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.
Dark Matter, Featured

Dark Matter’s Joseph Mallozzi goes dark Season 2

We’re three weeks into Season 2 of Dark Matter, and co-creator Joseph Mallozzi has made good on his promise to keep stories zipping at lightning speed. In short order Six was revealed to the crew as the mole, the squad busted out of Hyperion-8 with help from Nyx (Melanie Liburd), Devon Taltherd (Shaun Sipos) and Arax Nero (Mike Dopud), One was killed and Five used Bubba.

But as Mallozzi told us during a set visit earlier this year, that’s just the beginning.

What’s interesting about you as a showrunner is that you’re very active on social media and with your own blog. You head off spoilers at the pass and reveal things to fans in advance.
Joseph Mallozzi: If you keep things under wraps and you don’t show what the ship will look like—if you wait and show the blind-the-scenes stuff after the show airs—you’re really only getting to the die-hard fans. If I’m off on hiatus for months and there is anything I can do to keep the interest alive and the fans excited, I’m going to do it. Then people can share the hell out of it.

We’re going to use “Holy shit” moments to propel scenes and lead to a shocking season finale. This season puts the dark in Dark Matter.

Every episode in Season 1 had a “Holy shit!” moment. What was the pacing of the writing like?
I’ve been sitting on the concept for years. When I was working on Stargate, I always knew I wanted to roll into Dark Matter after that. Stargate kept getting picked up, so by the time we got the green light and it came time to write with folks like Martin Gero, we broke the entire season in two and a half weeks because I basically knew where we wanted to end up. I’m not a big fan of shows that set up a mystery and take so long to provide an answer or don’t provide an answer because they’re making it up as they go along. We’ve set up mysteries, but we’ve always provided payoffs along the way.

In terms of Season 1, I knew every story, every beat. And then when we got into Season 2, we knew where we wanted to end up and the arcs I wanted to explore. Season 2 is a very different beast from Season 1. The characters in Season 1 were almost ciphers in a way, they were blanks and the audience was learning things along with them and that added to the mystery. Our characters in Season 1 were more reactive. In Season 2, we have a bunch of mysteries in play. The key card, the old man, Alexander Rook and different characters in play. Right from the get-go we’re dealing with the arrests and betrayal. All of the episodes that ensue, our characters are more proactive. Who is going after the key card and why? Three is going to find out more about his past.

We’re going to use “Holy shit” moments to propel scenes and lead to a shocking season finale. This season puts the dark in Dark Matter.

What can you tell me about expanding the universe and adding new characters?
Season 1 was very much of a micro-level because we were learning about these characters. The big world—the big universe—wasn’t really explored. Now we’re going to find out about different organizations and different colonies and they’ll be a presence. Four will attempt to re-take his throne. Two will revisit Alexander Rook. Who was that old man and why was she created? We won’t get all of the answers necessarily, but we will get pieces that take us into a wild new direction.

You’re also one of the few showrunners I’ve spoken to who listens to feedback from the fans. Why is that important to you?
At the end of the day we’re not going to take dictation—we know what we like and the story we want to tell—but as technology advances audiences feel more of an ownership in the shows, and that’s why I do things like Name the Episode. There is an investment there. It’s not just an hour of your day; they are being rewarded to a certain extent and are part of the process.

Dark Matter airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Space.

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Sweating it out in Vietnam on The Amazing Race Canada

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Unlike the last two legs of The Amazing Race Canada, Tuesday’s third one had no clear leaders. I blame it on the stifling heat in the Mekong Delta for causing teams to make bone-headed decisions and failing to note a critical clue that caused a shakeup at the Pit Stop.

Among the nuttiness in Vietnam? First-place team Joel and Ashley, along with three other duos, all took 30-minute penalties for using a water taxi to traverse between sections rather than the ferry clearly listed on the card they received. Listen, I get it. My instinct would have been to grab the water taxi I’d just climbed out of too, especially with teams breathing down my neck. But while I understand the urgency to keep moving—this is a race after all—I’m having trouble understanding what Stéphane was thinking.

The father not only relinquished the lead he and Antoine had by helping Ashley complete the goose-herding challenge, allowing she and Joel to depart the test in first place, but he aided other squads too, moving he and Antoine further back in the pack. It almost seemed like he’d given up and wanted to go home, and the frustration and shock on Antoine’s face was understandable. The pair eventually departed dead-last and never recovered, finishing in last place thanks to the four-hour penalty they took when Stéphane gave up on duck-herding after two hours. You’d think knowing the last team would be eliminated would light a fire under his butt, but perhaps the heat of the day sapped all rational thought.

