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Featured, Industry News, Masterchef Canada

Proper Television’s Guy O’Sullivan passes away

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Very sad news out of Canada’s reality television community. Proper Television’s Guy O’Sullivan, whose company is behind Canada’s Worst Driver and MasterChef Canada, passed away over the weekend. He was 49.

“It is with great sadness that we share the news of the sudden passing of Guy O’Sullivan, President, Proper Television,” the company stated on their Facebook page. “On behalf of everyone at Proper Television, we extend our sincere condolences to his children and family. Guy had a tremendous impact in the Canadian and international television industry, and was adored by his colleagues and staff. Out of respect for the family, no further comments will be made.”

O’Sullivan launched Proper Television in 2004 in Canada after five years at the BBC and has produced some of the most successful unscripted series in Canadian TV, including CBC’s True North Calling, CTV’s MasterChef Canada, Discovery Canada’s Canada’s Worst Driver, Don’t Drive Here and Canada’s Worst Handyman, W Network’s Come Dine with Me Canada and OLN’s Storage Wars Canada.

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Featured, Industry News

Win passes to the Toronto Screenwriting Conference

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Update: Congratulations to Corrie Clark and Tim Stubinski, who won the free passes 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 event weekend event—on April 22 and 23—brings together expert creative talent, authors and speakers specializing in the craft of writing.

Among the highlights is a Writing Room Intensive with Kim’s Convenience showrunners Ins Choi and Kevin White, where participants will write an episode of a comedy series. Also on tap: industry roundtables, and speakers like Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby), AMC Studios co-head Rick Olshansky, Marti Noxon (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce), Adam Reed (Archer), Chris Cantwell and Chris Rogers (Halt and Catch Fire), and Corey Mandell. More speakers and sessions will be announced soon.

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 of two complimentary passes to the weekend!

Simply comment below telling us why you’d like to attend and we’ll select two winners at random to attend next month’s event. The contest closes Wednesday, April 12, at noon PT/3 p.m. ET.

More information can be found at the TSC website.

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Industry News

Toronto Screenwriting Conference announces Paul Haggis to join as speaker

From a media release:

The Toronto Screenwriting Conference (TSC) announced today that veteran award-winning screenwriter, producer and director, Paul Haggis, will join the roster of speakers for this year’s event taking place on April 22 – 23 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Haggis, an Ontario native, has had a prolific career writing, directing and producing an array of award-winning television and film productions. In 2006, he became the first screenwriter to pen two Oscar-winning feature films back-to-back for Million Dollar Baby (directed by Clint Eastwood) and Crash, a film that he wrote and directed and one that also earned several nominations and awards from other prestigious associations including IFP Spirit Awards, The Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA. Throughout his illustrious career, he has collaborated with some of Hollywood’s leading actors including Oscar Isaac, Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon and Russell Crowe just to name a few. Television credits include Thirtysomething, The Tracey Ullman Show and Due South among others.

Other speakers lined up for the conference so far include Marti Noxon (UnREAL, Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and the highly-anticipated upcoming Sharp Objects, directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and starring Amy Adams), Chris Cantwell (Halt & Catch Fire), Chris Rogers (Halt & Catch Fire), Adam Reed (Archer), Rick Olshansky (Co-Head, AMC Studios), Alison Friedman (Director of Development, Color Force), Mark Ceryak (VP of Film and Televison Production, Gran Via Productions), Alex Foster (President of Production, The Middleton Media Group), Katrina Saville(Private Eyes), Courtney Jane Walker (Degrassi), Tracey Deer (Mowhawk Girls), Jennifer Holness (Shoot the Messenger), Kevin White (Kim’s Convenience), Ins Choi(Kim’s Convenience) and Corey Mandell (award-winning playwright and screenwriter).

The Toronto Screenwriting Conference runs April 22-23, 2017. Get the latest information—including events and how to register—on the official website.

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Industry News

Link: Renovation series built on determination

From Tim Arsenault of LocalExpress:

Link: Renovation series built on determination
The market for home improvement shows might seem as cramped as a big-city studio apartment, but a Dartmouth production company looks like it has assembled something unique.

Shooting has recently been completed on Eyes for the Job, a series for Accessible Media Inc. in Toronto. The 13 half-hour episodes will be shown this summer on AMI-tv, a dedicated channel on Canada’s cable and satellite systems that offers programming for people who are blind, partially sighted, deaf or hard of hearing. Continue reading. 

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Featured, Frankie Drake, Industry News

CBC orders new original drama Frankie Drake starring This Life’s Lauren Lee Smith

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We may not have another season of This Life to enjoy, but Lauren Lee Smith is staying with the CBC. Smith, who played Maggie Lawson for two rounds of This Life, has nabbed the lead role in Frankie Drake, a drama about Toronto’s only female detective in the 1920s.

The 11-episode first season of Frankie Drake will begin production this summer in Toronto and will debut this fall on CBC.

Frankie Drake takes on the cases no one else wants to handle and her gender puts her at odds with the social mores of the day. Undeterred, Frankie and her partner, Trudy, open Drake Detective Agency and tackle mysteries.

Related: Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci discuss Frankie Drake

“Frankie Drake is a real labour of love for us. It is a story about a spirited woman, breaking barriers and calling the shots, in a world that might not be ready for her. This is a one-hour detective series, set in the 20s, but this is not the roaring 20s we have seen onscreen before,” Christina Jennings, chairman and CEO, Shaftesbury said in a press release. “We are so pleased to bring this show to life, in partnership with our friends at the CBC, and with a creative team who have been part of our Shaftesbury family for many of our hit series. And of course—what a treat to work with the wonderful Lauren Lee Smith again. I can’t wait for the world to meet Frankie Drake.”

Now, some sad news for Murdoch Mysteries fans: Frankie Drake is created by Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci, which means they won’t return for Season 11 of Murdoch. Hay and Ricci also serve as executive producers on Frankie Drake; the series is executive produced by Jennings, Scott Garvie and Cal Coons, who also serves as showrunner. The series is produced by Jonathan Hackett and Julie Lacey.

We can’t wait to see the sass Smith brings to Frankie. What are your thoughts on this announcement? Will you tune in? Let us know in the comments below!

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