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.
Kim's Convenience

Thunderbird Entertainment reaches distribution deal with Encore Airlines for Kim’s Convenience

From a media release:

Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc. (TSXV:TBRD) (“Thunderbird” or the “Company”), a global multiplatform entertainment company, is pleased to announce it has reached a distribution deal with Encore Inflight Limited for the first two seasons of the Company’s scripted series Kim’s Convenience. The deal will see the Canadian Screen Award-winning series available for in-flight viewing on major world airlines, including Cathay Pacific, Emirates, SilkAir, Scoot, Royal Brunei Airways, Thai Airways, Qantas, and Qatar Airways. The deal will also include season three when available.

Kim’s Convenience is the comedic, heartfelt story of the Kims, a Korean-Canadian family who runs a convenience store amidst the energetic landscape of downtown Toronto. It follows two generations of the family, as they deal with customers, each other and the evolving world around them. The award-winning series stars Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Appa, Jean Yoon as Umma, Simu Liu as Jung, Andrea Bang as Janet, and Andrew Phung as Kimchee.

This high-profile partnership follows other major distribution deals for the award-winning Canadian series. In January, Yoon & Company acquired the series for distribution on cable TV in Japan and Korea, on top of the ongoing partnerships with Netflix for global streaming rights, and with Amazon for VOD rights in the United States and United Kingdom.

Season three of Kim’s Convenience premiered in Canada on CBC Television on January 8, 2019, and a fourth season begins shooting this spring. The series is based on the award-winning play by Ins Choi, who co-created the series with Kevin White. The series is produced by Ivan Fecan, who is also the executive producer along with Choi and White, and Thunderbird’s Executive Chair of the Board.

About Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc.
Thunderbird Entertainment Group is a Vancouver-based global multiplatform entertainment company with offices in Vancouver, Los Angeles, Toronto, Ottawa and London. Thunderbird creates award-winning scripted, unscripted and animated programming for the world’s leading digital platforms, as well as Canadian and International broadcasters. Thunderbird’s vision is to produce high quality, socially responsible content that makes the world a better place.  The Company develops, produces and distributes animated, factual and scripted content through its various divisions, including Atomic Cartoons, Great Pacific Television, Thunderbird Productions and Thunderbird Releasing Limited.

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Awards, Mr. D

Screen Nova Scotia announces 2019 award winners

From a media release:

Screen Nova Scotia hosted its fifth annual awards gala on Friday, May 3rd in front of a sold-out crowd at Casino Nova Scotia. The event celebrates the incredible talent, creativity, and passion that are the trademarks of Nova Scotia’s screen industry. Notable awards include the ACTRA Awards for Outstanding Performances, the Film Crew Excellence Award, the Digital Animators of Nova Scotia Award, the Women in Film & Television Atlantic Award, and the Community Recognition Award, along with Screen Nova Scotia Awards for best television, film, and animation.

The event was kicked off by actor/comedian Bette MacDonald, and presenters included producers, directors, crew members and actors, with musical accompaniment from the Bill Stevenson Trio.

The night’s finale was the Screen Nova Scotia Award for Best Feature Film, which went to the indie drama Splinters, from acclaimed director Thom Fitzgerald (produced by Emotion Pictures). The film — which explores interconnections of sexual identity and family, as a young woman reassesses her relationship with her mother following the death of her father — also garnered top prizes for its actors. Shelley Thompson was awarded the ACTRA Maritimes Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead Female Role, and Bailey Maughan won Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead Male Role.

The final season of CBC’s Mr. D was crowned the winner of the Best Television Series Award. Produced by Topsail Entertainment, Mr. D filmed for eight seasons in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Production on the series generated $126.5 million in economic activity and created over 1,400 jobs.

Kathryn MacLellan took home the award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Female Role for her role in the Nova Scotia/Newfoundland co-production Hopeless Romantic, while Jordan Poole won Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Male Role for his role as Luke, Toni Collette’s son, in the movie Birthmarked.

