, Wesley French and Ashley Callingbull.

Filming will take place at various locations in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

TRIBAL is led by Executive Producer & Showrunner Ron E. Scott, Co-Executive Producer Janet Hamley, Co-Executive Producer Adam Frost, and produced by Scott Lepp. The series will broadcast in Canada on APTN.

TRIBAL is produced in association with APTN, in participation with the Canada Media Fund and the Rogers Cable Network Fund, with assistance from the Government of Alberta, the Screen-based Production Grant and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit.

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Slasher

Slasher: Flesh & Blood in production for Shudder and Hollywood Suite

From a media release:

Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, announced today that it has teamed up with award-winning production company Shaftesbury to make a new eight-episode installment of the hugely popular horror series, Slasher. Hailed by Bloody Disgusting as “top-notch horror storytelling”, Slasher: Flesh & Blood will stream exclusively on horror platform Shudder in the US, Australia and New Zealand in 2021. Shudder will also be the streaming home for Flesh & Blood in Canada, the UK and Ireland following its linear premieres in those countries. The series will be broadcast exclusively on Hollywood Suite in Canada. Production is underway now in Ontario, Canada.

Slasher: Flesh & Blood follows a wealthy but dysfunctional family gathering for a reunion on a secluded island. Their old wounds and competitive rivalries flare up when the family realizes a masked killer is on the island, intent on cruelly picking them off one by one. As with the past installments of the series, Slasher: Flesh & Blood will combine elements of traditional murder mystery with the intense horror and bold kills that audiences have come to expect.

Canadian horror legend David Cronenberg has joined the cast for the new season, which will also continue Slasher’s trend of bringing back cast members in new roles. Returning from previous seasons are Paula Brancati, Jefferson Brown, Patrice Goodman, Sabrina Grdevich, and Christopher Jacot. New faces this year include Rachael Crawford (Heartland), Jeananne Goosen (The Walking Dead), Sydney Meyer (Departure), and Alex Ozerov (The Americans).

Slasher is developed and produced by Shaftesbury and created by Aaron Martin. Slasher is executive produced by Aaron Martin, Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, David Ozer, Thomas P. Vitale, and Ian Carpenter, who also serves as showrunner; Adam MacDonald is director.

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Industry News

Pier 21 Films partners with Canadian YouTube personality Jus Reign on new comedy series for CBC

From a media release:

Acclaimed independent production company Pier 21 Films announced today it has partnered with one of Canada’s most popular comedic talents and YouTube personality, Jasmeet Singh Raina (aka Jus Reign) on a new half-hour series Late Bloomer (w/t), currently in development at the CBC.

Inspired by his own real-life experiences, Late Bloomer focuses on Raina’s journey navigating his newly found internet fame, dating, spirituality, culture, and his dysfunctional (yet loving) family. As a first generation Indo-Canadian, his identity is constantly questioned as he struggles to find the balance between Eastern customs centered around community and the Western ideal of individualism.

With more than 167 Million YouTube views, 970,000+ subscribers and 1M+ fans on Facebook, Jus Reign is a viral sensation known for his irreverent humor incorporating his ethnic background and upbringing into his comedic work. Referred to as “a social media superstar” by Huffington Post, he’s hosted the iHeartRadio MMVAs red carpet show and was also featured in Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘Mean Tweets’ for YouTube Creators. In 2019, Raina suddenly stopped posting content to his social platforms which has sparked fan conspiracies and a massive international audience craving his return to their screens.

Renowned stand-up comedian, actor, producer Russell Peters is also attached to executive produce the project. Peabody Award, International Emmy, Gemini Award and Canadian Screen Award winner, Peters was the first stand-up special for Netflix and has been broadcast on HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, CBC, CTV, BBC and Amazon Prime.

Co-produced by Pier 21 Films and Reign Productions, Late Bloomer is written, executive produced, created by and starring Jasmeet Singh Raina and executive produced by Pier 21 Films, Baljinder Dhawan, Russell Peters and Clayton Peters.

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