Everything about Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary, eh?

Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary, The Hardy Boys

Corus Entertainment delivers a diverse lineup of Canadian original content across its beloved brands

From a media release:

Today, Corus Entertainment announces its upcoming lineup of new and returning premium original content for 2023/2024. This includes a total of 25 new and returning series, with 11 titles from Corus Studios and eight from Nelvana.

With programming sold to more than 150 countries around the globe, Corus Studios has proven itself a leader in original Canadian lifestyle and unscripted content, extending its catalogue with 11 new and returning titles across Top 10 specialty stations*, Food Network Canada, HGTV Canada, and The HISTORY® Channel. Nelvana maintains its position as a world-renowned international producer and distributor of children’s animated and live-action content, with programming seen in over 180 countries around the world. This year is no exception, with eight new and returning series coming soon to Corus’ leading kids’ networks, Treehouse and YTV.

LIFESTYLE

Food Network Canada
A Top 10 specialty network* and the ultimate culinary destination, Food Network Canada’s esteemed culinary competition series Top Chef Canada, a Top 10 specialty entertainment series last year*, makes its epic return for Season 11 (8×60) expected to premiere in late 2024. A new roster of revered chefs will put it all on the line during this fierce and fiery culinary face-off, competing to take home the title of Canada’s Top Chef. During this season’s fast-paced challenges, the chefs must impress Top Chef Canada’s acclaimed judging panel, as well as notable names from the culinary world who will join each week as guest judges and tasters. Top Chef Canada is the homegrown version of the hit Emmy® Award-winning NBCUniversal Series Top Chef.

Corus Studios’ The Big Bake will tantalize taste buds and hype up the holidays this fall with Season 4 (7×60 Halloween and 7×60 Holiday) of the larger-than-life themed baking series. Each episode of this fun-filled baking competition series gives three professional baking teams only five hours to design, bake and decorate a grand-scale cake creation based on a particular theme. In the end, the most ambitious, eye-popping and delicious cake will go home with a $10,000 prize.

HGTV Canada
HGTV Canada holds its position as the nation’s destination for all things home. The Top 5 specialty network* has inspiring and heart-warming programming that fits any style. Viewers can look forward to a two-episode tease of the new Corus Studios series, Bryan’s All In (10×60) this fall, with the rest of the season airing in spring 2024. The series sees HGTV Canada star Bryan Baeumler travels off-the-beaten path to help struggling entrepreneurs renovate their businesses. These are ambitious dreamers who are risking it all for their passion projects, making major life changes to become their own boss – just like Bryan did. In each episode, Bryan hits the open road in his RV, spending a week helping a budding business owner through a make-or-break point in their reno. He acts as their coach and mentor, helping them overcome major hurdles, while tackling key builds in a race to open or revive their business.

The network’s #2 program last summer, Corus Studios’ Scott’s Vacation House Rules also returns with new episodes this fall (7×60), with Scott McGillivray using his five rules to turn problem properties into profit. Along with designer Debra Salmoni, Scott unlocks the hidden rental potential of even the most neglected properties, updating and reviving them into unique and buzz-worthy places of paradise. As previously announced, this series has also been greenlit for Season 5, as part of HGTV Canada and Scott McGillivray’s four-year production commitment and exclusivity deal, and will air in the spring of 2024.

The network’s late 2024 schedule is expected to feature a diverse round-up of new and returning Corus Studios series. Hollywood icon Pamela Anderson returns for Season 2 of Pamela’s Garden of Eden (8×60), which ranked within the Top 10 of Canadian original series across specialty television last fall. Also returning for a Season 2 is Gut Job (8×60) following seasoned builder Sebastian Clovis tackling down-to-the-studs renovations; and Hoarder House Flippers (8×60), a Top 10 program on the network last summer, featuring three sets of flippers transforming dilapidated houses. Fan-favourite Rock Solid Builds (8×60), a Top 20 specialty entertainment series last spring**, kicks off Season 3, showcasing even more unique and challenging builds by Randy Spracklin and his crew in Newfoundland. Joining the HGTV Canada lineup in late 2024 is the new series House of Ali (8×60), following no-nonsense luxury home designer Ali Budd and her all-female firm, responsible for designing some of the most bespoke and upscale homes in North America.

