Everything about Big Brother Canada, eh?

19-2, Amazing Race Canada, Big Brother Canada, Bitten, Blackstone, Blood and Water, Canada's Smartest Person, Continuum, Dark Matter, Degrassi, Dragons' Den, Featured, Haven, Heartland, Killjoys, Lost Girl, Masterchef Canada, Mohawk Girls, Motive, Mr. D, Murdoch Mysteries, Orphan Black, Polls, Remedy, Rick Mercer Report, Rookie Blue, Saving Hope, Schitt's Creek, Sensitive Skin, Spun Out, Still Standing, Sunnyside, The Nature of Things, The Romeo Section, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, This Life, Vikings, When Calls the Heart, X Company, Young Drunk Punk

Poll: What are your favourite Canadian TV shows of 2015?

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UPDATE: The poll has now closed. Thanks to everyone for taking part! You can still let us know your favourite Canadian TV show of 2015 by writing it in the Comments section below.

As the year winds down, it’s time to reflect back on 2015. What a year it was for Canadian TV. Yes, there was some sad news—the cancellation of Strange Empire, Remedy and Rookie Blue come immediately to mind—but there was plenty to celebrate as well.

Sci-fi in Canada is stronger than ever thanks to Orphan Black and newbies Killjoys and Dark Matter, we’re getting laughs from series like Still Standing, Sunnyside and Young Drunk Punk and dramas like This Life, The Romeo Section and Motive continue to entertain.

As we get ready to say hello to 2016, help us celebrate 2015 by voting for your favourite five (5) Canadian television shows of the year. (Vote by clicking the boxes to the left of your favourite shows, then click the shaded “Vote” button located just below and right of Young Drunk Punk.)

UPDATE: The poll has now closed. Thanks to everyone for taking part! You can still let us know your favourite Canadian TV show of 2015 by writing it in the Comments section below.

What are your five favourite Canadian TV shows of 2015?

  • Dark Matter (12%, 7,269 Votes)
  • Lost Girl (11%, 6,777 Votes)
  • Killjoys (9%, 5,766 Votes)
  • Heartland (9%, 5,384 Votes)
  • Murdoch Mysteries (4%, 2,632 Votes)
  • Orphan Black (3%, 2,147 Votes)
  • Tornado Hunters (3%, 2,080 Votes)
  • Rookie Blue (3%, 1,634 Votes)
  • When Calls the Heart (3%, 1,557 Votes)
  • Rick Mercer Report (2%, 1,486 Votes)
  • The Liquidator (2%, 1,279 Votes)
  • Schitt's Creek (2%, 1,227 Votes)
  • Vikings (2%, 1,087 Votes)
  • The Amazing Race Canada (2%, 1,053 Votes)
  • Saving Hope (2%, 1,024 Votes)
  • Property Brothers (2%, 990 Votes)
  • Bitten (2%, 976 Votes)
  • Dragons' Den (2%, 970 Votes)
  • Continuum (2%, 955 Votes)
  • Haven (1%, 791 Votes)
  • Chopped Canada (1%, 786 Votes)
  • 22 Minutes (1%, 783 Votes)
  • MasterChef Canada (1%, 738 Votes)
  • Big Brother Canada (1%, 727 Votes)
  • Highway Thru Hell (1%, 686 Votes)
  • Canada's Worst Driver (1%, 684 Votes)
  • Degrassi (1%, 608 Votes)
  • The Nature of Things (1%, 580 Votes)
  • Love It or List It franchise (1%, 573 Votes)
  • The Fifth Estate (1%, 559 Votes)
  • Motive (1%, 557 Votes)
  • House of Bryan (1%, 549 Votes)
  • X Company (1%, 520 Votes)
  • Still Standing (1%, 480 Votes)
  • Strange Empire (1%, 397 Votes)
  • Marketplace (1%, 394 Votes)
  • This Life (1%, 394 Votes)
  • Hockey Wives (1%, 340 Votes)
  • Backroad Bounty (1%, 321 Votes)
  • 19-2 (1%, 311 Votes)
  • Remedy (0%, 266 Votes)
  • Mr. D (0%, 265 Votes)
  • Blackstone (0%, 262 Votes)
  • Polar Bear Town (0%, 252 Votes)
  • Ice Racer Showdown (0%, 214 Votes)
  • Young Drunk Punk (0%, 207 Votes)
  • Canada's Smartest Person (0%, 198 Votes)
  • Sunnyside (0%, 193 Votes)
  • The Next Step (0%, 174 Votes)
  • Mohawk Girls (0%, 170 Votes)
  • Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan (0%, 128 Votes)
  • Keeping Canada Alive (0%, 120 Votes)
  • The Other Side (0%, 113 Votes)
  • Chef in Your Ear (0%, 104 Votes)
  • The Romeo Section (0%, 99 Votes)
  • Blood and Water (0%, 93 Votes)
  • The Stanley Dynamic (0%, 88 Votes)
  • Make it Pop (0%, 81 Votes)
  • First Dates (0%, 68 Votes)
  • Unusually Thicke (0%, 67 Votes)
  • Open Heart (0%, 65 Votes)
  • Spun Out (0%, 58 Votes)
  • Sensitive Skin (0%, 47 Votes)
  • Max & Shred (0%, 42 Votes)
  • Some Assembly Required (0%, 30 Votes)
  • Crash Gallery (0%, 24 Votes)
  • Tiny Plastic Men (0%, 20 Votes)

