Everything about Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary, eh?

From a media release:

AMI, in partnership with Nikki Ray Media Agency (Fire Masters, Home to Win), is pleased to announce that principal photography has started on six Season 2 episodes of AMI-tv’s Fashion Dis in Toronto.

Called “groundbreaking” by Postmedia, Season 2 of Fashion Dis promises to be a game-changer in the makeover space, challenging traditional norms that lack inclusion. Each episode of Fashion Dis celebrates the head-to-toe overhaul of a frustrated style seeker discouraged by an industry that lacks adaptive options.

Utilizing innovative fashion design and transformative beauty techniques provided by partner companies, the Fashion Dis expert team reveals the latest in fashion-forward thinking and shows those ready to rock their best body exactly how to do it.

“Universal design is exploding and it’s such an exciting moment in fashion and beauty,” says show creator and host Ardra Shephard. “Season 2 is stacked with more engaging and fun participants. I can’t wait to see the looks we create for these individuals and for the disability community at large.”

Meet the Season 2 experts:

Ardra Shephard, host
Ardra is an influential Canadian blogger, speaker, leader in the Multiple Sclerosis community and host of the Tripping On Air podcast.

Bella Strange, makeup artist
Bella is a makeup artist catering to the LGBTQ+, disability and special effects communities.

Susan Shipley, hair stylist
Susan is a master stylist with extensive experience in accessible hair care services.

Izzy Camilleri, style expert
Izzy is one of Canada’s leading fashion designers and a pioneer in adaptive clothing.

Melonie Lawrence, art director
Melonie is a fashion stylist who believes great style can be achieved regardless of size, colour, creed or cash flow.

Alkan Emin, photographer
Alkan is an award-nominated photographer.

Returning partners to Fashion Dis include Guide Beauty, June Adaptive, ByAcre, Rollz, MagnaReady, BILLY Footwear, Liberare, Slick Chicks and Cheekbone Beauty.

New Fashion Dis partners include Will & Well, BeedleBug, Consonant Skincare, Elba London, Aille Design, MIGA Swimwear, Blue Dahlia, The Vault By Volpe Beringer, Chamiah Dewey Fashion, It Actually Fits, Auf Augenhoehe, Crease Piece, Deafmetal, Amaterasu Beauty, Sweet LeiLani, Elate Beauty, EazyHold, Roncy Packs, Ambutech and Sahajan.

About Nikki Ray Media Agency
Nikki Ray Media Agency (formerly known as Architect Films) is a world-class creator of original mass-audience content. Since 2010, Nikki Ray has produced hundreds of hours of content that has been sold in territories all around the world. Titles include Fire Masters, The Big Bake, Great Chocolate Showdown, Hot Market, Extreme Ice Machines, Donut Showdown, Sugar Showdown and Home To Win.

About Accessible Media Inc.
AMI is a not-for-profit media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians who are blind or partially sighted. Operating three broadcast services, AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French, AMI’s vision is to establish and support a voice for Canadians with disabilities, representing their interests, concerns and values through accessible media, reflection and portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Gripping four-part Crave original investigative docuseries, Thunder Bay, premieres February 17

January 19, 2023 Greg David

From a media release:

Crave announced today that its new, four-part original gripping investigative docuseries, THUNDER BAY, premieres on Friday, Feb. 17, and is available to audiences in both English and French. The series is produced, written, and co-directed by Anishinaabe journalist Ryan McMahon, who is on a quest to uncover the truth behind the deaths of numerous Indigenous people in Thunder Bay, Ont. – a Canadian city which has historically had high rates of homicides and hate crimes. THUNDER BAY debuts on Feb. 17 with the first two episodes, followed by the final two episodes on Feb. 24.

Following the breakout success of his CANADALAND podcast of the same name, McMahon returns to Thunder Bay to discover the roots of the city’s systemic racism against its Indigenous population. From investigating the unexplained deaths of local Indigenous teens to exploring the failings of the city’s police service, McMahon sheds light on Thunder Bay’s enduring history of racism.

Over the course of four episodes, THUNDER BAY unravels Canada’s complicated relationship with colonialism, examining the consequences of a broken system in which some can thrive, while many others disproportionally struggle to survive.

Episodic synopses are outlined below:

Episode 1 – Murder Capital #1
Journalist and host Ryan McMahon is determined to uncover the truth behind multiple teenage deaths in Thunder Bay’s waterways.

Episode 2 – Whodunit
Ryan explores three theories behind the deaths: serial killer, gang violence, and darkest of all, racist vigilantes.

Episode 3 – No Foul Play
Ryan suspects that the police’s failure to investigate Indigenous deaths may be intentional after an inside source seeks him out.

Episode 4 – The Hive
Ryan learns some inside information about the police force and his worst fears are confirmed after he receives a covertly leaked report.

THUNDER BAY is produced by Ryan McMahon and Entertainment One (eOne), and produced and developed in association with Bell Media. Created, executive produced, and hosted by Ryan McMahon. Series Producer is Leslie Lucas. Jocelyn Hamilton and Toby Dormer serve as executive producers for eOne.

Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Documentary Doug and the Slugs & Me is a filmmaker’s love letter to her childhood

January 13, 2023 Greg David

Growing up in the 1980s, I heard a lot of Doug and the Slugs music.

The group’s music videos for tunes like “Too Bad,” “Making It Work,” “Tomcat Prowl” and “Day by Day” were MuchMusic staples. Heck, I have “Day by Day” as part of my most-played songs on my iPhone. But, aside from knowing they were from Vancouver and created some wild videos, Doug and the Slugs has been a bit of a mystery to me.

Until now.

