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.
The Launch

Casting begins for Season 2 of CTV’s The Launch

From a media release:

Hot on the heels of a breakthrough inaugural season that delivered a series of consecutive #1 hit songs and amassing more than 12 million streams internationally to date – including one certified Platinum single – CTV announced today that casting for Season 2 of its hit original series THE LAUNCH IS NOW OPEN. Production of the CTV’s original series, a new format that garnered an exclusive worldwide distribution deal with Sony Pictures Television (SPT), is set to begin filming once again in Toronto this coming fall for the 2018/19 Season.

Aspiring megastars can prep their auditions for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in music and to record a new original song written by some of the best songwriters in the world. The deadline for submission is Monday, June 11 at 11:59 PM ET. For all casting details and updates, including instructions on how to apply, fans can visit CTV.ca/TheLaunch, the CTV Facebook Page, and follow @TheLaunchCTV on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.Among the 30 artists cast to appear in THE LAUNCH last season, the series’ six singles by chosen artists continue to hit the high notes with audiences across Canada and around the world:

Among the 30 artists cast to appear in THE LAUNCH last season, the series’ six singles by chosen artists continue to hit the high notes with audiences across Canada and around the world:• Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine’s “Ain’t Easy” was certified Platinum in Canada in early May and is still growing in popularity among listening audiences. The pop/jazz/hip-hop/R&B duo are slated to perform at the Sony Pictures Television Upfront event in Hollywood later this month.

• Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine’s “Ain’t Easy” was certified Platinum in Canada in early May and is still growing in popularity among listening audiences. The pop/jazz/hip-hop/R&B duo are slated to perform at the Sony Pictures Television Upfront event in Hollywood later this month.• The first four singles from THE LAUNCH chosen artists (POESY’s “Soldier of Love”, Logan Staats “The Lucky Ones”, Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine’s “Ain’t Easy”, and The Static Shift’s “Wide Awake”) soared to #1 on iTunes Canada immediately following

• The first four singles from THE LAUNCH chosen artists (POESY’s “Soldier of Love”, Logan Staats “The Lucky Ones”, Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine’s “Ain’t Easy”, and The Static Shift’s “Wide Awake”) soared to #1 on iTunes Canada immediately following release.• The sixth and final single “Giants” from 13-year-old Toronto resident Ethan Young vaulted into the Top 5 on iTunes’ pop chart and Top 10 in all genres

• The sixth and final single “Giants” from 13-year-old Toronto resident Ethan Young vaulted into the Top 5 on iTunes’ pop chart and Top 10 in all genres following release, while Jayd Ink’s “Codes” debuted at #7 on iTunes’ pop chart.• Breakout artists from Season 1 of THE LAUNCH have secured single representation deals with Big Machine Label Group, including Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine, The Static

• Breakout artists from Season 1 of THE LAUNCH have secured single representation deals with Big Machine Label Group, including Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine, The Static Shift , Logan Staats, POESY, and Ethan Young

• In addition, Episode 1 shortlisted aspiring artist Vivian Hicks was officially signed to a development deal with Big Machine Label Group in April 2018, with artist Zack Lane also optioned to a single deal.  • All songs released have surpassed close to 12 million streams internationally to date.

• All songs released have surpassed close to 12 million streams internationally to date.

Reinventing the music television series genre, in each stand-alone episode of THE LAUNCH, unsigned emerging artists audition for the opportunity to learn, record and perform their version of a new original song by a world famous songwriter/producer. The artists are mentored by a panel of internationally renowned music industry legends, who then decide which version of the song will be released across the country immediately following the broadcast of the episode each week.

A staggering roster of musical A-listers joined Borchetta as mentors in Season 1 of THE LAUNCH, including international musical icon and reigning “Queen of Country Pop” Shania Twain; Culture Club alumnus and Grammy® Award-winner Boy George; eight-time GRAMMY® Award-winning multi-platinum superstar Fergie; Canadian GRAMMY® Award-winning singer and songwriter and international pop sensation Alessia Cara; rock icon and founding member of legendary rock band Mötley Crüe Nikki Sixx; Grammy®-nominated Best New Artist of the Year Julia Michaels; and Grammy® Award-winner and co-founder of country-pop duo Sugarland Jennifer Nettles. Award-winning producers/songwriters cast alongside Borchetta in the breakout season of THE LAUNCH included OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder,

The inaugural edition of THE LAUNCH, created for CTV – Canada’s most-watched private broadcaster – premiered on the network January 11, 2018. Each weekly episode’s song was released immediately following broadcast, leveraging the multiple platforms and resources of Bell Media, Canada’s leading content company, including Bell Media Radio, Canada’s largest radio broadcaster, along with the iHeartRadio Canada app and Bell Media’s stable of leading digital and TV properties. Bell Media’s commitment to the chosen artists continued with major media and promotion the day after the episodes air on flagship Bell Media radio and television properties.