The HISTORY® Channel
A Top 10 specialty network, The HISTORY® Channel spotlights true stories, big adventures, and a diversity of underrepresented voices with its slate of six new and returning factual and documentary titles. In honour of Canada’s National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, picking up where Part 1 left off, True Story Part 2 (1×120), examines the painful legacy of the Indian Act and Residential School system on Indigenous peoples, the Sixties Scoop, the rise of Indigenous political movements and the role of Indigenous veterans in Canada’s military. This Remembrance Day, Our War Part 2 (2×60), will shine a light on extraordinary Canadians who made heroic contributions to WWI and WWII. From the descendant of a World War I nurse killed in a war crime to a Japanese Canadian survivor of World War II internment camp, the docu-series follow descendants as they investigate the harrowing secrets their ancestors took to the grave.

Then in winter, the premium limited documentary series Sounds Black (4×60) examines the origins and impact of Black Music in Canada. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Cazhhmere, with contributions from legends including Kardinal Offishall, Jully Black, Fefe Dobson, Maestro Fresh Wes, Deborah Cox, Keisha Chante and more, the series explores Black Canadian music from its tangled diasporic roots to its international dominance. A Top 10 program on the network last fall, Deadman’s Curse returns for Season 2 (8×60), with more adventures following the diverse team of explorers on their epic search for legendary lost gold in B.C. Ahead of the second season premiering next spring, the Corus Studios series has already been greenlit for a third season. The series is complemented by a previously announced companion podcast from Curiouscast, Deadman’s Curse: Slumach’s Gold. Hosted by series star Kru Williams, the podcast takes listeners deeper into the history of Slumach’s legacy.

Rounding out the spring lineup of Corus Studios series, Rust Valley Restorers (8×60), a Top 5 program on the network last spring***, returns for Season 5, offering classic car fanatics some fresh adventures from Mike, Avery and Connor; as well as Season 2 of Backroad Truckers (8×60) following the wildest band of road runners as they crisscross the unforgiving terrain of Western Canada with bigger jobs, bigger machines, and even bigger feuds.

Hosted Segments
Following the success of the short-form content series W Network’s Movie Date, hosted by Sarah Keenleyside, Brittnee Blair, and Noah Cappe, and Showcase’s Watch Party, hosted by Fred Kennedy, HGTV Canada and Food Network Canada will introduce their own branded models this fall. HGTV Canada’s DIY Studio will be hosted by Sebastian Clovis, Sarah Keenleyside and Kenny Brain and is designed to grab viewers’ attention with quick tips and fixes for their home renovation projects throughout the network’s linear broadcast. Food Network Canada’s hosted segments will be helmed by Chef Anna Olson who will be serving up all things delicious in snackable broadcast & digital content pieces that help audiences discover their next great recipe.

NELVANA & KIDS

YTV
This summer, the mystery continues with The Hardy Boys’ third and final season (8×60) premiering on YTV. Based on the beloved books by Franklin W. Dixon and nominated for a Daytime Emmy® Award and seven Canadian Screen Awards, things pick up where the shocking events of Season 2 left off. The Hardy boys and their friends dig up even more secrets, conspiracies, and threats as they piece together their great-grandfather’s long-lost map and race against time to uncover a powerful ancient relic before it falls into the wrong hands.

Best & Bester (6×30) also returns with the pair of hilariously individual twins continuing their adventures living in a weird and wonderful alternate reality where your neighbour could be a pair of disgruntled trousers or your best friend a floating cloud of bottom burp. Up next, based on the best-selling book series and produced by Corus Entertainment’s Aircraft Pictures and WexWorks Media, Popularity Papers (26×30) continues to follow middle-school besties Julie and
Lydia on their quest to demystify one of life’s greatest questions: what makes someone popular? Every social experiment they test comes with unexpected lessons about the value of friendship, kindness, and confidence, helping guide our characters through the struggles of middle school with humour and heart.

Treehouse
Treehouse original series Builder Brothers Dream Factory gets ready to GEAR UP and GET IT DONE with new episodes (10×11) beginning this fall. Distributed by Nelvana and co-produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment and Scott Brothers Entertainment, twin brothers Drew and Jonathan continue to use their extraordinary imagination, creativity, grit, and heart – coupled with a big dose of TWINSPIRATION to help friends and solve problems in the neighbourhood by dreaming big. Fans of Thomas & Friends franchise can look forward to a new special with the beloved engines in Thomas & Friends: The Great Bubbly Build (1×30) airing this fall. The special sees Sandy and Carly set out to make an art project together, but when their ideas clash and the project fails, they learn that it needs the right mix of both ideas to succeed.

Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe, Season 3 continues (10×30) with more fur-raising adventures on Treehouse this summer and fall. Produced by redknot, a joint venture between Nelvana and Warner Bros. Discovery, P.U.R.S.T. agents Binky, Gracie, Gordon, Loo and Nola are ready to soar into new adventures and protect their human families and the entire world from even more aliens, robots, and the WURST villains. Packed with action, humour, and heart, the third season features fun-themed episodes and missions that are literally out-of-this-world.
This fall also sees the premiere of Nelvana short film Jelly (1×13), an inspirational modern fairy tale. The film follows Molly, a fiercely talented artist, debating whether to pursue her creative passion or work a soul-sucking factory job. She can’t decide until she meets a mysterious liquid spirit who takes her on an exhilarating journey of self-discovery and helps make the choice easy.

Next summer, the Nelvana-produced series Millie Magnificent (52×11) premieres, inspired by Canadian author-illustrator Ashley Spires’ popular children’s book, The Most Magnificent Thing, published by Kids Can Press. With a spark of imagination and endless determination, Millie and her Creato-crew friends, Maya and Ben, together with her adorable canine assistant, Wallace, strive to find the most magnificent solutions to their neighbourhood’s challenges.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Yukon Harvest’s connections continue in Season 2

A word often used in Yukon Harvest is “connection.” A connection with nature. A connection with language. A connection with tradition. It’s an important—essential, really—part of the show.

Returning for Season 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on APTN in English and Monday in Northern Tutchone (a language spoken in the Yukon communities of Mayo, Pelly Crossing, Stewart Crossing, Carmacks and Beaver Creek), the 13-episode Yukon Harvest documents Indigenous guides and hunters as they journey into the remote lands to connect with the land, share in culture and give back to the community.

Saturday’s return, “Yegwúp/To Grow Strong, Part 1,” kicks off in Tkʼemlúps, B.C., where we catch up with and get the story of hunting guide Ed Jensen. A member of the Secwepemc Nation, Ed is committed to handing down the skills that have been passed down for thousands of years, and through his parents, who were both in residential schools. He and Aaron, a young man Ed mentored over 20 years ago, head out into the hills in hopes of hunting a deer large enough to fulfill a meat order for a family in need. But taking down a large buck is just the first step in a ceremonial process that includes a gift of tobacco, mourning the animal, taking a piece of the heart and liver to honour their ancestors and honouring the animal and its meat, which is going to feed others.

Saturday’s episode isn’t all about trekking into beautiful, rugged land to provide for others. In stark contrast is Ed reflecting on what his parents, and countless other Indigenous peoples, endured at residential schools across the country. There is sobering footage of stuffed animals placed at the base of the Kamloops Indian Residential School Monument, and Ed’s relief that the kids he mentors don’t live with the horrors of those schools as his parents did.

True to the show’s title, Ed jets to the Yukon for the episode’s final act. After arriving in Whitehorse, Ed meets up with Evan, who first hunted with Ed over two years ago. And while it’s an opportunity for Evan to show Ed his hunting grounds and skills, this trip allows Ed to evaluate Evan too. How is this young man adapting the traditional ways, and connecting with his ancestors? It’s a truly fulfilling experience for both.

Yukon Harvest airs Saturdays at 7 p.m. ET on APTN.

Image courtesy of APTN.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Summer is heating up! AMI-tv announces new and returning original series and documentaries to celebrate the season

From a media release:

Summer at Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) is hotter than ever! Today, AMI-tv unveiled new and returning original series and documentary programming to entertain and inform Canadians of all abilities in the coming months.

It all begins with the Season 3 return of the Canadian Screen Award-nominated By Hook or By Cook, as Bruce Cook (above) and his friend, Christian Bagg, tackle their biggest adventure yet.

The new AMI-tv series Blind Trust: A Guide Dog’s Journey tells the story of the CNIB Guide Dog program. Returning programs to AMI-tv include new seasons of Postcards From, Blind Adventures with Ron Walsh, Our Community and Adaptable Animals and the all-new documentary Everyone Belongs in Nature.

Highlights of AMI-tv’s upcoming summer programming include:

Blind Adventures with Ron Walsh

June

By Hook or By Cook returns Wednesday, June 14, at 8 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv

Bruce Cook, a stunt motocross rider who is disabled, wants to help others with disabilities enjoy life’s possibilities with unique innovations that he and his friend, Christian, create. In Season 3, Bruce and Christian have spent many years facilitating adrenaline adventures for others. Whether racing on top of mountains or bungee jumping off the highest bridge in British Columbia, they know no fear and no boundaries. What will happen when two people whose passion lies in helping others get an opportunity to do something remarkable for themselves? In addition to this season’s eight episodes are two special instalments. Filmed live in front of a studio audience and moderated by AMI’s Dave Brown, the episodes feature in-depth discussion about representation, responsibility and being a role model when you are a member of the disability community, as well as never-before-seen footage and surprises. Season 4 of By Hook or By Cook is currently in production. By Hook or By Cook is produced by Render Digital Media.