Total Voters: 27,337

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Big Brother Canada

Venues for Big Brother Canada auditions announced

From a media release:

From the East Coast to the West Coast and everywhere in between, Global’s Big Brother Canada is ready to find the next outrageous group of houseguests with venues confirmed for its national casting tour. Canadians 19 years of age and older can either apply online at BigBrotherCanada.ca now through October 26, or in person from 10am to 2pm at the following locations:

Saturday, September 19
Vancouver, BC – The Bourbon, 50 W Cordova St.
Montréal, QC – BLVD44, 2108 Boul. St-Laurent

Saturday, September 26
Calgary, AB – Ranchman’s, 9615 Macleod Trail SE
Edmonton, AB – Knoxville’s, 10736 Jasper Ave NW
Halifax, NS – MicMac Mall, 21 Micmac Blvd

Saturday, October 3
Winnipeg, MB – Polo Park Mall, 1485 Portage Ave.
St.John’s, NL – Sundance Bar and Grill, 30 George Street

Saturday, October 24
Toronto, ON – Location to be announced

Houseguest hopefuls not able to attend an open call can apply online at BigBrotherCanada.ca. Season 2 winner Jon Pardy’s online application got him his ticket into the house – check out his video here.

Every online submission is viewed by Big Brother Canada’s rock-star casting team, and to help online applicants stand out from the pack Big Brother casting director Robyn Kass offers the following tips:

1. Don’t plan too much and talk naturally.
2. Make sure your lighting and sound work properly.
3. Stay away from the same Big Brother clichés we hear time and time again, such as: “I can be your best friend or your worst enemy,” or “You either love me or hate me.”
4. Tell us something unique about yourself that will make you stand out.
5. Have a good time!

Airing exclusively on Global early in 2016, Big Brother Canada plucks a group of hand-picked strangers from their homes, sequesters them from the outside world, and places them inside a house outfitted wall-to-wall with cameras and microphones that capture their every move. Competing for a grand cash prize, each week the houseguests battle in a series of challenges that give them power or punishment, voting each other out until the fate of the final two is decided by a jury of fellow houseguests.

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Big Brother Canada

Big Brother Canada launches Season 4 casting tour

From a media release:

Following three explosive seasons, Big Brother Canada is kicking off the national casting tour for its fourth season airing on Global early in 2016. Canadians 19 years of age and older can apply online at BigBrotherCanada.ca beginning today, and in person this Fall at open casting calls across Canada. The online submission deadline is October 19, 2015.

Set to embark on its fourth nation-wide casting tour, Big Brother Canada is travelling from coast to coast, looking for the most eclectic group of Canadians to star in the new season of the hit reality series. In addition to an online application process, Producers will host open casting calls in Vancouver (September 19), Calgary (September 26), Edmonton (September 26), Winnipeg (October 3), Toronto (October 24), Montréal (September 19), Halifax (September 26), and St. John’s (October 3).

Those interested in applying can either apply online at BigBrotherCanada.ca with a short video about why they would make the perfect houseguest, or in person at open casting calls throughout September and October. Applicants must be 19 years of age by February 1, 2016. Additional information about the casting calls in select cities will be released in the coming weeks.

Airing exclusively on Global early in 2016, Big Brother Canada plucks a group of hand-picked strangers from their homes, sequesters them from the outside world, and places them inside a house outfitted wall-to-wall with cameras and microphones that capture their every move. Competing for a grand cash prize, each week the houseguests battle in a series of challenges that give them power or punishment, voting each other out until the fate of the final two is decided by a jury of fellow houseguests.

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Amazing Race Canada, Big Brother Canada, Canada's Smartest Person, Featured, Orphan Black

He Said/She Said: The Academy asked, we answer

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Join Greg and Diane every Monday as we debate what’s on our minds. This week, we pillage the polls at the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television’s Fanzone for some silly summer fodder.

She said:

The poll that caught my eye was “Which Orphan Black clone do you most identify with?” because come on, how can you watch that show and not think about whether you’re a Sarah, Alison, Cosima, or — god forbid — Helena or Rachel? (I love that one of the options in the multiple-choice poll is murderously unhinged Helena but not heartless power-hungry Rachel.) After all, how many brain cells did women burn discussing whether we were Carries, Samanthas, Charlottes, or Mirandas? (I’m totally a Miranda.)

I’m way too sane to identify with Helena,  much as I adore her, and my overdeveloped sense of guilt means Rachel is not in the cards. If she had any sense of guilt she’d have poked her own eye out long ago.

Alison was my least favourite clone at the beginning, but she’s grown to be a favourite as her defenses have dropped and the twerk-ready soul behind her starched appearance emerged. But identify with her? No, just an admiration that someone so seemingly straight-laced and OCD could be such a hot mess.

