From Katie Bailey of RealScreen:
Link: Boat Rocker acquires Proper Television, Proper Rights
The business that high-profile producer Guy O’Sullivan built and fostered for 13 years will have new life going forward, as news broke Monday (September 25) that Boat Rocker Media has acquired the company. Continue reading.
From a media release:
In one of his signature rants, Rick Mercer today announced that RICK MERCER REPORT will launch its 15th and final season (22 x 30) tomorrow (Tues. Sept. 26) at 8 p.m. ET (8:30 NT) on CBC and cbc.ca/watch. Since the launch of the award-winning hit series in 2004, Canadians have followed the political satirist and Newfoundland native across the country for his one-of-a-kind perspective on Canada and the top news of the week. When Season 15 wraps in spring 2018, 277 episodes of the half-hour comedy will have aired since its debut.
“RICK MERCER REPORT has evolved over 15 years but one thing that has always remained consistent is that I have always known that I have the best job in the country,†said Mercer. “That has never changed. I can’t tell you how much fun it’s been. As far as what’s next I have no idea, all I know is that the entire team is hard at work and we have started shooting what I think will be our best season yet.”
Throughout the final season of RICK MERCER REPORT, Mercer will be back on the road with more cross- country exploits and learning experiences, from the Sea Cadet National Regatta in Kingston, Ontario and a shipwreck Festival in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, to the Confederation Bridge in PEI and the Calgary Zoo with Jann Arden, to name a few. In tomorrow’s Season 15 premiere, Mercer makes a stop in Ottawa to train with athletes headed for Toronto’s Invictus Games before heading to a wildlife rescue centre on Vancouver Island.
Returning this season is one of the most popular features in every show – Mercer’s rant – where he expounds on anything that might be on his mind. Also back are regular segments including the creative Photo Challenge, cheeky RMR parodies of TV commercials and political messages, and RMR’s weekly target practice on newsmakers, The Front Page.
RICK MERCER REPORT is the recipient of 4 Gemini and 12 Canadian Screen Awards for television writing and performance and, in 2015, Mercer was once again awarded the Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series.
Mercer began his career in comedy performing and writing in his hometown St John’s, Newfoundland with a series of one-man stage shows. In 1993, he launched his television career on CBC as one of the creators, performers and writers on the hit topical weekly show THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES. In 1998, he joined Gerald Lunz and Michael Donovan to create the satirical dramatic series Made In Canada, where he again starred and contributed as a writer. In 2001, his CBC special Talking To Americans became the highest rated Canadian comedy special ever with 2.7 million viewers. On July 1, 2014, it was announced that Rick was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and he was inducted in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in September 2015. This past Canada Day, Mercer hosted the three-hour CBC special Canada Day 150! From Coast to Coast to Coast featuring performances in every province and territory across the country.
It’s hard to believe that, after a very funny first season for Kim’s Convenience, the word around Season 2—returning Tuesday at 9 p.m. on CBC—is that it’s even better this year.
“We follow the comedy,” co-creator and co-executive producer Ins Choi said during production a few weeks ago in Toronto. “We have the best comedy writers in the country in our writers’ room pitching ideas, pitching stories. We know the characters, we know what works with these specific actors in these specific roles. We know what worked on-screen and we know what the audience loved. We know what we were drawn to, so it’s following what makes us laugh and what works.”
There’s no denying Season 1 worked. Kim’s Convenience was the No. 1 new Canadian comedy of last year and nabbed three Canadian Screen Awards—including a Best Performance trophy for Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Best Performance in a supporting role for Andrew Phung—along the way. After a wildly successful run of the original play on Broadway earlier this year—Choi and co-creator, showrunner and fellow executive producer Kevin White developed that into the CBC comedy—everyone is a little tired, but excited, about the sophomore run. And, in the case of Simu Liu, he’s jazzed with the way that Kim’s Convenience has been embraced.
“The most encouraging thing for me is that the feedback for the show does not revolve around the fact that it’s centred on a Korean family,” Liu says. “It is important and it is diverse, but it’s a funny show and it’s a Canadian show. Those are the things that, I hope, will make it succeed in the long-term.”
Tuesday’s return picks up right after the season finale, with Janet (Andrea Bang) desperately looking to find her own Toronto apartment. Umma (Jean Yoon) and Appa (Sun-Hyung Lee) are, understandably, reluctant to see her go, especially when they learn about some of the potential properties their daughter has investigated (Look for Bad Blood‘s Tony Nappo in a memorable guest role on Tuesday.). Shannon (Nicole Power) is still in a relationship with Alejandro (Marco Grazzini), leaving Jung (Liu) reeling, and Kimchee (Phung) is, well, Kimchee. Recurring characters Gerald (Benjamin Beauchemin), Terence (Michael Musi), Mr. Chin (John Ng) and Mr. Mehta (Sugith Varughese) all appear in Tuesday’s instalment; Choi says Pastor Nina (Amanda Brugel) is back for Season 2 too.
“Letting go is a lot easier said than done,” Sun-Hyung Lee says of Appa accepting Janet’s desire to move out. “And Janet goes through a lot. She’s going through the wringer, not only to sort of spread her wings but Umma and Appa to, literally, let go of her.” Janet will learn, he divulges, just how sheltered she was and how good she had it under her parents’ roof.
“We see Janet in the store, but we also see a lot of her outside the store,” Bang says. “There are also new characters that we meet. Last year, we were establishing our characters. Now we get to delve deeper into them and even explore relationships that we didn’t get to, like Janet and Kimchee or Janet and Jung.”
Kim’s Convenience airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
Images courtesy of CBC.
From Craig Takeuchi of The Georgia Strait:
Link: Why CBC’s Kim’s Convenience is particularly important for Vancouver at this point in time
The success of CBC’s comedy TV series Kim’s Convenience could not have come at more crucial time for Vancouver—with the only regret being that it didn’t arrive sooner.
Amid racially charged debates over Vancouver’s overheated real-estate market, anti-Asian sentiment has risen to one of the most disconcerting levels in recent decades. Continue reading.
From Melissa Hank of Canada.com:
Link: Murdoch Mysteries returns for season 11 after cliffhanger
With the action in Murdoch Mysteries’ season finale squeezed in tighter than a size 10 gal in a size six corset, fans have been eagerly awaiting the period drama’s return. And with the episode Up From Ashes, airing Monday on CBC, it’s finally here. Continue reading.
From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: Murdoch Mysteries: Tamzin Outhwaite’s Inspector may be able to help Murdoch
“She comes in to temporarily take over from Inspector Brackenreid, who is missing. At the moment there are characters missing, characters feared dead and we don’t really know who is alive or dead. She comes in with her two bosses who are quite unsavoury characters, but she doesn’t know this.” Continue reading.