Our Community returns Thursday, June 15, at 8 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv

An all-new season of Our Community once again highlights the people, places, organizations, or things that have made life more enjoyable for Canadians with a disability. Upcoming episodes follow young adults who are partially sighted as they participate in a fashion show, Canada’s first medical daycare for children and The Capital City Condors, a hockey team Canadians of all abilities can play for. Our Community episodes are produced by such companies as Ascent Films, Honey Cut Studios and Bamboo Shoots.

Everyone Belongs in Nature debuts Friday, June 16, at 7 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv

Everyone Belongs in Nature takes a look at the creation of Power To Be’s new world-leading accessible facility through the perspective of Marnie and Adam, two of its participants. Everyone Belongs in Nature is produced by M1 Films.

Blind Trust: A Guide Dog’s Journey

July

Blind Adventures with Ron Walsh returns Monday, July 17, at 8 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv

Join outdoors enthusiast Ron Walsh, who is blind, as he and his friends explore Saskatchewan and all of the exciting locations the province has to offer. Blind Adventures with Ron Walsh is produced by Thomega Entertainment.

Blind Trust: A Guide Dog’s Journey debuts Tuesday, July 25, at 8 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv

Blind Trust: A Guide Dog’s Journey tells the story of the CNIB Guide Dog program. From being raised on a farm in rural Manitoba, to training in Carleton Place near Ottawa, a guide dog’s journey is quite an adventure! Blind Trust: A Guide Dog’s Journey is produced by HalterMedia.

Adaptable Animals returns Tuesday, July 25, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv

Adaptable Animals looks at the world of animals with disabilities, and the advances in veterinary medicine that provide them with prosthetics, thanks to the specialized work of Janice Olynich. Adaptable Animals is produced by Mountain Road Productions.

Postcards From

Postcards From returns Thursday, July 27, at 7 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv

New host, new adventures! Join Therese Estacion, poet and member of the disability community, as she embarks on a multisensory journey, revealing a secret side to Canada we taste, touch, smell, see and hear for the first time. Postcards From is produced by Black Rhino Creative.

All AMI-tv originals are available post-broadcast on demand at AMI.ca or the AMI-tv App.

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.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Season 2 of Animal Planet’s Pets & Pickers offers services to low-income pet families

1 Comment

I would do anything for my cat. Homer, who is 13, may get on my nerves with his early-morning requests to feed him or plaintive meows to be let outside when I’m in the middle of a Teams meeting, but I love the little guy.

That love of animals is at the heart of Pets & Pickers, a truly unique series on Animal Planet. Returning Saturday at 8 p.m. Eastern—and available to watch for free thanks to Bell’s free preview of their specialty channels right now—Pets & Pickers follows the folks at Regional Animal Protection Society (RAPS) Animal Hospital in Richmond, B.C., who have a groundbreaking way to fund often-expensive medical care for pets: a thrift store. It’s in the RAPS thrift store that staff sort through abandoned storage lockers for items that can be sold or auctioned off. All money raised pays for vet care and surgeries.

Saturday’s return kicks off with 11-year-old Tigger, a cat who has received some scratches to his face and muzzle that have hindered his breathing. While he’s under anesthesia, Dr. Regan discovers Tigger is missing teeth, and has additional swelling and infection.

Meanwhile, thrift store manager Karen—whose team has raised over $1 million to offset vet costs—is up to her shoulders in new items in two storage bins. Smaller items like an old lamp can pull in $40, while a box of vintage comic books can command upwards of $200. It all counts and quickly adds up to $2,000.

Back at the hospital, Tigger receives x-rays that uncover a possible answer to how he received his facial scratch and more serious issues. Thankfully, Tigger gets the treatment he needs, owner Rose is thrilled to have him back and appreciative that the bill has been covered by RAPS.

Equal parts Storage Wars and The Incredible Dr. Pol, Pets & Pickers is a fun and emotional ride.

Pets & Pickers airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET on Animal Planet.

