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.
The Toronto Screenwriting Conference (TSC) has announced the five winners of the fourth annual Magee TV Diverse Screenwriters Award, a mentorship and bursary program created to support emerging and mid-level screenwriters from diverse backgrounds through mentorship, networking with Canadian television professionals, and exposure to leaders in the field of screen-based writing.
To achieve this objective, each of the five winners — Nisha Khan (HONEY), Cheyenne Lynn (HOWL), Kiley May (DISCLOSURE), Clint Murphy (THE ROAD HOME), and Julia Skikavich (SURVIVORS B.S) — will receive a complimentary registration for the 2021 Toronto Screenwriting Conference, and a complimentary digital download of Final Draft, the TSC’s official screenwriting software. The winners will also join veteran Canadian producer/writer Al Magee (founder of Magee TV) for several networking events, with each receiving a one-on-one three-month mentorship with senior Canadian screenwriting professionals Alejandro Alcoba, Noelle Carbone, Marsha Greene, Duana Taha, and Eva Thomas.
The 2020 Magee TV Diverse Screenwriters Award winners were chosen based on submissions that included the following four criteria: one concept for an original series or feature film, one writing sample, a letter of interest and intent, and a letter of reference.
The TSC and Magee TV extend their congratulations to this year’s five finalists: Nneka Eleh (MAPLE HIGH), Anthony Faria (BRAND NEW SPECIES), Keisha Prince (BEING KEISHA), Alix Markman (REVENANT), and Anthony Tran (GAYSIANS).
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The Toronto Screenwriting Conference (TSC) is an annual two-day weekend event of networking, masterclasses, workshops, and panels from the entertainment industry’s top professionals. The TSC hosts over 450 professional screenwriters, showrunners, producers, and creative executives working in television, film, and digital media. Over the past decade, the TSC has become an established conference for working creative talent to hone their craft, network with fellow writers and producers, and get noticed through our awards, mentorships, and bursaries which serve to nurture emerging to mid-career talent.
Magee TV: Toronto-based production company Magee TV has dedicated years of commitment to innovation in lifestyle, half hour scripted comedy, new documentary and docu-soap formats for the specialty channels. The company’s process is guided by three key core values: Authenticity, Relevance and Spectacle. Magee TV’s work is authentic to its subject matter and produced with integrity, relevance, and an eye toward spectacle to make sure it sparkles.
Season 1 of the critically acclaimed, award-winning and much-loved Rezolution Pictures TV series Mohawk Girls will begin broadcasting on CBC TV on Tuesday, June 16 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT), as part of CBC’s Tuesday night comedy lineup. Following its run, Season 2 will launch Tuesday, August 4 on CBC and CBC Gem, and Seasons 3-5 will be available this fall on the free CBC Gem streaming service. Season 1 is available now on CBC Gem.
Over the course of its 4-year / 5-season run Mohawk Girls was nominated for multiple Canadian Screen Awards including Best Comedy Series, Best Direction in a Comedy Series, Best Writing in a Comedy Series, and Best Actress in a Comedy Series. The dramedy series that originally aired on APTN from 2014-2017 was embraced by fans across the country, lauded by TV critics, and garnered a devout and diverse following who enthusiastically awaited the start of each season.
Mohawk Girls takes a comedic look at the lives of four modern-day women trying to stay true to their roots while navigating sex, work, love and what it means to be Mohawk in the 21st century. The half-hour dramedy follows these twenty-something women as they begin to forge their own identity within a community embedded with rules and cultural traditions.
The dynamic cast of four leading women includes Jenny Pudavick (Bailey), Brittany LeBorgne (Zoe), Heather White (Caitlin), and Maika Harper (Anna), as well as Canadian film & TV veterans Tantoo Cardinal as Zoe’s mother and Glen Gould as Bailey’s father.
Mohawk Girls was created and executive produced by Tracey Deer and Cynthia Knight; Tracey Deer directed the episodes and Cynthia Knight was the head writer and showrunner. The series was produced by Rezolution Pictures’ Catherine Bainbridge, Christina Fon and Linda Ludwick, and executive produced by Catherine Bainbridge, Christina Fon, Linda Ludwick and Ernest Webb.