The heat affected everyone, but Tanya especially. She struggled mightily during the ironically-named Hydrate Detour and had to be tended to by the show’s medical team. She sat off to the side, taking in fluids, while Anne continued to carry 60 coconuts from their boat to the harvesting station, completing the task and showing she wasn’t about to give up and was all about teamwork. Speaking of teamwork, Jillian and Emmett continue to complete Legs of the Race despite spending precious time and energy bitching at one another. The former Big Brother Canada competitors are used to playing a singular game, but The Amazing Race Canada is about supporting the other person and they need to work on that. I hit the mute button every time they start to fight because it’s embarrassing.

The most impressive team of this Leg was easily Kelly and Kate. The best friends, on the cusp of exiting the show last week, aced their toad-carrying Speed Bump (and informing viewers 20 toads is known as a knot) and landed in a very respectable third place.

What are your thoughts on this latest Leg? Would you have helped other teams like Stéphane did? Comment below.

Here’s how the teams finished this Leg of the Race:

  1. Joel and Ashley (30-minute penalty, won trip for two to Japan)
  2. Steph and Kristen
  3. Kelly and Kate
  4. Emmett and Jillian (30-minute penalty)
  5. Frankie and Amy
  6. Rita and Yvette (30-minute penalty)
  7. Julie and Lowell
  8. Anne and Tanya (30-minute penalty)
  9. Stéphane and Antoine (four-hour penalty, eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.

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Industry News

Subscriptions to cable, IPTV and satellite declined but revenues remained steady

From a media release:

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission today released statistical and financial information on Canadian cable, Internet Protocol television (IPTV) and satellite companies for the year ending on August 31, 2015.

In 2015, Canadian cable, IPTV and satellite companies reported a slight decline in revenues of $11.8 million (0.1%) to $8.9 billion, while expenses increased by 1.3% to $7.2 billion.  As a result, the operating margin decreased to its lowest level in five years, but remained healthy at 19%. These companies employed 27,244 in 2015, down 6.3% from 2014.

The overall number of subscribers decreased from 11.4 million in 2014 to 11.2 million in 2015, continuing a two-year trend.  However, the average total revenue per subscriber increased from $65.25 in 2014 to $66.08 per month in 2015. IPTV companies continued to grow reporting double-digit increases in subscribers for 2015.

Spending by television service providers on the creation and production of Canadian-made content decreased by $38.1 million in 2015 to $436.9 million.  Of this amount, $219.6 million was directed to the Canada Media Fund, $64.7 million to independent funds and $152.6 million to community channels and other sources of local content.

Quick facts

  • In 2015, cable and IPTV companies reported revenues of $6.6 billion from programming services. This total represents an increase of 1.7 % from $6.5 billion in 2014.
  • Satellite companies’ revenues decreased by 5.2% from $2.4 billion in 2014 to $2.3 billion in 2015.
  • The number of Canadian households that subscribed to a cable or IPTV company increased from 0.3% to 8.9 million.
  • The number of Canadian households that subscribed to a satellite company’s television service decreased by 7.2% from 2.6 million to 2.4 million.
  • The operating margin for cable and IPTV companies increased from 15.8% in 2014 to 16.1% in 2015.  The operating margin for the satellite companies decreased from 32% in 2014 to 27.7% in 2015.
  • Operating expenses for the cable, IPTV and satellite companies increased by 1.3% from $7.1 billion to $7.2 billion.
  • In 2015, cable and IPTV companies spent over $2.6 billion on affiliation payments for the pay and specialty services they carry. This total represents a 5.7% increase compared to the $2.5 billion spent in 2014.
  • Satellite companies’ affiliation payments decreased by 2.9% from $809 million in 2014 to $786 million in 2015.
  • The CRTC produces a series of reports annually that provide information on the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors.
  • The CRTC recently published the financial results for specialty, pay, pay-per-view and video-on-demand services, conventional television stations and AM and FM radio stations.
  • The CRTC’s annual reports help interested parties to stay informed about the state of the Canadian communication industry and participate in the CRTC’s public consultations.

The CRTC’s report on cable, IPTV and satellite companies does not include information on Internet access, telephone services and other non-programming items. The CRTC will publish information on these services in the upcoming edition of the Communications Monitoring Report, in fall 2016.  