Cosima in all her quirky, brainy glory was always one of my favourite clones, but her hardcore-geek puts my geek-like tendencies to shame, and I could never pull off that hairstyle.

I’d love to be more like Sarah — tough as nails, never met an ass she wouldn’t attempt to kick, yet caring and vulnerable too — but I’m nowhere near as brassy and ass-kicky. Still, she’s the clone I most identify with partly because we’ve seen so much of the story through her eyes, but also because she has the strength to be the heroine of her own story while constantly being knocked off course by forces beyond her control. Her derailments just happen to involve a few more corporate conspiracies and homicidal villains than your average woman’s.

Bell Media

He Said:

I decided to answer the pretty timely “Who’s your favourite Reality TV host?” because The Amazing Race Canada rolls out for another season on Wednesday. To judge the four in this category is a lot like what Diane went through to get to the bottom of the Orphan Black clone she most identifies with. Like the Leda clones, each of these hosts has a different personality to fit with the shows they head up.

Jon Montgomery would be my homer pick, a likeable dude who won an Olympic gold medal and then drank from a pitcher of beer to celebrate. He brings that affable attitude to The Amazing Race Canada each week, calmly and playfully explaining each challenge before and welcoming the pairs to the mat at the end of each episode. He even looks sad when a squad is eliminated. Jon’s job isn’t to command the stage, but to serve as a bridge between series and contestants.

Arisa Cox is big and brash, all smiles and personality. It’s a tough gig — she has to balance hosting Big Brother Canada with interviewing the eliminated players and playing to a live audience — but she pulls it off. I’m not a huge fan of BBC, but I appreciate with Arisa brings to the table every week.

Like Arisa Cox, Jessi Cruickshank has a lot to do as host of Canada’s Smartest Person. She has to interact with the contestants — most of them sporting huge egos — mug for the live audience, throw to stats man Jeff Douglas and talk straight into he camera at those playing the game at home. She has an infectious personality that can be a little overbearing — and her wardrobe causes me to scratch my head sometimes — but you need a high-energy person to handle the three-ring circus that is Canada’s Smartest Person.

My favourite? Andrew Younghusband, host of Canada’s Worst Driver. Worst Driver is just one of three Discovery shows Younghusband hosts (Don’t Drive Here and Canada’s Worst Handyman), but he’s at his best here. Equal parts TV host, therapist and no-nonsense friend, Younghusband doesn’t just revel in bad, bad drivers but goes lengths to educate them in what they’re doing wrong. Yes, Andrew gets frustrated with lunkheads to the point he’ll berate them on camera. Sure, those sidelong glances he makes at the camera is a silent mockery between he and the viewer. But he does it all with Newfoundland charm and you can’t help but love him for it.

That’s why he’s my favourite reality TV show host.

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Big Brother Canada

Big Brother Canada names a winner

From a media release:

Socially Savvy Sarah Hanlon Wins Season Three of Big Brother Canada in Landslide Vote

In the most merciless season of Big Brother Canada yet, Sarah Hanlon, the 27 year-old free spirit from Toronto, was crowned the winner in tonight’s dramatic season three finale on Global. Sarah competed as a socially savvy houseguest, earning the respect of the jury, and winning the crown title in a landslide 7-2 vote against runner-up Godfrey Mangwiza. Sarah takes home a grand prize of $100,000, a $25,000 home shopping spree from The Brick, and a $10,000 trip of a lifetime courtesy of Twistos. As runner-up, Godfrey takes home $20,000 cash, in addition to a $5,000 prize he picked up while in the house. Big Brother Canada’s third season quickly became the most shocking, twisted, and dramatic season yet, captivating Canadians across the country. The show’s third season, and its inaugural run on Global, grew its audience by 40% over its sophomore season on Slice.

“I honestly felt like I was going to be out every single week. It turned around when Brittnee used the Have Not super power and I won HOH right after – that’s when I thought that I might have a shot to get to the end. I still can’t believe it though, it’s so surreal!” said Sarah Hanlon.

With the house narrowed down to its final three – made up of Sarah Hanlon (Toronto), Godfrey Mangwiza (Toronto), and Ashleigh Wood (Calgary) – the remaining houseguests competed in a three-part HOH competition that secured one person a spot in the final two. Godfrey won the first leg of the competition, while Ashleigh won the second, knocking out Sarah from competing in the third leg of the race. In a tie-breaking trivia challenge, Godfrey won his first HOH of the season, securing himself a spot in the final two. Godfrey chose to take Sarah to the finals, sending Ashleigh out the door to join the jury.

After the jury vote was locked, Big Brother revealed its final twist of the season. The final three houseguests had been given a first-of-its-kind vote to unanimously eliminate one jury member. Arisa revealed to the jury that super fan Jordan Parhar had been evicted from the jury, canceling out his previously cast vote. This season’s houseguests were hand-picked from across the country, representing provinces, cities, and towns from coast-to-coast. But most of all, this season consisted of more BBCAN super fans than ever before, bringing a concoction of knowledge in a house full of game-altering surprises.

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