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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: History’s doc series Bud Empire rolls up on pot sales as Canada heads toward legalization

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I don’t—and have never—smoked marijuana. Growing up, I didn’t know anyone who did and when it was offered I declined. As a result, I don’t have any skin in the game as Canada inches closer to the legalization—voting on Bill C-45 is scheduled for June —of recreational marijuana in this country. But tuning in to History’s latest original series, Bud Empire certainly educated me in the drug and what being able to sell it as an entrepreneur.

Debuting Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the specialty network, the seven-part Bud Empire—narrated by Will Sasso—introduces viewers to Bob Kay, the owner of Be Kind, the Okanagan’s original Compassion Club. Episode 1, with its guitar-driven soundtrack, introduces Kay as he reveals B.C.’s Okanagan Valley is dotted with pot grow-ops mixed in with other crops. It’s a $5 billion industry and Kay aims to be “the King of Weed.” That title comes with challenges in the form of robbery, extortion, violence and Kay potentially being arrested for selling.

But Bud Empire isn’t about the furtive exchange of money for pot in a shadowy alley or groups of stoners lounging in a room filled with smoke; the program explores not only Kay’s family life (including his creatively-named kids) but how he’s running and, hopefully, expanding his business. This could be a series about any entrepreneur wanting to sell a product; the hook is that Kay sells marijuana. Kay welcomes salespeople into Be Kind, analyzing and sampling their weed and deeming if it’s up to his high standards and worthy of being in his store. Watching bunches of twenties exchange hands over bags of pot is certainly something to see.

Kay works a grey area of the law but he believes what he and others are doing is really helping; medical marijuana helps alleviate chronic pain and other ailments. Still, rules in Kelowna, B.C., could put him out of business and in jail.

Produced by Screen Siren Pictures Inc. and HLP + Partners, Trish Dolman (Canada in a Day)—Bud Empire‘s executive producer and director—offers a wonderful, educational and heartfelt peek into the life of man eking out a business in a rapidly-changing landscape.

Bud Empire airs back-to-back episodes on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on History.

Image courtesy of Corus Entertainment.

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Featured, Industry News

Win a pass to the 2018 Toronto Screenwriting Conference

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Update: Congratulations to Marsha Mason, who won a free pass to this year’s Toronto Screenwriting Conference. Thanks to everyone who submitted their story.

 

Want access to veterans of the screenwriting industry who can give you the education and skills development to further your career in writing, producing and directing? The Toronto Screenwriting Conference is for you.

The two-day weekend event—on June 23 and 24—brings together expert creative talent, authors and speakers specializing in the craft of writing.

Among the highlights is a Writing Room Intensive with Degrassi: Next Class and Holly Hobbie showrunner Sarah Glinski, where participants will work together in a mock writing room to break a pilot for a Dawson’s Creek reboot. Also on tap: speakers like David Shore (House, The Good Doctor), Chip Johannessen (Homeland), Stacy Rukeyser (Unreal), Ben Watkins (Hand of God) and Corey Mandell.

New this year is The Foundation Series: Where New Stories Begin with two sessions in Brain, Biography and Crime with Dr. William Watson, and Understanding Fraudsters and the Coppers that Chase Them with Mike Akpata.

TV, eh? is proud to be the exclusive media sponsors for this year’s Toronto Screenwriting Conference, but we’re even more excited to offer our readers the chance to win one complimentary pass to the weekend!

Simply comment below telling us which Canadian TV show, past or present, has inspired you to write for Canadian TV or film and we’ll select one winner at random to attend this month’s event. The contest closes Friday, June 15, at noon PT/3 p.m. ET.

More information can be found at the TSC website.

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Featured, The Detail

Cop drama The Detail cancelled at CTV after one season

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It’s one and done for The Detail; CTV has opted not to order another season of the cop drama.

“Canada! The last ever episode of @TheDetailCTV starts now!” star Shenae Grimes-Beech tweeted prior to the show’s first season finale on Sunday night. “Sadly we will not be coming back for a second season on @CTV but it’s been an absolute dream getting to bring Det. Jack Cooper to life!”

“CTV was so lovely, they were so passionate about the show and I know everyone really wanted it to go again,” Grimes-Beech continued on her latest YouTube post. “Unfortunately, due to finances, I think, and ratings and all of that kind of stuff it won’t be going again. I loved that show a lot. It was so much fun being a badass homicide detective and it was so much fun getting to play Det. Jack Cooper.” You can watch the full video below.