Image courtesy of Bell Media.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Rezolution Pictures announces greenlight for third season of GESPE’GEWA’GI: The Last Land on APTN

From a media release:

Rezolution Pictures is very proud to announce that APTN has greenlit the third season of GESPE’GEWA’GI: The Last Land for a 9-part, half-hour episode series. Principal photography is set to start in May 2023. It’s hot on the heels of Season 2 of GESPE’GEWA’GI: The Last Land, which has just finished post-production and will be broadcast on APTN in late 2023; the official broadcast date will be confirmed once available.

Gespe’gewa’gi: The Last Land is a fun and engaging television series that is, at its core, character-driven, featuring people who do sometimes volatile, dangerous, yet exciting jobs. The series is a celebration of Indigenous people of Atlantic Canada and the fisheries that sustain them, both culturally and economically. We laugh with them, share their successes and frustrations, and get a glimpse of their life in communities that national audiences rarely get to see.

GESPE’GEWA’GI: The Last Land Season 2 – the 10-part, half-hour documentary series is about the men and women of Mi’kma’ki whose work is connected to the fishing industry. Following larger-than-life characters, we experience the fun and excitement of their lives on and off the water. We also get an inside perspective on how First Nations commercial fishing industries – that were born out of violence and defiance – grew to be a key economic and cultural support for the communities, with conservation at the forefront. The second season takes us to Pictou Landing First Nation and Sipekne’katik in Nova Scotia, as well as Listuguj and Gesgapegiag in Quebec where we meet new characters who will take us harvesting for kelp, fishing for lobster, snow crab, and shrimp, as well as introducing new and exciting species like eel and tuna. This season features a higher proportion of women characters in the industries of commercial fisheries and science.

Season 3 will expand the coverage of Mi’kma’ki, bringing us to different communities in Unama’ki, the Land of the Fog (Cape Breton) and Epekwitk (meaning lying in the water), also known as P.E.I., where we’ll meet captivating people who love their jobs and want to share their stories. They’ll also take us fishing for lobster, snow crab, tuna, trout, eel, and oysters. We’ll continue to learn about the science and conservation efforts surrounding the fisheries, the triumphs and challenges that come with running them, whether it be commercial, Food-Social-Ceremonial or Mi’kmaq Treaty Fishing and the rich cultural and political histories in the context of both modern and traditional Mi’kma’ki.

The first season of the documentary series about the Mi’gmaq fishers of Listuguj, Que., who fish in the breath-taking Gaspé region for salmon, crab, lobster and shrimp, was first broadcast in Winter 2021 and the entire season is available on APTN lumi and CBC Gem.
Upon its premiere in the winter of 2021, of the series received support from major media during its first season, including coverage by the Globe and Mail and CTV’s midday talk show, The Social. Over three months, the trailer garnered over 54,000 views. Watch the Season 1 TRAILER HERE.

GESPE’GEWA’GI: The Last Land Season 2 with English and Mi’kmaq versions, is co-executive produced by Ernest Webb (Cree) and Greg Lawrence, produced by Lisa M. Roth. Season 2 combines the directing talent of Ernest Webb, Greg Lawrence, and Courtney Montour (Mohawk). Heather Condo (Mi’gmaq) returns as Director Trainee and April Maloney (Mi’kmaq) came on board as director of photography trainee.

GESPE’GEWA’GI: The Last Land Season 3 in English and Mi’kmaq is directed by Ernest Webb (Cree) and Greg Lawrence, Heather Condo (Mi’gmaq), Eliza Knockwood (Mi’kmaq); produced by Lisa M. Roth. with Production Supervisor Denis McCready; Production Manager Brittany LeBorgne (Mohawk), and production coordinator Shantae Gibson (Kainai)

About Rezolution Pictures
Rezolution Pictures is an award-winning production company that’s changing the narrative when it comes to diversity and representation in the entertainment landscape. They have established original Indigenous content within mainstream media and sold programming around the world in major markets to broadcasters including GEM, APTN, Superchannel, OMNI, TVO, CBC, RDI, ARTV, Télé-Québec, FNX, Vision Maker and internationally with PBS, Peacock +, ARTE. The Emmy-nominated Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World has won awards at Sundance, Hot Docs and the CSAs and the Gemini- and Peabody-winning Reel Injun has been inducted into the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Museum. The much-anticipated original limited series Little Bird produced with Crave, APTN, OP Little Bird and in partnership with Fremantle premieres on Crave & APTN lumi on May 26 and won the Audience Award Prize at the Séries Mania festival in Lille, France this spring.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail