From Etan Vlessing of The Hollywood Reporter:
Link: Writers Guild of Canada confronts criticism over inclusion: “There’s No Hidden Agenda”
After the Writers Guild of Canada took to social media to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement, the Canadian screenwriters union has had to defend its policies on diversity and inclusion. Continue reading.Â
From a media release:
Today Global unveiled its 2020/21 programming slate loaded with new, high profile series and returning hits to create a dynamic and solid schedule of premium content. On the heels of yesterday’s announcement about new pickups 60 Minutes and 48 Hours, Global adds three new primetime shows to its fall lineup. Starring Emmy® winner Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife) and Oscar® winner Christopher Plummer (All The Money In The World), the much-anticipated North American debut of Global Original event series Departure lands this fall on Global, along with licensed series The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah (Chicago, Bessie), who also serves as executive producer, and sci-fi drama neXt starring John Slattery (Mad Men). These new series join Global’s 19 returning primetime hit shows offering compelling dramas, hilarious comedies, and beloved reality series.
Plus, fresh off its win of the coveted Golden Screen Award for Canada’s most-watched comedy or drama, smash-hit detective series Private Eyes Season 4 joins Global’s fall lineup. Featuring 12 new episodes, Shade (Jason Priestley) and Angie (Cindy Sampson) are back on the case and have their hands full of new twisty, thrilling, and dangerous cases to solve. Production partners Corus Entertainment and leading independent studio Entertainment One (eOne) are also proud to announce the renewal for Season 5 of the popular international hit series, which will air on Global later in 2021.
NEW FALL PRIMETIME SERIES
Departure
Departure is a six-part event series that follows the investigation into the shocking disappearance of Flight 716, a passenger plane that vanishes over the Atlantic Ocean. Brilliant investigator Kendra Malley (Panjabi) is brought in by her mentor Howard Lawson (Plummer) to lead the team looking into the crash.
From a media release:
Ben Mulroney announced on today’s broadcast of CTV’S YOUR MORNING that he has decided to pass the mic and make way for new, diverse voices by stepping down from his role as anchor on CTV’s ETALK.
In his return as co-host of YOUR MORNING following a scheduled vacation last week, Mulroney addressed the issues surrounding his family in an emotional address at the top of the show.
“Last Saturday, I watched on CTV as my colleagues led a national conversation about how we can take action against systemic racism. That conversation showed me, more than ever, we need more Black voices, more Indigenous voices, and more People of Colour in the media… And that is why I have decided to immediately step away from my role as an anchor at ETALK to create a space for a new perspective and a new voice,” he said.
“It is my hope that the new anchor is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Colour who can use this important platform to inspire, lead, and make change.”
In addition to his on-going role as co-host of YOUR MORNING, Mulroney will continue to contribute to ETALK on special assignments, including the red carpet events like the Oscars that have helped make ETALK the leader in Canadian entertainment news. He will also develop and produce projects for Bell Media Studios.
Mulroney has been with ETALK since its inception in 2002, and has gone on to interview thousands of stars and report from hundreds of red carpets. He got his start as the Québec City Correspondent for talktv’s The Chatroom in 2000, before becoming co-host on the interactive show in July 2001. He then moved to a new role of entertainment reporter for CTV’s CANADA AM in October 2001. Mulroney was also the host of CANADIAN IDOL for six seasons, which at the time was the most-watched English language Canadian television show on record. Along with Anne-Marie Mediwake, Mulroney originated the co-hosting role on YOUR MORNING in 2016.
CTV’s ETALK is hosted by Anchor Danielle Graham, and during her maternity leave by Anchor Lainey Lui. ETALK also features Senior Correspondent Traci Melchor; reporters Chloe Wilde, Tyrone Edwards, and Sonia Beeksma; and L.A. Correspondent Liz Trinnear. From the Oscars® and the Emmy® Awards, to the JUNO Awards and the Canadian Screen Awards, ETALK is front-and-centre, delivering up-to-the-minute news and exclusive insider access to the most talked about entertainment events worldwide.
Hosted by Ben Mulroney and Anne-Marie Mediwake with co-anchors Lindsey Deluce (News) and Kelsey McEwen (Meteorologist), as well as contributing co-host Melissa Grelo, CTV’s YOUR MORNING delivers news, weather, and original perspectives on the headlines of the day, as well as lifestyle topics of interests to Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast.
From Heather M. of TV Goodness:
Link: Previewing The Order Season 2
If you’re ready for a little fun supernatural diversion–and really, who isn’t–Netflix might have the cure for what ails you when the second season of The Order, the very wickedly fun and funny witches and werewolves and college, oh my, drama series drops Thursday. Continue reading.