“We are so thrilled to have CBC air our show! We wanted to create a show that was unique, smart, relevant and empowering and we are so proud we get to relive each moment on television one more time.â€
– Cynthia Knight, Series Co-Creator/Executive Producer/Head Writer/Showrunner
“This series was my love letter to my community, to my people. It was a celebration of who we are and most importantly our women. I am extremely excited that the show has found a second home on CBC.â€- Tracey Deer, Series Co-Creator/Executive Producer/Director
About Rezolution Pictures
Rezolution Pictures is an award-winning production company led by Ernest Webb and Catherine Bainbridge (co-founders and executive producers), Christina Fon (Vice-President and executive producer), and Linda Ludwick (CFO and executive producer). Rezolution is best known for its original and trailblazing productions such as feature documentaries RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World, which screened worldwide and won multiple awards at Sundance, Hot Docs, and the Canadian Screen Awards, among others; and Reel Injun, which won multiple Geminis, and a Peabody Award. Rezolution also made its mark in scripted television with Canadian Screen Award-nominated comedy series, Mohawk Girls, which aired for five seasons on APTN, was recently broadcast as part of Air Canada’s in-flight entertainment and will now will now be available on the CBC Gem streaming service. From ground-breaking documentaries to innovative scripted series, Rezolution has helped shape Canada’s film and television industry for the past two decades, working with many of the country’s best new and established talents to create unique content, as well as video game and Virtual Reality content through its sister company Minority Media. An effective mix of production, creative, and executive experience has positioned Rezolution for global success as it turns its focus to developing and producing premium content with international partners.
With TV production currently on hold, viewers are finding nostalgic comfort with a recent surge of virtual cast reunions. Now it’s time for fans of Canadian TV shows from the 1990s and 2000s to get ready for a throwback, with a lineup of five classic shows set to reunite for audiences.
ET Canada Reunion Week is reuniting the Canuck casts of Ready or Not, Train 48, Falcon Beach, The Red Green Show and North of 60, catching up with the actors as they look back at their time working together, the cultural significance of their programs, and recealing which of these five groundbreaking series is officially working on a reboot!
Viewers looking to reminisce can watch all new episodes of ET Canada beginning on Monday June 1st, when each episode will include a reunion segment with the cast of one of Canada’s most memorable television programs.
See below for the full lineup, and catch the long-awaited get-togethers all week long on ET Canada Reunion Week, beginning Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Global.
Monday, June 1 Ready or Not Canadians growing up in the 90s remember the iconic friendship between Busy and Amanda, as the duo navigated their way through adolescence. Series stars Lani Billard and Laura Bertram come together for the first time since the show’s end in 1997, as they discuss how reruns of their popular teen-drama series taps into a comforting nostalgia that audiences are currently looking for.
Tuesday, June 2 Train 48 Global’s unscripted soap opera series ran from 2003 to 2008, as viewers followed the lives of twelve daily commuters. The series helped launch the career of Kim’s Convenience star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’s Allana Harkin, who join the rest of the Train 48 cast to discuss the impact the show had on Canadian television, 15 years after the series finale.
Wednesday, June 3 Falcon Beach Filmed in the real-life town of Falcon Beach in Manitoba, the show originally premiered as a TV movie in 2006, going on to produce two seasons that aired in over 40 countries worldwide. The cast joins together for the first time since the finale, to chat about what they miss most and what it was like to film a teen drama series before the age of social media.
Thursday, June 4 The Red Green Show One of Canada’s most beloved comedy series, The Red Green Show continues to find new audiences every year, with past episodes available for fans to enjoy on Youtube. Steve Smith and the rest of the cast reunite to discuss how the show became a part of Canadian TV history, their epic 15 season run, and how the duct tape legacy continues to live on.