Peep Media’s Bernie Langille Wants to Know…Who Killed Bernie Langille won the Best Short Film Award, with the film’s director Jackie Torrens also taking home the Best Director Award from Women in Film & Television – Atlantic. The Best Documentary Film Award went to The Social Shift, from Mirror Image Media and Common Good Solutions.

Paul Bronfman, Chairman/CEO, William F. White International Inc. received the inaugural Industry Champion Award in recognition of the 25th anniversary of the production services company setting up shop in Halifax, and their continued and unwavering support of the Nova Scotia screen industry.

Digital animation was also spotlighted at the awards, with Teletoon’s Spaceman and Robotron sweeping both animation categories. The series is produced by Connections Productions and animated by Cartoon Conrad.

Greens Master William Gerhardt (IATSE 849) won the 2019 Film Crew Excellence Award. Gerhardt was instrumental in transforming Yarmouth’s Cape Forchu into an island from the 1800s for Robert Eggers’ most recent feature film The Lighthouse — currently screening at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival —  and has worked on multiple productions including The Mist, The Curse of Oak Island, and the Book of Negroes. The Community Recognition Award was presented to long-time industry supporter Bea Renton, Chief Administrative Officer, the Town of Lunenburg, for her tireless efforts to consistently ensure that Lunenburg is a welcoming community for film & TV production.

THE FULL LIST OF AWARD WINNERS:

Screen Nova Scotia Awards:

  • Best Feature Film: Splinters (Emotion Pictures)
  • Best Television Series: Mr. D (Topsail Entertainment)
  • Best Documentary Film: The Social Shift (Mirror Image Media)
  • Best Short Film: Bernie Langille Wants To Know…Who Killed Bernie Langille (Peep Media)
  • Best Animated Series: Spaceman and Robotron (Connections Productions)

ACTRA Maritimes Awards:

  • Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead Female Role: Shelley Thompson (Splinters)
  • Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead Male Role: Bailey Maughan (Splinters)
  • Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Female Role: Kathryn MacLellan (Hopeless Romantic)
  • Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Male Role: Jordan Poole (Birthmarked)

Industry & Community Awards:

  • WIFT-AT Award for Best Director: Jackie Torrens (Bernie Langille Wants To Know…Who Killed Bernie Langille)
  • Film Crew Excellence Award: William Gerhardt, Greens Master
    Community Recognition Award: Bea Renton, Chief Administrative Officer, the Town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
  • DANS Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Animation: Don
  • Pinsent & Team, Spaceman and Robotron
  • Industry Champion Award: Paul Bronfman, Chairman/CEO, William F. White International Inc.

Image courtesy of Michael Tompkins

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Featured

Comments and queries for the week of May 3

Where does Mary Berg get her wardrobe? I really loved her white dress with purple and green flowers with Ben Mulroney interviewed her on eTalk. I really like Mary’s fresh take on healthy, delicious recipes. —Marmac

When will you put the recipes on the Internet for everyone to try? It is hard to get the exact measures from her on TV. —Donna

My wife and I watch your show. We will look for your next. By the way, we enjoyed it. —The Cooks

Recipes please!!! —Yvonne

You can get all of Mary’s recipes on the Mary’s Kitchen Crush show page.

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@ami.ca or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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Albedo, Industry News

Entertainment One and Brad Peyton announce Albedo starring Evangeline Lilly for Bell Media and Vudu

From a media release:

Entertainment One (eOne), together with Brad Peyton and Bell Media, today announced an eight-episode series order for a mystery drama titled ALBEDO for Bell Media in Canada, in partnership with Vudu in the US. The show marks a return to television for Golden Globe®-nominated actress Evangeline Lilly who will star and executive produce. Writing duo Max and Adam Reid serve as series creators and executive producers. Brad Peyton is also set to direct and executive produce the straight-to-series project that will be internationally distributed by eOne.