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Kim's Convenience

Production on Thunderbird’s Kim’s Convenience begins for CBC

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From a media release:

Thunderbird, in association with Soulpepper, is pleased to announce that production is underway in Toronto on 13 episodes of new half-hour comedy KIM’S CONVENIENCE, based on the Soulpepper production of Ins Choi’s award-winning hit play. The series will premiere this fall on CBC.

KIM’S CONVENIENCE is the funny, heartfelt story of The Kims, a Korean-Canadian family who run a convenience store in downtown Toronto. The series centres around Mr. and Mrs. Kim (‘Appa’ and ‘Umma’), who immigrated to Toronto in the ’80s to set up shop near Regent Park, and their two grown kids, Jung and Janet. The world of KIM’S CONVENIENCE is real, colourful and urban – a diverse landscape of people and places – with the Kim family at its core, as they find humour in their everyday lives running the store.

Produced by Ivan Fecan and co-created by Ins Choi and Kevin White, the series stars Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Shoot The Messenger, Degrassi: The Next Generation) as Appa, Jean Yoon (Orphan Black, The Expanse) as Umma, Simu Liu (Blood and Water, Taken) as Jung, Andrea Bang (Camp Death III: The Final Summer) as Janet, Andrew Phung (Adventures of a Pizza Guy) as Kimchee, and Nicole Power (Anne of Green Gables) as Shannon.

Executive Producers on KIM’S CONVENIENCE are Ivan Fecan, Tim Gamble, Alexandra Raffé, Leslie Lester, Albert Schultz, Ins Choi and Kevin White. Supervising Producers are Sandra Cunningham and Robin Cass.

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Children's Programming

DHX Television announces casting details for Season 2 of Backstage

From a media release:

DHX Television’s Family Channel and Fresh TV Inc. announced today that production has begun on season two of the tween drama series Backstage. Following a group of elite teen performers at Keaton School of the Arts, the second season is filming in Toronto and will bring 30 new half-hour episodes of the drama, which airs internationally. The sophomore season will introduce a variety of new characters to each of the arts streams, with seven talented young actors joining the cast.

Making their mark in the new season of Backstage are:

  • Thomas L. Colford (Center Stage: On Pointe); plays Beckett, a strong and technically superior dancer who possesses a natural rebel-without-a-cause persona
  • Joshua Kilimnik (Odd Squad, Bruno & Boots: Go Jump in the Pool); plays George, a grade nine graphic design student with a wickedly smart intellect that shines through in his art
  • Stephanie La Rochelle (Heartland); plays Frances, a charismatic senior music student who becomes a mentor to the younger musicians
  • Sydney Kuhne (Dino Dan); plays Azadeh, a new student in the fashion design program who is determined to make her mark at Keaton
  • Robert Bazzocchi; plays Aidan, the epitome of heartthrob, chasing the spotlight on his quest to become a famous actor via Keaton’s drama program
  • Corteon Moore; plays Matteo, a senior art student who believes creativity comes directly from the soul and proves to rival Keaton’s resident art star student
  • Hailey Fauchere; plays Mindy, a freshman dancer who is eager to please and succeed, while leaving it all on the dance floor.

Faced with new challenges, friendships, and seven new students, the second season of Backstage opens on a new year at Keaton School of the Arts where the talented performers and artists will find themselves in fierce competition with other schools… and each other. With a huge multi-arts school competition on the horizon, will the pressure tear the students apart? Or bring them closer?

In addition to the new faces joining Backstage, returning cast members include: Josh Bogert (Miles), Aviva Mongillo (Alya), Mckenzie Small (Scarlett), Devyn Nekoda (Vanessa), Alyssa Trask (Carly), Colin Petierre (Sasha), Matthew Isen (Jax), Julia Tomasone (Bianca Blackwell), Romy Weltman (Kit), Kyal Legend (Julie) and Adrianna Di Liello (Jenna).

Backstage was commissioned by DHX Television, and is created by Fresh TV. The series’ Executive Producers are Brian Irving, who also serves as producer; Lara Azzopardi, the series’ co-creator, show runner, writer and director; Jennifer Pertsch, also co-creator; Tom McGillis and George Elliott. Directors for the series include top music video directors RT! (Snoop Dogg, Sean Paul, Shane Harte), Director X (Iggy Azalea, T.I., Drake), Wendy Morgan (Dragonette, Janelle Monáe) and Warren Sonoda (Johnny Reid, George Canyon), as well as Mario Azzopardi (Stargate SG-1, The Outer Limits, Degrassi) and Lara Azzopardi (I Am an Apartment Building, Rewind). Backstage is internationally distributed by DHX Media.

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