Friday, June 5 North of 60 Actress Tina Keeper took on the lead role in North of 60, becoming the first Indigenous person to front a Canadian television drama series when it launched in 1992. Tom Jackson joins Keeper and the rest of the North of 60 cast as they chat about how the actors became like family, as well as the unexpected success of the show following its 1992 premiere.
Cardinal, Kim’s Convenience, Schitt’s Creek and Baroness Von Sketch Show were among those who captured trophies during Night 2 of 2020 Canadian Screen Awards Virtual Presentations.
The Canadian Screen Awards, originally scheduled to air in March, moved online and was streamed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wednesday’s online ceremony celebrated Crafts in Scripted Programs, narrated by Evany Rosen and Kayla Lorette, and Scripted Programs and Performance, presented by Eric McCormack.
Here are the winners in Wednesday’s key categories:
Best Writing, Web Program or Series
Wendy Litner, How to Buy a Baby
Best Writing, TV Movie
Christina Welsh, Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey
Best Writing, Variety or Sketch Comedy Baroness Von Sketch Show
Best Writing, Comedy
Jared Keeso and Jacob Tierney, Letterkenny
Best Writing, Drama Series
Patrick Tarr, Noelle Carbone and Aaron Bala, Cardinal
Best Guest Performance, Drama Series
Dalmar Abuzeid, Anne with an E
Best Guest Performance, Comedy
Amanda Brugel, Kim’s Convenience
Best Supporting Actress, Drama
Kristen Thomson, Cardinal
Best Supporting Actor, Drama
Thom Allison, Killjoys
Best Supporting Actress, Comedy
Emily Hampshire, Schitt’s Creek
Best Supporting Actor, Comedy
Andrew Phung, Kim’s Convenience
Best Supporting Performance, Web Program or Series
Emma Hunter, How to Buy a Baby
Best Lead Performance, Web Program or Series
Emily Hampshire, Save Me
Best Web Program or Series, Fiction Save Me
Best Lead Performance, TV Movie
Kate Drummond, Nowhere to Be Found
Best Lead Actress, Drama Series
Karine Vanasse, Cardinal
Best Lead Actor, Drama Series
Billy Campbell, Cardinal
Best Lead Actress, Comedy
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Best Lead Actor, Comedy
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Golden Screen Award for TV Drama or Comedy Murdoch Mysteries and Private Eyes
Best Sketch Comedy Show & Ensemble Performance Baroness Von Sketch Show
Best TV Movie Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey
[Editor’s Note: Fridge Wars, Diggstown and Burden of Truth are on hold at the moment given COVID-19 production delays. The Detectives has not been renewed.]
At CBC’s 2020 virtual upfront presentation today, Canada’s public broadcaster revealed its 2020-21 slate of original programming, led by a strong fall schedule featuring 1,300 new hours for television spanning 22 new and returning series across all genres.
FALL 2020
ENSLAVED (6×60 Documentary, Associated Producers/A CBC Gem and documentary channel co-production with Epix in the United States) is a blue-chip documentary series led by Samuel Jackson and directed by Canadian filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici (The Naked Archaeologist) that charts the history of slavery through underwater archaeology. The series coincides with the 400-year anniversary of the first African brought to the New World as a slave, and will retrace the harrowing sea voyage that brought millions to a life of slavery. ENSLAVED is produced by Felix Golubev and Ric Bienstock and executive produced by Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Jackson, Eli Selden, Rob Lee, Simcha Jacobovici and Yaron Niski. International distribution by Fremantle.
ORANGEVILLE PREP (6×30 Factual, Orangeville Hoops Inc.) is a character-driven factual series that offers an inside look at the competitive, high-pressure world of basketball’s most successful preparatory program. Tucked away on farmland in Orangeville, Ontario lies the sport’s best kept secret – The Athlete Institute (AI). This high school basketball program has produced more Division 1 College and NBA players in the last five years than any other program in the world.