THE LAUNCH format was put into development in January 2016 and was co-developed by Randy Lennox and Bell Media in association with Scott Borchetta of Big Machine Label Group, and Paul Franklin of Eureka (MASTERCHEF, THE BIGGEST LOSER), in partnership with John Brunton and Lindsay Cox of Insight Productions (THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, CANADIAN IDOL, THE JUNO AWARDS). THE LAUNCH is executive produced by Scott Borchetta, Randy Lennox and John Brunton; Paul Franklin and Lindsay Cox are Executive Producers; Executive Producers for Bell Media are Robin Johnston and Corrie Coe, who is also Senior Vice-President, Original Programming, Bell Media.

THE LAUNCH is executive produced by Scott Borchetta, Randy Lennox and John Brunton; Paul Franklin and Lindsay Cox are Executive Producers; Executive Producers for Bell Media are Robin Johnston and Corrie Coe, who is also Senior Vice-President, Original Programming, Bell Media.

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Industry News

White Pine Pictures snags rights to newest novel “The Showrunner” by acclaimed author Kim Moritsugu

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From a media release:

White Pine Pictures has secured the rights to the next novel by Toronto author Kim Moritsugu with assistance from the OMDC From Page to Screen Program. The darkly humorous novel was optioned from independent book publisher Dundurn Press and is a work of suspense fiction set in contemporary Los Angeles about three strong-willed women: two co-creators of a hit TV show locked in a battle to destroy each other, and the actress who comes between them. This is the first novel by Moritsugu to be optioned and the intent is to develop the property into a scripted television series.

V.P. Scripted Development at White Pine Pictures, Karynn Austin was drawn to the novel’s spot-on portrayal of inside Hollywood and its quick writing: “I could instantly see this being adapted into a riveting dark TV drama that would take viewers behind the curtain of the industry, while also engaging them with relationship-based storylines of strong leading women; something we’re finally seeing come to the forefront of production.”

Author Kim Moritsugu was born and raised in Toronto and holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees from the University of Toronto. The Showrunner, set to be published in June 2018, is her seventh novel to-date. Previous works include the romantic comedy Looks Perfect (shortlisted for the Toronto Book Award), the domestic comedy Old Flames, the literary mystery The Glenwood Treasure (shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Best Crime Novel Award), the domestic novel The Restoration of Emily (serialized on CBC Radio’s Between the Covers), the Rapid Reads short novel And Everything Nice, and The Oakdale Dinner Club.

White Pine Pictures is the producer of the award-winning TV dramas The Border (38 x 1hr) and Cracked (21 x 1hr) and are in development with CBC on a dramatic series penned by Drew Hayden Taylor in addition to four new documentary projects slated to release in 2018, including a feature length film about rock ‘n roll legend Robbie Robertson.

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Featured

Comments and queries for the week of May 4

As with so many others, I am so upset that You Gotta Eat Here! has been cancelled! What are they thinking? Bring this show back! There are so many other restaurants out there that need to be shown and it’s not the same over and over again, such as Top Chef contest shows. Listen to the people who have written in! And they are only a fraction of people that feel the same way. —Lyn

 

Really glad that there is going to be a Season 12 of this totally addictive series. In the UK and we have just seen Episode 17 and IMHO it had one of the toughest storylines ever with the conflict of morals and ethics set against the personal tragedy of Julia’s miscarriage. Having read the sneak peek of Episode 18, what is in store for next season? Will Emily Grace return to full the emptiness in George Crabtree ‘s heart? Will miss Hart’s manipulative scheming turn out to be the tip of an evil iceberg? As Julia was having fertility treatment did she just lose one of a pair of twins? And when is Murdoch going to be promoted? We know that Brackenried becomes chief constable, retiring in the 1920s from the Frankie Drake web story, where Watts becomes an inspector. And of course more of Myers Pendrick and Higgins. I just wish there were two series a year! —Clive

I was actually hoping Murdoch would come to his senses this time. This is not love. Julia asks too much. She obviously loves herself more than her husband. So selfish! No man should have to live with a Victorian “nasty girl!” —Beth

I disagree wholeheartedly. I don’t understand why a strong woman is often seen as a nasty woman, even by other women. William was very, very cruel when he blamed Julia for the miscarriage. He was cruel to her when he walked away from her (much earlier on) upon learning she had had an abortion. He was cruel when he took much too long to come to her to propose before she left for Buffalo. She loved William so much but was making a sacrifice of her own happiness so that he could meet and marry someone who could give him children. He did not go to say he loved her still and please don’t marry Darcy. I know he had just let someone out of jail when he shouldn’t have, but he could still have let her know before he left town. It probably would have turned out entirely differently. So William has hurt Julia over the years too. To paint her as nasty is a disservice to women everywhere. One needs to look at the whole picture and look at the love between them as being strong and forgiving. —Linda

