From Michael Pickard of Drama Quarterly:
Link: Feud for Thought
After working in LA for many years, Canadian writer Sheri Elwood was asked what kind of show she would be interested in making back home. The answer, it transpired, was a love letter to the place where she was raised, having grown up as part of a large family and with parents who owned a summer resort in picturesque Nova Scotia. Continue reading.
From Daniel D’Addario of Variety:
Link: Archie Panjabi and Christopher Plummer Make for a Thrilling ‘Departure’: TV Review
“Departure,†a drama that will hook those who seek from their viewing a charge of adrenaline, if not always the most rigorously challenging of mysteries. Continue reading.
From Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter:
Link: Departure: TV Review
Created by Vince Shiao, Departure begins with a flight from New York to London going horribly wrong. Continue reading.
From Gerrad Hall of Entertainment Weekly:
Link: Peacock’s Departure: Archie Panjabi on airplane crash mystery
“I loved the parallels between her being an air crash investigator and yet she had been through this huge traumatic event in her own life.” Continue reading.
From Radhika Marya of Fortune:
Link: Christopher Plummer on his new series ‘Departure’ and acting in different formats
Christopher Plummer hopes audiences will enjoy watching a “good yarn†when his new series Departure debuts on Peacock Thursday. Continue reading.
From Cynthia Vinney of CBR:
Link: Peacock’s Departure Is a Twisty, Turny, if Conventional, Mystery
Departure focuses on the investigation around what happened to the missing flight, and from the start, is firmly grounded in reality. Continue reading.
From Debra Yeo of the Toronto Star:
Link: Vincent Shiao never expected his plane crash series ‘Departure’ to get made — let alone star Christopher Plummer and Archie Panjabi
“I always wondered why isn’t there a (drama) about these types of investigators who try to solve the mysteries of plane crashes around the world.” Continue reading.
From Melissa Hank of Postmedia:
Link: Christopher Plummer takes flight in new TV drama Departure
“I didn’t mind going back to television. All my friends are going back to television, and it seems to be the fashionable thing to do at the moment.” Continue reading.Â
From a media release:
CTV and Just For Laughs announced today that production has wrapped on an all-new season of THE STAND UP SHOW WITH JON DORE. Amid COVID-19 safety protocols, eight half-hour episodes were filmed in front of live, socially distanced audiences at Crow’s Next Theatre in Toronto last month.
Produced as part of Bell Media’s ongoing partnership with Just For Laughs and hosted by Canadian comedian Jon Dore (THE JON DORE TELEVISION SHOW, FUNNY AS HELL), the second season is slated to premiere on CTV Comedy Channel, with broadcast details to be confirmed later.
Featuring Dore’s notorious offbeat humour, the newest episodes features performances from some of Canada’s most sought-after homegrown comedians including Al Val, Debra DiGiovanni, Nour Hadidi, and Salma Hindy, as well as many coveted Just For Laughs’ New Faces: Canada alumni like Cassie Cao, Brandon Ash-Mohammed, Dave Merheje, Hoodo Hersi, Hisham Kelati, Nick Nemeroff, Ron Josol, , Yumi Nagashima, and many more.
THE STAND UP SHOW WITH JON DOREÂ is produced by CTV, in association with Just For Laughs Television and Counterfeit Pictures. Bruce Hills is Executive Producer and also President, Just For Laughs. Anton Leo serves as Executive Producer, along with Dan Bennett and Shane Corkery of Counterfeit Pictures.
From Daily Hive:
Link: New series Trickster is a can’t-miss drama meets supernatural thriller
It’s a gritty and delightfully creepy coming of age teenage drama set in a troubled world that still manages to feel entirely Canadian — and incredibly fun. Continue reading.Â
From Radheyan Simonpillai of Now Toronto:
Link: TIFF review: Trickster is electrifying
Trickster is a scrappy, bare-knuckle answer to the Harry Potter series. The comparison might seem reductive but the parallels are there. Both are coming-of-age tales with supernatural elements. And both are about young boys absorbing personal traumas and discovering their inherent power and purpose. Continue reading.
From David Friend of Canadian Press:
Link: ‘Trickster’ actor Joel Oulette on the ‘overwhelming’ rise of CBC’s new series
When it comes to career milestones, actor Joel Oulette considers his passing appearance during a commercial break on “Hockey Night in Canada†to be one of the coolest so far. Continue reading.
From David Friend of the Canadian Press:
Link: Eden Robinson says she couldn’t unsee ‘Trickster’ cast while writing third book
Eden Robinson says the actors in CBC’s upcoming mystical-thriller “Trickster†have winnowed their way into her imagination. Continue reading.Â
From Debra Yeo of the Toronto Star:
Link: Funny, exciting, with magical monsters: Michelle Latimer and the cast on why ‘Trickster’ isn’t your stereotypical Indigenous show
“There’s so many people who are just so used to that old narrative of just like a native on horseback with the bow and arrow. You’ve got to change that perspective.†Continue reading.
From Heather M. of The Televixen:
Link: Michelle Latimer talks Trickster
“My favorite thing in the world is young talent. I just love working with green, young talent. It’s kind of like working with a dancer or an athlete [and] rooting them in their body and in their intuitive emotional sides. And that’s really fun for me.” Continue reading.Â
From Haley Lewis of Flare:
Link: 6 Reasons to watch Trickster, CBC’s new supernatural thriller
Trickster has the opportunity to help bridge the gap between Indigenous art consumed by Indigenous folks and Indigenous art consumed by everyone. Continue reading.
From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: 7 Reasons why Trickster is a must-watch
For those not familiar with Robinson’s best-selling books, Trickster is a unique blend of storytelling unlike much else we’ve seen on television. It’s fresh and exciting and leaves viewers never knowing what to expect next. Continue reading.
From a media release:
As a precautionary measure in response to an individual on the Battle of the Blades production team testing positive for COVID-19, Insight Productions has temporarily halted all training and pre-production on the upcoming season to ensure the health and safety of the entire cast and crew. CBC fully supports this decision and, as a result, is postponing the October 15th live premiere of Battle of the Blades Season 6. CBC will provide additional scheduling updates as soon as possible.
A CBC original series, Battle of the Blades is produced by Insight Productions. The series is executive produced by Insight’s John Brunton, Lindsay Cox, Erin Brock, and Mark Lysakowski and is co-created and executive produced by Olympian and World & Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Famer Sandra Bezic.