The Sounds
THE SOUNDS (8×60 Drama, Canada/New Zealand co-production, Shaftesbury and South Pacific Pictures) is a striking take on the relationship-driven thriller. Welcome to Pelorus Sounds, New Zealand – the sleepy settlement where nothing, including the visiting Cabbotts, is quite what it seems. Grieving wives, cheating husbands, epic embezzlement and historic crime all collide to weave a complicated web stretching through the Sounds’ hidden valleys and deep waters. Created by New Zealand-based author Sarah-Kate Lynch and directed by Peter Stebbings (Frankie Drake Mysteries, The Disappearance), the series stars Rachelle Lefevre (Mary Kills People, Under the Dome) as Maggie Cabbott and Matt Whelan (Narcos, The Luminaries) as Tom Cabbott.
TRICKSTER (6×60 Drama, Streel Films and Sienna Films) is based on the best-selling novel Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson, with CBC confirming today that it has been renewed for a second season. Starring newcomer Joel Oulette, this unique series is created by award-winning filmmaker Michelle Latimer (RISE, Nuuca) and Tony Elliott (Orphan Black), and directed by Latimer. Oulette plays Jared, an Indigenous teen struggling to keep his dysfunctional family above water, holding down an after-school job and selling ecstasy to support his partying mom, Maggie (Crystle Lightning), who self-medicates an undiagnosed mental illness, and his unemployable dad, Phil (Craig Lauzon) and his new girlfriend. But when Jared starts seeing strange things — talking ravens, doppelgängers, skin monsters— his already chaotic life is turned upside down. Additional cast includes Kalani Queypo (Jamestown), Anna Lambe (The Grizzlies), Joel Thomas Hynes (Little Dog), Gail Maurice (Cardinal) and Georgina Lightning (Blackstone).
SERIES RETURNING THIS FALL
BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW (Season 5, Frantic Films) – Finale Season
BATTLE OF THE BLADES (Season 6, Insight Productions) Following its remergence on the ice last year that reached over 1.5 million Canadians each episode, the factual hit will return this fall.**
DRAGONS’ DEN (Season 15, CBC)
FAMILY FEUD CANADA (Season 2, Zone 3/Fremantle) Following its inaugural season that reached 2.6 million viewers each week with a nightly average audience of over half a million including 30 percent in the key 25-54 demo, the hit series hosted by Gerry Dee is confirmed to return four nights per week this fall with 104 new episodes as a nationwide virtual search for new Canadian families now begins.***
HA!IFAX COMEDY FEST (Season 24, Pilot Light Productions)
JUST FOR LAUGHS: GALAS (Just For Laughs TV)
MARKETPLACE (Season 48, CBC News)
THE NATIONAL (CBC News, ongoing)
THE NATURE OF THINGS (Season 60) The landmark 60th season of THE NATURE OF THINGS will kick off with STATE OF THE PLANET, a unique documentary featuring a one-on-one conversation between David Suzuki and Sir David Attenborough that takes the pulse of our planet and asks whether humans can change their ways in time.
PURE (Season 2, Two East Productions/Cineflix)
ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES (Season 6, CBC Sports)
STILL STANDING (Season 6, Frantic Films)
THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (Season 28, Wildbrain)
YOU CAN’T ASK THAT (Season 2, Pixcom)
Trickster
WINTER NEW SERIES
LADY DICKS (10×60 Drama, Cameron Pictures) is a fun and honest portrayal of two radically different female detectives in their early 40s. The buddy cop drama series follows Guns and Gangs detective, Samantha (Meredith MacNeill, Baroness von Sketch Show) and Drug Squad detective, Kelly (Adrienne C. Moore, Orange is the New Black), who by day are true action heroes in their own particular way: skilled, tough, determined, and ruthless. But by night, they’re both grappling with loneliness, dysfunctional families, screwed-up love lives, and a sense that their professional ambitions may not be totally in line with their personal needs. Their friendship could help to balance each other out, if only they didn’t drive one another utterly insane. LADY DICKS is co-created by Tassie Cameron (Mary Kills People, Ten Days in the Valley, Rookie Blue, The Robber Bride) and Sherry White (Little Dog, Frontier, Ten Days in the Valley, Rookie Blue).