This is a beautifully written and superbly acted TV show. We may hope for things to happen but basically it’s written for plot and character development. It’s ENTERTAINMENT! Sit back and let it entertain you!! —Pamela

 

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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Industry News

CBC transports a Canadian family though six decades in Back in Time for Dinner

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From a media release:

CBC, 3Bird Media and Entertainment One (eOne) today announced a new factual entertainment series, BACK IN TIME FOR DINNER (6×60), premiering Thursday, June 14 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC. Hosted by Carlo Rota (Great Canadian Food Show, Little Mosque on the Prairie, 24) and based on the hit Warner Bros. format of the same name, this social experiment takes one Canadian family on a whirlwind trip back in time as they eat their way through six decades of Canadian life.

Over the course of the series, the Campus family – five food-loving, busy middle-class suburbanites – will surrender their modern diets and lifestyle to go back in time. Starting in the 1940s and landing in the 1990s, their home will become a virtual time machine as it is transformed into a new decade each week. With a weekly guide presented to the family by host Carlo Rota, the Campuses will cook and eat their way through the experiment, experiencing first-hand changing family dynamics, gender roles and diets, as influenced by the social, technological and economic realities of each decade.

In some episodes, the Campus family will be joined by a special celebrity guest who can shed light on some of the trends from the decades they’re reliving and reflect on iconic moments of that time. Guests include Sharon Hampson and Bram Morrison of Canadian music trio Sharon, Lois and Bram; renowned Hockey Night In Canada host Ron MacLean; fitness duo Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod of Body Break; and television personality, fashion editor and author Jeanne Beker.

Chowing down solely on the food of the era, the family will cook and eat their way through Canada’s past. What the family eats — who prepares it, where it comes from, where it’s stored, what foodstuffs are available — will act as a prism, bringing into focus how world events translated onto the dinner plates of everyday Canadians. From frozen dinners to elaborate desserts, every meal will tell a story.

Active and outgoing, the Mississauga, Ontario-based Campus family is used to non-stop action. Busy, multitasking mom Tristan leads the pack, working as a nurse and using her organizational skills and wit to keep everyone in line. Dad Aaron is the family’s calming influence, with an affable, laid back attitude. All three of the Campus kids have busy schedules of their own: Eldest daughter, 18-year-old Valerie, loves music and has a talent for sports, particularly softball and field hockey; 17-year-old Jessica shares her sister’s passion for music, but is also a voracious reader and loves the arts: and 15-year-old son Robert is a hockey nut with a heart of gold, finding time to help everyone in the neighbourhood with anything they need.

A CBC original series, BACK IN TIME FOR DINNER is produced by 3Bird Media and eOne with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. Executive producers are Jennifer Twamley and Andrika Lawren for 3Bird Media and Jocelyn Hamilton and Vibika Bianchi for eOne.

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Industry News

Thunderbird to bring Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves to television

From a media release:

Thunderbird Entertainment announced today that they have optioned Cherie Dimaline’s award-winning novel, The Marrow Thieves. The book, which won The Governor General’s Literary Award for Young People’s Literature – Text and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers last year, will be adapted as a limited series for television.

The Marrow Thieves takes place in a not-too-distant future after humanity has nearly destroyed the world through global warming. An even greater evil lurks: the Indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost— the ability to dream. In this dark world, sixteen-year-old Frenchie and his companions struggle to survive as they make their way up north to the old lands. For now, survival means staying hidden — but what they don’t know is that one of them holds the secret to defeating the marrow thieves. Despite the bleak future depicted in The Marrow Thieves, it resonates with a message of hope, loyalty and belonging.

“We were thrilled when Thunderbird expressed interest in The Marrow Thieves, but our thrill quickly gave way to the genuine enthusiasm and excitement Alex Raffé brought to our discussions. We could not imagine a better home for the book’s characters and story,” said Marc Côté, publisher of Cormorant Books.

The best-selling book was a CBC Canada Reads selection, has spent eleven weeks on the Globe and Mail bestseller list reaching #1, received starred reviews from Quill & Quire, Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Booklist. The Marrow Thieves was one of the Globe and Mail 100 Best Books of 2017 and is currently shortlisted for the White Pine Award. It was named one of the top ten books by the Ontario Library Association and was named an Honour Book by the American Indian Library Association.

“Because The Marrow Thieves has become an important work for the Indigenous community, it was essential to find a team who could bring this story to life with a commitment to honour its messages and worldview. Thunderbird has made such a commitment and I am happy to be working with them as this project comes to life and gains an even larger audience,” said author Cherie Dimaline.

Linda Saint of The Saint Agency arranged the deal with Thunderbird’s Senior Vice-President Scripted Production Alex Raffé.

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