Everything about Rookie Blue, eh?

Golden Screen Awards recognize most-watched TV

From a media release:

Academy Announces First-ever Golden Screen Awards, Recognizing Canada’s Most-Watched TV Series

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television announces the creation of two new television awards: the Golden Screen Award for the most-watched Canadian Drama/Comedy Series and one for the country’s highest-rated Reality Series.

The Golden Screen Award for TV Drama / Comedy and the Golden Screen Award for TV Reality Show are Academy Special Awards which will be presented alongside the Golden Screen Award for Feature Film during the LIVE broadcast of the Canadian Screen Awards on CBC, March 1, 8pm nationwide (8:30 NT).

Based on data provided by Numeris (BBM Canada), these are the Top-Rated 5 programs in each genre for the 2013-2014 broadcast year. *

Golden Screen Award for TV Drama / Comedy Finalists
(in alpha order):

THE LISTENER | CTV (Bell Media) (Shaftesbury)
Using his intuitive powers and enhanced policing skills, telepath Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik) faces new professional and personal challenges as he helps solve crimes with the Integrated Investigative Bureau (IIB).

MOTIVE | CTV (Bell Media) (Foundation Features and Lark Productions)
Each episode of MOTIVE begins by revealing not only the victim, but the killer as well. It’s not a “whodunit,” it’s a “whydunit,”a question faced by spirited female Vancouver homicide detective Angie Flynn as she begins to piece together the clues from the crime.

MURDOCH MYSTERIES | CBC (CBC) (Shaftesbury)
Set in Toronto at the dawn of the 20th century during the age of invention, Murdoch Mysteries is a one-hour drama centred on Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson), the methodical and dashing detective who pioneers innovative forensic techniques to solve gruesome murders.

ROOKIE BLUE | Global (Shaw Media) (Entertainment One Television International)
After the bullet wounds and trauma of last season, life at 15 Division goes on for young cops, Andy, Sam. Chloe and Nick. Andy and Sam reunite and she’s tasked with training a challenging new rookie, under the watchful eye of a tough inspector.

SAVING HOPE | CTV (Bell Media) (ICF Films and Entertainment One)
Pulse-pounding surgeries, adrenaline-fueled breakthroughs and sultry romances force the doctors of Hope Zion to navigate unchartered waters. Alex faces doubts over her abilities as a surgeon and the men in her life. Charlie discovers mind-challenging medical miracles and Joel battles his inner demons as he treats patients on the streets.

Golden Screen Award for TV Reality Show Finalists
(in alpha order):

THE AMAZING RACE CANADA | CTV (Bell Media) (Insight Production Company Ltd.)
THE AMAZING RACE CANADA is a skills-based competition show in which two-person teams, who have a pre-existing personal relationship, race against other teams. Competitors strive to arrive first at “pit stops” at the end of each leg. The first team to the final pit stop wins the grand prize.

BATTLE OF THE BLADES | CBC (CBC) (Insight Production Company Ltd.)
Battle of the Blades is an original Canadian series that pairs NHL hockey greats with elite female figure skaters for an elimination style weekly competition. The pairs compete in figure skating performances judged by an expert panel that offer comments and marks for each performance. These marks are combined with the television audience votes to determine the winner.

BIG BROTHER CANADA | Slice (Shaw Media) (Insight Production Company Ltd.)
BIG BROTHER CANADA follows a group of strangers who live together in a house that records their every move, 24 hours a day. Each week they compete in challenges and one by one, vote each other out. Last house guest that remains wins the grand prize as voted by a jury.

DRAGON’S DEN | CBC (CBC) (CBC)
Launching a business is no small task. No matter how big an idea you think you have, it still takes a lot of work and a ton of cash. Enter the Dragons’ Den, where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business concepts and products to a panel of Canadian business moguls who have the cash and the know-how to make it happen.

MASTERCHEF CANADA | CTV (Bell Media) (Proper Television)
Canada’s Top 50 home cooks begin their quest to become the first ever MASTERCHEF CANADA and win a $100,000.00 prize. The home cooks will have to show off their cooking skills in intense culinary challenges in order to impress the judges Michael Bonacini, Claudio Aprile, and Alvin Leung.