ARCTIC VETS (10×30 Factual, eOne) takes viewers up close with the remarkable wildlife that inhabits Canada’s frozen north and the team of veterinarians that works tirelessly to keep them safe. With around 40 patients per week, no two days are the same for the team at Assiniboine Park Arctic Animal Hospital in Manitoba. From muskox to seals, wolverines to reindeer, treating Arctic animals is often dangerous, but always rewarding. Whether they’re performing life-saving surgery on a polar bear, or tending to a snowy owl with a broken wing, the mission of the vet team is the same – save the lives of sick and injured Arctic species.
SERIES SET TO RETURN THIS WINTER
CORONER (Season 3, Muse Entertainment, Back Alley Films and Cineflix Studios)
FAMILY FEUD CANADA (Season 2 continues, Zone 3, Fremantle)
THE FIFTH ESTATE (Season 46)
FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES (Season 4, Shaftesbury)
THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW (Season 4, Proper Television)
HA!IFAX COMEDY FEST (Season 24 continues, Pilot Light Productions)
HEARTLAND (Season 14, Seven24 Films and Dynamo Films)
KIM’S CONVENIENCE (Season 5, Thunderbird Entertainment) – also renewed for Season 6
MARKETPLACE (Season 48 continues)
MURDOCH MYSTERIES (Season 14, Shaftesbury)
THE NATURE OF THINGS (Season 60 continues)
ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES (Season 6 continues)
TALLBOYZ (Season 2, Accent Entertainment)
THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (Season 28 continues, Wildbrain)
WORKIN’ MOMS (Season 5, Wolf & Rabbit Entertainment)
KIDS PROGRAMMING
New original series for kids on CBC Kids and CBC Gem this upcoming year include:
REMY & BOO (Industrial Brothers/Boat Rocker, in association with Radio-Canada, 52×11 – Fall 2020), an animated preschool series about a unique friendship between an adventurous little girl and a squishy pink robot called Boo.
DINO RANCH (Industrial Brothers/Boat Rocker, 52×11 – 2021), an action-packed animated preschool series that follows the Cassidy family as they tackle life in a fantastical “pre-westoric†setting where dinosaurs still roam.
GARY’S MAGIC FORT (CBC Kids, 13×11 – Spring 2021), a welcoming enchanted pillow fort where CBC Kids’ host Gary the Unicorn plays with his friends.
Enslaved
CBC FALL SCHEDULE
CBC’s Fall 2020 broadcast and streaming schedule on CBC TV and CBC Gem is as follows:
(For Newfoundland and Labrador, please add one half-hour for all times)
MONDAYS
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA *Season 2*
8 PM – THE SOUNDS *New Drama Series*
9 PM – PURE *Season 2*
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
TUESDAYS
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA *Season 2*
8 PM – STILL STANDING *Season 6*/ JUST FOR LAUGHS
8:30 PM – THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES *Season 28*/ JUST FOR LAUGHS
9 PM – BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW *Season 5 – Finale Season*
9:30 PM – CATASTROPHE *Seasons 3 and 4*/ HA!IFAX COMEDY FEST
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
WEDNESDAYS
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA *Season 2*
8 PM – WAR OF THE WORLDS *Exclusive Canadian Premiere*
9 PM – TRICKSTER *New Drama Series*
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
THURSDAYS
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA *Season 2*
8 PM – BATTLE OF THE BLADES *Season 6*
9 PM – DRAGONS’ DEN *Season 15*
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
FRIDAYS
8 PM – MARKETPLACE *Season 48*
8:30 PM – YOU CAN’T ASK THAT *Season 2* / ORANGEVILLE PREP *New Factual Series*
9 PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS *Season 60*
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
SATURDAYS
Afternoon – ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES *Season 6*
SUNDAYS
Afternoon – ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES *Season 6*
8 PM – THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW *Season 10*
9 PM – ENSLAVED *New Documentary Series*
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