From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: The Order’s Devery Jacobs uses art to fuel her activism
“We are a small-time Canadian show, but the reception we ended up getting, the fandom and going to Comic-Con made us a bit nervous going into Season 2.” Continue reading.
From Heather M. of TV Goodness:
Link: Dennis Heaton talks The Order, Season 2
“What I wanted to do in Season 2 was open up the sense of the world. We got into that in Season 1 when we introduced Renee and the Necromancers, the rejected members of the Order, and so I wanted to see more of that…” Continue reading.Â
From Heather M. of TV Goodness:
Link: Louriza Tronco talks The Order Season 2
“Humans are obviously very complex and the fact that we were able to sort of mirror that within a TV show that seems to be hitting home with a lot of people who are watching it is really, really special and great.†Continue reading.Â
From Sukriti Wahl of Elle Australia:
Link: This underrated Netflix show Is Like ‘Charmed’ meets ‘Riverdale’
If you’re in dire need of a show to binge and you’ve already worked your way through Netflix’s June lineup, then we have a series to suggest that we’re pretty sure you’ll thank us for later: The Order. Continue reading.Â
From Julian Cannon of The Knockturnal:
Link: Netflix’s The Order star Louriza Tronco
“I can’t believe that they’re letting me do all this stuff. So it’s really props to all the writers for such a multi-dimensional character for myself.” Continue reading.Â
From Dan Gentile of the San Francisco Gate:
Link: This chart-topping Netflix show is like an R-rated Harry Potter
My favorite thing about “The Order,†and a stark contrast to everything in the news, is the idea of consequences. In the world of the show, magic has a price. The bigger the spell, the higher the cost. Continue reading.Â
From Charles Trapunski of Brief Take:
Link: Interview: The Order’s Jake Manley
“Dennis Heaton, the showrunner, is one of the funniest guys I have ever met and when you sprinkle the humorous on top of this vast world of magic and monsters, it becomes an incredibly fun ride, I think, like you said.” Continue reading.
You might have heard that hockey is pretty popular in Canada; it’s the only sport that will make any Canadian sit up and take notice no matter what’s going on.
With this in mind, it is hardly a surprise that there have been plenty of TV shows based solely on the sport itself or at least featuring some element of the game.
Here are some shows of past and present which are sure to either put a smile on your face or, at the very least, make you think more deeply about the game.
Rent-a-Goalie
This show has to have one of the strangest premises ever conceived, as the protagonist dubiously named “Cake†runs a business that centres around providing local hockey teams with much-needed goalies.
We’re not sure if this was someone’s idea of what sports agenting could have been, but no matter, it managed to run for 26 episodes and is something of a cult classic, revered for how bad it was more than anything else.
The show did inspire an app, which still runs to this day, allowing amateur teams to find the goalie of their dreams, or nightmares.
Letterkenny
While Rent-a-Goalie is funny because of how bad it is, Letterkenny is just hilarious, full stop.
The connection to hockey is that the show’s protagonists have something of a love-hate relationship with the hockey players in their local area.
This is about as far away from high-stakes NHL odds and picks as you can possibly get, as life unfolds in the barren winter wasteland.
Hockey Wives
The world has moved on somewhat from a time when reality shows about sportsmen’s wives were fashionable.
That said, Hockey Wives was pretty entertaining throughout its three-season spree. The show’s mainstay was Maripier Morin who only needed three seasons to decide that the life of a hockey player’s wife wasn’t for her, divorcing Brandon Prust soon after the show ended.
The particularly interesting thing about this show was that it followed the lives of hockey players’ wives not just in Canada but around the world, giving some fascinating cultural context to the on-screen shenanigans and dramas.
Hockey: A People’s History
If you are the sort of viewer who prefers a factual documentary over a comedy, or far-fetched reality show, then Hockey: A People’s History is perfect for you.
The show chronicles just why hockey is so important to the nation of Canada and will have you harking back to some of its episodes the next time you get in a heartfelt hockey conversion with fellow NHL fans at the local sports bar.
South Park
This long running animated series was more famous for ripping on Canada than saying anything meaningful about the country’s beloved sport.
However, all that changed in episode 153, when Stan was forced to become the coach of a hockey team in order to get his stolen bicycle back. The premise is almost as bad as Rent-a-Goalie’s, but the difference here is that South Park is genuinely amusing.
Power Play
Often the best stories in sport have nothing to with athletic competition and everything to do with the boardroom politics and backstabbing that goes on behind closed doors.
Power Play delved straight into that shady world, as a sports agent is thrust into becoming the general manager of an NHL franchise, battling to keep it afloat as he comes under attack from all sides. If you thought managing a team in the big leagues was easy, this show that aired for just two seasons will make you think again.