One-hundred-fifty years in the future, detective Vivien Coleman is dispatched to the edge of our solar system to investigate a scientist’s mysterious death on board an isolated space station. She soon finds herself trapped and cut-off from Earth, along with the station’s small crew of brilliant scientists – all murder suspects – all harboring their own secrets… What begins as a classic murder mystery evolves into a fight for survival that may threaten the future of our species.

Evangeline Lilly won a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2006 and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 2007 for her role in LOST. She most recently reprised her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with box office record-shattering AVENGERS: ENDGAME. Lilly’s extensive roster of work also includes the upcoming film DREAMLAND and past films such as LITTLE EVIL, THE HOBBIT and THE HURT LOCKER.

Max and Adam Reid are best known for most recently producing and writing Amazon Prime Video series, SNEAKY PETE, and the eOne pilot for YouTube Premium, DARK CARGO, executive produced by Ben Stiller and Nicky Weinstock.

Brad Peyton’s work includes films such as RAMPAGE and  the Netflix and Discovery Canada series FRONTIER. 

In development at Bell Media since 2016 and expected to begin pre-production in May, ALBEDO is the latest international original drama from Canada’s leading content creation company. The series will be presented exclusively in Canada on Bell Media platforms.

Vudu is an ad-supported, Internet-based home entertainment service that provides access to a library of movies, images, television shows, artwork, and/or other episodic content. Its services can be accessed through computers, mobile devices, and Internet-capable televisions, as well as proprietary devices manufactured by the company and third-party devices. Vudu Inc. is a subsidiary of Walmart.

ALBEDO is produced by eOne in association with Bell Media, and the participation of the Canada Media Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Province of British Columbia Production Services Tax Credit.

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Carter

Production begins on Season 2 of Bravo original series Carter

From a media release:

Bravo announced today that production is underway for Season 2 of its lighthearted mystery-crime drama CARTER, starring Jerry O’Connell. Shot in North Bay, ON, the sophomore season is set to debut later this year, exclusively on Bravo. Season 1 of CARTER is currently streaming only on Crave.

The 10-episode, one-hour series also sees the return of co-stars  Sydney Poitier Heartsong (Homecoming) as Sam Shaw and Kristian Bruun (Orphan Black) as Dave Leigh, as well as Brenda Kamino (The Glass Castle) as Dot Yasuda.

Canadian and CSA-winning actor Lyriq Bent (THE AFFAIR) joins the cast in Season 2 as Joyce Warwick Boyle, the new Interim Police Chief at Bishop PD. Described as a man with both swagger and edge, Boyle quickly establishes himself as a stern law man impressed with Sam and her abilities, while being equally unimpressed with Harley and his antics. As his admiration for Sam turns romantic, Harley and Dave discover Boyle is hiding an alarming and mysterious past.

CARTER revolves around Harley Carter (O’Connell), the star of a hit detective series who decides to take a break from Hollywood. Upon returning to his northern hometown, Harley discovers that his years of playing a fictional detective come in handy when he finds himself immersed in real-life mysteries, including the unsolved disappearance of his mother which culminated in the Season 1 finale.

In Season 2, Harley plants deeper roots as a celebrity P.I., using disguises to go undercover and doubling-down on his fame in a world where life continues to imitate TV. As Harley dives deeper into solving mysteries, he discovers that the toughest cases to solve are personal ones, as he finds himself embroiled in a love triangle with his best friend, Sam Shaw (Poitier Heartsong), and her new boss.

Outside of Canada, the series was commissioned by Sony Pictures Television (SPT) for AXN, returning for Season 2 in Spain, Latin America, Brazil, Japan, Central Europe, and Russia.  CARTER will also return to WGN America in the U.S. The series is distributed by SPT worldwide, excluding Canada. CARTER is produced by Amaze Film + Television and executive produced by the company’s founders Teza Lawrence and Michael Souther (Call Me Fitz, Saint Ralph) as well as series creator Garry Campbell, O’Connell, and Season 2 showrunner and EP Andy Berman.

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