Debuting Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBC, Doug and the Slugs & Me follows filmmaker Teresa Alfeld as she explores the story of Doug Bennett. And while he led one of the most iconic 80s bands in Canada, Alfeld only knew him—during her childhood—as the cool dad of her best friend next door in East Vancouver.

Unlike most music documentaries that simply trace the birth and growth of a band, Doug and the Slugs & Me adds Alfeld’s personal journey, including chats with her mother, to round out Bennett and the band’s story. That, along with interviews with the Slugs, Bob Geldof (who worked with Bennett before Doug and the Slugs formed), Bif Naked, Steven Page, Ron Sexsmith, Michael Williams, Denise Donlon (who was the band’s publicist!) and Terry David Mulligan—and treasured home video—paint a wonderfully moving picture not only of Bennett but capture a slice of Canadiana well worth checking out.

Doug and the Slugs & Me airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBC.

Image courtesy of Hans Sipma.

Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

marblemedia heads back into the world of miniatures with Season 2 of Best in Miniature

December 5, 2022 Greg David

From a media release:

marblemedia, a leading production and distribution entertainment television studio, is excited that CBC and CBC Gem have announced the return of their hit series, Best in Miniature (8 X 60) for a second season, returning on Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 7:00 pm. Production on season 2 wrapped late last summer in Hamilton, Ontario.

The series, which saw major success after its debut season, will once again tap into the viral world of miniatures; and take the reality competition genre to a whole new scale, both in size and creativity.

Season 2 will welcome 10 new highly skilled artists from across Canada and from around the world to compete in the ultimate challenge: building their dream home in miniature-form. The competitors will create their houses, in painstaking detail, room by room by shrinking life-size objects down to 1:12 scale. While the objects may be small, the stakes could not be bigger.

Returning host this season is actress, writer, and stand-up comedian, Aba Amuquandoh (CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes). Back as the judges are UK Miniature Expert Emma Waddell, and esteemed Interior Designer Michael Lambie, whose precision and design techniques will save the vying competitors from dreaded elimination. The winner of the series will win a crash prize and the coveted title of being Best in Miniature!

Trailblazers in the unscripted and competition series space with smash global hits like Netflix’s Blown Away and Drink Masters, as well as CBC’s Race Against the Tide, Discovery’s A Cut Above, and TVOKids’ All-Round Champion, Canada’s own marblemedia is excited to once again be working with CBC and CBC Gem to bring more episodes of the bingeable Best in Miniature series.

Best in Miniature is produced by marblemedia in association with CBC. For marblemedia, Matt Hornburg, Mark Bishop and Diane Rankin are executive producers; Donna Luke and Carly Spencer are co-executive producers, and Erica Lenczner is series producer and showrunner for the series; and created by Director of Unscripted Development, Kelsey Espensen.

Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Aliya Jasmine and Teddy Wilson celebrate the world’s mega machines in Discovery’s The Mightiest

November 21, 2022 Greg David

First, there was Mighty Ships. Then, Mighty Planes, followed by Mighty Cruise Ships and Mighty Trains. Now, there is simply The Mightiest.

Debuting on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery, the latest in the Mighty franchise takes viewers on a six-episode adventure into some of the mega-ist of mega machines around the planet. Hosted by Teddy Wilson (Mighty Trains) and environmental journalist Aliya Jasmine, each installment focuses on one main machine surrounded by smaller stories. Each segment is tied together by Aliya Jasmine and Wilson, who converse while standing in Hanger 1 at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

“It’s the latest and the greatest in the Mighty franchise,” Wilson says, on the line during a recent media day with his co-host. “They wanted to take this amazing franchise and really kick it up a notch. This series focuses on planes, trains and ships. We’re going to take viewers on some amazing and epic adventures.”

For environmental journalist Aliya Jasmine, The Mightiest offered her many tales to tell.

“So many of these stories deal with nature and some of the world’s most destructive natural forces,” Aliya Jasmine says. “We were able to fly into the eye of a hurricane and over wildfires. [We’re] not only looking at these mighty machines and the innovation in science and engineering but also the actual humans behind them. There are incredible people who put their lives at stake to operate these machines.”

The adventure begins on Wednesday with “Launch Day,” where Wilson is aboard the U.S. Navy’s newest and largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford. Updated with the latest in technology—including a switch from steam to electricity to launch and land aircraft—the Gerald R. Ford is a small town on the sea, to which The Mightiest crew were given unprecedented access.

“It was a mind-blowing experience,” Wilson recalls. “It was incredibly loud, incredibly dangerous… the deck of an aircraft carrier is one of the most dangerous places on earth. And, we had to arrive and leave the carrier via a military transport plane landing and taking off, which was one of the coolest experiences of my life.”

In addition to highlighting the USS Gerald R. Ford, Wednesday’s debut looks at the massive Airbus A-380’s first landing into a major North American hub, the re-launch of a flying telescope after being grounded for months, and final touches on a cruise ship three times bigger than the Titanic. And while Wilson says as cool as the aircraft carrier assignment was, he believes his co-star got a plum Season 1 assignment seated inside an F-18 as a member of the Blue Angels.

“The Blue Angels are the only F-18 pilots in the world that don’t wear G-suits and don’t have oxygen masks,” Aliya Jasmine says. “When you see Tom Cruise in Top Gun, he has a G-suit on that helps him stay conscious, keep his eyesight, help him breathe and not be nauseous.

“It takes them years to train, and they trained me in two minutes,” she continues with a laugh. “They did warn me that it’s not uncommon for people to pass out, momentarily go blind, pee or defecate themselves, or puke. My body has never gone through anything like that before.”

So, how did she do?

“We pulled 6Gs, broke the sound barrier, did a couple of loops and I did puke four times on camera.”

The Mightiest airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.