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.
Allan Hawco’s appearance on the first season of Moonshine was a surprise for fans of the rookie series, as well as the character of Lidia Bennett. Played by Jennifer Finnigan, Lidia’s attempt to keep the family campground, the Moonshine, out of debt and make a profit meant doing what she hoped was a one-time drug drop for Hawco’s outlaw biker, Gale.
Turns out there’s a lot more dirty dealing—and Gale—in Moonshine.
“[Creator] Sheri Elwood and I were talking about other things, and she asked me point-blank if I wanted to be in it,” Hawco says on the line from Nova Scotia, where filming of Season 3 is currently underway. “We discussed one role that we didn’t feel was the right thing and then she called me back with this other idea that eventually ended up being Gale.”
Returning for its sophomore go-round on CBC this Sunday at 9 p.m., Episode 1, “Three Sisters of Fate,” written and directed by Elwood, picks up just a few days after the Season 1 finale. In it, a mysterious package arrives at the Moonshine, which makes the Finley-Cullen clan question what their goals once were, and if they are still attainable. For Bea (Corrine Koslo) and Ben (Peter MacNeill), that means a career change; for Rhian (Anastasia Phillips), it shapes up to be a career boost; for Nora (Emma Hunter), a committed relationship; for Sammy (Alexander Nunez) a deep dig into his past; and Ryan (Tom Stevens), finding a purpose.
Moonshine‘s strengths, to me, are Elwood’s knack for creating characters that are immediately relatable, a world that is wistful and easily recalled, and a killer soundtrack. Hawco, who has experience with that through Republic of Doyle and Caught, agrees.
“It’s not something that you’re going to see anywhere else,” he says. “Being inside Sheri Elwood’s head is a terrifyingly hilarious place. I love the way she writes, I love her sense of humour and I love her approach to things that we may see situations or scenarios in other circumstances but she treats them with her own lens and it truly feels original.”
But back to Lidia and Gale.
Sunday’s return sees the pair reunite both in Lidia’s mind—there is a hilarious scene where she’s driving and caught up in a fantasy about the denim-clad miscreant—and discussing a new project Gale proposes. Their scenes crackle with energy and animal magnetism. There is no will-they-or-won’t they question for this pair; rather it’s when and how often?
“It’s the most fun, ridiculous experience I’ve ever had,” Hawco says of the fantasy scene he filmed with Finnigan. “Jennifer Finnigan is the most generous actor and a wonderful human being. She is so much fun to play with. We clicked right away. She’s a wonderful leader and she leads the cast with all the spirit you would hope for a No. 1.”
Like watching truckers navigate icy road conditions on the West Coast of Canada and Southern Ontario, viewers love to watch people fell trees. From Mud Mountain Haulers to A Cut Above, the genre continues to be popular. Hence Season 3 of Big Timber.
Kicking off on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on History, Big Timber once again tags along behind logger Kevin Wenstob and his team of family and staff as they work deep in the heart of Vancouver Island. As in past seasons, rising costs and debt threaten to derail Kevin and his crew. And, like Season 2, cameras capture Kevin as he takes to the water to collect valuable timber for his mill.
The hook this time? Kevin reacting to the ever-evolving industry by spending $1 million to purchase a huge saw, expand his dock at Hook Bay and experiment with a new way of salvaging logs. And with the price of wood at an all-time high—cedar in particular—you’d think all would be gravy. Not so. Deadlines and weather have a way of ruining Kevin’s day, and there are many moments in Episode 1 where Kevin is unhappy.
As much as I love the time spent at the mill or on the water, my favourite part of Big Timber is up on the claim in the Vancouver Island range, where Coleman, Kevin, Tom (and, in Episode 1, veteran logger Luke) are in their element cutting, sorting and shipping lumber down the hillside. With logs past the point the grappler arm can reach, Coleman and Luke utilize a choker, a thick wire used to haul logs closer to the road. As usual, errant branches, a steep hillside and slippery conditions are a recipe for twisted ankles or broken limbs. It’s dangerous and fun to watch.