Developed by Ley Lukins (Saving Hope) who served as co-showrunner and co-executive producer alongside Adam Pettle (Saving Hope), The Detail was a 10-episode adaptation of the UK smash Scott & Bailey and starred Grimes-Beech as street-smart Detective Jacqueline “Jack” Cooper, who has keen investigative skills but a messy personal life. Angela Griffin starred as Detective Stevie Hall, a sharp quick-witted interrogator who is Jack’s mentor. Wendy Crewson played Staff Inspector Fiona Currie, the homicide unit’s boss, who works overtime to secure justice, no matter what the cost.

Supporting cast included David Cubitt as Detective Kyle Price, Stevie’s ex-boyfriend and new co-worker at the division; David Ferry as Harry Barker, Stevie’s stepfather and retired cop; Matthew Edison as Stevie’s husband Jono Hall; Ben Bass as Marc Savage, Jack’s boyfriend; Al Mukadam as Detective Aaron Finch; and Matt Gordon as Detective Donnie Sullivan.

Executive producers included Ilana Frank (Saving Hope), John Morayniss (Bitten), and Linda Pope (Rookie Blue), with co-executive producers Jocelyn Hamilton (Cardinal), Sonia Hosko (Saving Hope) and Gregory Smith (Rookie Blue).

The Detail‘s lack of a renewal is the latest move by Bell Media; the broadcaster announced InnerSpace and Daily Planet would not be back.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Bonacini’s Italy brings the tastes of 15 food regions to Gusto

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Did you catch Michael Bonacini’s Gusto special, Christmas at the Farm? If not, you missed a fantastic hour packed with tasty recipes and Bonacini’s charm.

Luckily, the folks at Bell Media were smart enough to sign on the restaurateur and resident MasterChef Canada judge for a whole new series of 15 instalments. This one, Bonacini’s Italy—debuting Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT on Gusto, which is in a free preview until June 26—picks up with Bonacini as he cooks his way through 15 Italian regions, exploring the flavours and textures that make each unique through an entire meal, from antipasto, soup, or salad, to primo, secondo and dolce.

On Monday, Bonacini transports viewers to Tuscany for a menu jam-packed with peasant food. Gone is the sprawling, snowy farm from this holiday special, swapped out for the clean lines of a what looks like a condo kitchen complete with a sun-coloured bike hanging askew on the wall. Simplicity and freshness are the rules of the day in Tuscan cooking according to Bonacini, as he roughly dices perfect heirloom tomatoes, preps crusty bread, cores and chops cucumber, slices red onion, tears basil and pours out red wine vinegar and olive oil to create a bread salad. Gnudi with ricotta and spinach are equally tantalizing, followed by a Tuscan beef stew with just seven ingredients and a shockingly simple baked fish and potatoes.

Aside from the charm I mentioned when previewing Bonacini’s holiday special, he brings an air of supreme calm to Italy. Bonacini delivers his lines softly and succinctly, exuding the same confidence and surety that has made him a successful restaurateur and MasterChef Canada judge and coach. By the end of Episode 1 of Bonacini’s Italy, not only was I hungry but I had the confidence to try out the recipes for myself.

Bonacini’s Italy airs Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT on Gusto. Gusto is in a free preview until June 26.

Image courtesy of Bell Media.

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Featured

Comments and queries for the week of June 1

InnerSpace was the only reason I had Space Channel at all. My kids and I used to turn on the TV just for this show. I’m gutted. It was the highlight of my day. And no, that is not a commentary on the quality of my days. —The Zleaguer

Well, I hate to see InnerSpace go. It’s been a part of my weekdays for ages now. Still, though, the writing’s been on the wall for quite a while. The budget cuts were obvious. I just wish Bell had shown a little more class. Would it have killed them to finish out the week and give the show a chance to say goodbye? —DMK

This is terrible, a real lack of knowing what the people enjoy watching in both cases Daily Planet and InnerSpace. It really shows the I.Q. of the people who made their mind up to cancel these two programs. —Jim

No kidding! The same thing with Daily Planet over on Discovery Channel. Both shows were simply cut off immediately. No respect for either the people working on the show or those of us who enjoyed watching them for all the years they were on. I have little interest in most of the reruns they now show on Space. At least change it up now and then and give us something different like Battlestar Galactica or maybe some Babylon 5. But no, it’s Star Trek over and over and over and over and over … with the occasional Andromeda tossed in, a series that only had one decent season and the never-ending recycling of Stargate. —Robert

Very sad! It’s the only talk show I watch. Keeps me up to date and in the know. I’m really going to miss seeing Teddy, AJ and Morgan every day – they are very entertaining. —Cathy

I dearly hope that they reverse the decision to cancel InnerSpace. I watched it every night like the news … the geek news. How will we find out all those things important to us in the geek community? Secondly, it now puts a good number of people on the unemployment line. I understand bottom lines but this is a hard pill to swallow. I wish everyone at InnerSpace good luck in their futures. Yet another reason why I’m not a Bell fan. —Darren

 

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

 

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