*Audience estimates provided by Numeris based on a list of all Canadian television programming provided by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. Analysis based on Total Canada, P2+, Average Minute Audience during the period of August 26, 2013-August 31, 2014, original airings (“live plus 7 days”) with 50% or more of the airings occurring during the 2013-14 broadcast season.

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Top 5 reasons to be optimistic about Canadian TV

The days are getting longer, but they’re still pretty damn short. Spring with its warmer weather feels like a distant mirage. And there’s always something to complain about in Canadian television. But there are some hopeful signs this winter season:

  1. CBC is out of the gate this winter with fine ratings. Phew. Their newcomers Schitt’s Creek and The Book of Negroes found an audience, while returning favourites like Murdoch Mysteries continue to earn lots of eyeballs.
  2. Funny ha ha. City has launched two delightfully off-centre comedies in Sunnyside and Young Drunk Punk, and with them and CBC we now have a nice complement of the Canadian comedy old guard on our screens (Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and Bruce McCulloch) without simply trying to recreate the good old days.
  3. Please sir, can we have some more? Global’s got Remedy, the possibly-in-its-last-season Rookie Blue and … ummm … not a lot else coming up for original series. So they must have an announcement coming sometime soon about what else is up their sleeve. Right?
  4. 101 nights of awards. OK, the Canadian Screen Awards have only four nights of awards, but now that sounds like nothing right? What better than the recently announced nominations to keep us chatting through the winter about who was snubbed, why there’s a separate category for Best International Drama that doesn’t include any international dramas that aren’t Canadian, and why Tatiana Maslany wasn’t just nominated for all five slots under best actress in a drama. The broadcast on March 1 will be hosted by Andrea Martin — another Canadian comedy legend — or at least they will be if she shows up this time.
  5. Jay Baruchel knows how to fix Canadian comedy. He says give CBC more money (yes!) and get rid of the old boys club who “regardless of the quality” keep getting jobs. It’s an uncomfortable position for me, defending old guys, but I’m not entirely sure who he means, or who we can blame when relative newcomers’ shows tank. Canadian TV executives or marketers? Maybe, but I’m not sure how many of them have successful original programming in their job performance plans, and many of them are not boys. Still, it can only help when a homegrown celebrity is passionate about improving our homegrown industry. I mean, it might be better if he wasn’t getting lauded for starring in an American show while advocating for Canadian content, but baby steps.
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Link: ‘Rookie Blue’ not Ending? ABC Still Hopes for More

From Amber Dowling of the Huffington Post:

Last year, when Global TV and ABC commissioned a super-sized, 22-episode Season 5order of Toronto-shot cop drama “Rookie Blue,” speculation arose that the run could be the show’s last, with showrunner Tassie Cameron reportedly poised to retire the uniform.

In an interview with HuffPost Canada TV last August, after 11 of those episodes wrapped (the remaining 11 will now serve as Season 6), Cameron weighed in on the show’s future, saying she was no longer sure if she would call it a day. Continue reading.

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Link: Paul Gross honoured by Canadian Screen Awards

From The Globe and Mail:

Actor Paul Gross, documentary filmmaker Ric Esther Bienstock and TSN personality Michael Landsberg are among six honourees set to be recognized at next year’s Canadian Screen Awards.

“Due South” and “Slings & Arrows” star Gross will receive the Earle Grey Award, given to an actor or actress for a body of work in Canadian TV.

“Rookie Blue” producer Tassie Cameron will receive the Margaret Collier Award for a written body of work in TV, GlassBOX founder Jeffrey Elliott will claim the Digital Media Trailblazing Award and Landsberg will be honoured for his humanitarian work. Continue reading.

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TV eh B Cs podcast – Eric Johnson the dark and stormy

tvehpodcast

Edmonton-born and raised Eric Johnson is most familiar to audiences for his roles in Global TV’s ROOKIE BLUE, CW’s SMALLVILLE and the SYFY series FLASH GORDON. With recent performances in both ORPHAN BLACK and CRIMINAL MINDS, Eric is currently starring alongside Clive Owen in Steven Soderbergh’s THE KNICK for HBO/CINEMAX as Dr. Everett Gallinger. The show is already picked up for a second season to commence shooting in early 2015.

Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.

Want to become a Patron of the Podcast? We’ve got a Patreon page where you can donate a small amount per podcast and get a sneak peek of each release.

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