Big Timber airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on History.
There’s no place like CTV Comedy this fall when the brand-new original series ACTING GOOD premieres Monday, Oct. 17 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. The 10-episode, half-hour irreverent comedy is loosely based on the life of Anishinaabe stand-up comedian Paul Rabliauskas. Shot on location in Manitoba in Spring 2022, Rabliauskas stars as Paul who, after a botched attempt to move to Winnipeg, retreats back to his eccentric family in the fly-in community of Grouse Lake First Nation. ACTING GOOD is co-created by Rabliauskas, Amber-Sekowan Daniels, Eric Toth, and Pat Thornton, and produced by Kistikan Pictures Inc., and Buffalo Gal Pictures.
In the series premiere, “Just Fok’n Missing Her” (Monday, Oct. 17 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT), the news of the day in isolated, remote Grouse Lake is the anti-bullying workshop, where the lure of free sandwiches guarantees a decent turnout. However, the event is overshadowed by Paul’s unexpected return, as the community raises eyebrows over his social media posts about living large in the big city. The series premiere is directed by award-winning actor, director, and choreographer, Michael Greyeyes.
Viewers can stream new episodes of ACTING GOOD on CTV.ca and the CTV app, which is also features behind-the-scenes videos, cast highlights, and more information about ACTING GOOD.
ACTING GOOD joins the CTV Comedy family on the channel’s 25th anniversary as the brand continues to reign as #1 Canadian Entertainment Specialty Channel with key demo A25-54 for the fourth year in a row. Since launching on October 17, 1997 as “The Comedy Network,” the brand has committed to showcasing supporting homegrown talent, from up-and-coming comics to veteran stand-ups.
ACTING GOOD is produced by CTV Comedy Channel, in association with Kistikan Pictures Inc., with the participation of Canada Media Fund, Bell Fund, APTN, and Manitoba Film & Music. Producers are Tina Keeper (Kistikan Pictures) and Jennifer Beasley (Buffalo Gal Pictures) with Phyllis Laing (Buffalo Gal Pictures) as Executive Producer and Paula J. Smith as Supervising Producer. Paul Rabliauskas is Executive Producer and writer, with Amber-Sekowan Daniels, Pat Thornton, and Eric Toth as writers and co-showrunners.
Mary Pedersen and I go way back. We first connected when she was a story editor on Murdoch Mysteries. After five seasons as a writer on Murdoch, Pedersen moved to Frankie Drake Mysteries where she was a writer and co-executive producer. These days, the Canadian Screen Award nominee can be found writing, co-executive producing (and directing her first-ever episode of TV) on Hudson & Rex.
Returning for Season 5 on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Citytv, Hudson & Rex has become not only a Canadian hit but an international one too. The tale of St. John’s Detective Charlie Hudson (John Reardon) and his capable canine partner Rex (Diesel vom Burgimwald) have resonated since it was adapted from the original German series.
In the season debut, “Lost in the Barrens,” Charlie, Rex, Dr. Sarah Truong (Mayko Nguyen), tech expert Jesse Mills (Justin Kelly), Superintendent Joe Donovan (Kevin Hanchard) and new forensic pathologist Karma Poole (Bridget Wareham) are on the case of a missing woman, and suspicion quickly falls on her boyfriend (played by Murdoch‘s Daniel Maslany).
We spoke to Mary Pedersen ahead of Sunday’s return.
We have a lot to talk about! One of the great things about Hudson & Rex is that you know you’re going to get a solid hour of entertainment. Mary Pedersen: Yes, and for all those dog lovers out there, there’s dog action. Anytime I see the dog on screen, I’m happy. So I’m one of those people.
Is there a major difference in writing for a TV series set in the modern day as opposed to a period drama like Murdoch Mysteries or Frankie Drake Mysteries or is story just story? MP: Story is story. [Co-executive producer and writer] Keri Ferencz and I both came from Frankie onto Hudson & Rex and the main thing we noticed that we were delighted about was, ‘Ooh, cell phone calls, ooh, Internet!’ You can get your clues from a different place and sometimes it speeds up the action a little bit so that people can make calls and things like that.
And [showrunner] Peter Mitchell wanted to try to show more police procedural than mystery, so that also was an adjustment for us. But I’m constantly harassing the writing room with my love of NYPD Blue, so it appeals to me, and that’s been really fun.
It’s still a mystery. We’re still often meeting all our suspects pretty early on in the story. It’s a bit of a tweak mentally in terms of more of the action and discovery feels like it’s happening in the present, as opposed to we’re unravelling something in the past. There’s also the focus on how our cops figure out what they figure out, which is also true in Murdoch Mysteries. William Murdoch has a very specific way of solving crimes and of course, Charlie has a specific way of solving crimes with his trusty dog.
When you’re writing a script and you’re referring to something that Rex is going to do, do you write, ‘Rex looks this way,’ or ‘Rex whimpers’? MP: We always feel his presence and all the directors on the show, most of our directors have been on the show before and they’ll know that you want to find Rex action as much as you can in every scene that he’s in, even if it is a matter of listening and reacting to the conversations that are happening.
So yes, we write it in to make sure we always feel his presence and that we, as writers, are thinking about him, [executive producer and dog master] Sherri Davis, and all of our cast. Our cast elevates what’s on the page and Sherri does the same thing. So she’s also so in tune with the dogs and knows what they can do and she will often look at the action we’ve written and suggest, ‘Oh, if we do it this way, that’ll be more exciting,’ or ‘This is something that we haven’t done on the show before and why don’t we?’ I think she also loves the stunt work as well as working with the dogs, so she’ll really elevate a lot of the Rex action as well.
What a place to be filming. The Murdoch Mysteries backlot is cool and everything, but man, St. John’s, Newfoundland, you can’t beat that. MP: I first went out there, a year ago in May for Season 4 and I had never been before. I am from Nova Scotia, but I’d never been to Newfoundland before and it is just spectacular. Even now when I go, you can’t look anywhere that’s not gorgeous.
I love it a lot and I’m really glad that we’re getting more and more of St. John’s and the landscape around it onto the show. I think that’s just such a wonderful world and I love that we can put it on the show.
In addition to the key cast of characters we’ve gotten to know over four seasons, we’ve got the new addition of Bridget Wareham playing forensic pathologist Karma Poole. MP: One of the main motivations for me, when we were talking at the beginning of the season about possibly bringing on another regular, semi-regular, was that Sarah—we saw this last season in one of the episodes, she goes on a retreat with some other professionals—and it really sort of drove home to both Mayko and I that Sarah doesn’t really get to talk to other women a whole lot. That was a big thing, to have somebody that Sarah could talk to besides the boys. She obviously fits in very well with the boys, but female relationships are really important in life, so that was a big part of the motivation for me in terms of getting another character onto our regular roster.
Hudson & Rex continues to welcome a whos who of Canadian talent to its episodes. Daniel Maslany kicks it off in Episode 1, but people stopping by include Paul Bronstein, Jake Epstein, Stuart Hughes, Matthew MacFadzean, Mary Walsh, K. Trevor Wilson, Steven Lund and Carlo Rota… how fun is it to write for guests of this calibre MP: We’re so lucky. I think people love to come to Newfoundland. People have just been really game to come out and play with us.
This is the third show that you’ve worked on that is not only a critical hit, but also done very well internationally. Obviously, as a professional writer, you’re happy to have a gig, but do you ever sit back and pinch yourself? MP: Every day. So much credit to Shaftesbury for making that happen and for making shows that appeal to so many people and Pete. Pete’s always, always, always had an eye on what is going to be entertaining. You don’t get a story past Pete if he thinks something is boring about it or too earnest. It’s all about having fun and entertaining people and yeah, I feel incredibly lucky to have stepped onto that boat.
Hudson & Rex airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Citytv.
