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CBC announces fall 2020 premiere dates for new and returning series

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From a media release:

CBC today announced broadcast and streaming premiere dates for its fall 2020 slate of new and returning original programming, spanning 1300 new hours and 24 series that showcase distinct perspectives and voices Canadian audiences won’t find anywhere else. The new fall primetime schedule launches Monday, October 5 on CBC TV and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Mondays: Beginning October 5, new thriller THE SOUNDS kicks off the Monday night drama lineup, followed by Season 2 of acclaimed drama series PURE.

  • Tuesdays: Beginning October 6, CBC’s hit Tuesday night comedy lineup returns with the final season of BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW, followed by new seasons of STILL STANDING, THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES and CATASTROPHE.

  • Wednesdays: Beginning October 7, highly anticipated drama TRICKSTER debuts after making its World Premiere at TIFF 2020, preceded by the Canadian premiere of the new international version of WAR OF THE WORLDS.

  • Thursdays: Beginning October 15, BATTLE OF THE BLADES returns to the ice, followed by the 15th season of DRAGONS’ DEN in a reinvented Den as entrepreneurs deal with COVID-19 challenges, launching October 22. 

  • Fridays: Beginning October 9, new seasons of MARKETPLACE and YOU CAN’T ASK THAT premiere followed by LANDSCAPE ARTIST OF THE YEAR CANADA, hosted by Sook-Yin Lee and featuring top Canadian artists in a battle of the brushes. The landmark 60th anniversary season of THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki begins November 6.

  • Sundays: Beginning October 18, the groundbreaking documentary series ENSLAVED led by Samuel L. Jackson debuts, following the premiere of a new TV adaptation of CBC Radio’s BECAUSE NEWS hosted by Gavin Crawford.

  • Weeknights: Beginning Thanksgiving Monday, October 12, FAMILY FEUD CANADA returns for an all-new season with Canadian families and host Gerry Dee.

  • CBC Gem Exclusives this fall include acclaimed Radio-Canada original series C’EST COMME ÇA QUE JE T’AIME (HAPPILY MARRIED) on Wednesday, September 16, and the exclusive Canadian premiere of Season 2 of Emmy™-nominated comedy series PEN15 on Friday, October 16.  

  • Reflecting and reframing a range of perspectives at the heart of the Canadian experience, original CBC Films premiering on CBC Gem this fall include THE DISAPPEARANCE AT CLIFTON HILL directed by Albert Shin (October 2); AMERICAN WOMAN directed by Semi Chellas (October 16), and RED SNOW directed by Marie Clements (October 23).

CBC KIDS

  • With a new fall lineup launching this week, CBC continues to entertain and inform young Canadians with trusted original programming including THE ADVENTURES OF PADDINGTON, a new version of a familiar bear featuring the voice of Ben Whishaw (Mary Poppins Returns); heartwarming CBC/Radio-Canada original series REMY & BOO about a girl and her robot; and quirky comedy LOVE MONSTER based on the bestselling series of books by Rachel Bright.

AWARDS
CBC will feature the following award celebrations this fall, showcasing Canadian creators, musical artists and storytellers:

  • POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE SHORTLIST CELEBRATION AND WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT streaming on CBC Gem, on CBC Music’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts, and around the world at CBCMusic.ca/polaris on October 19 

  • SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE broadcast live on CBC, CBC Radio One and streaming on CBC Gem and CBC.ca/books/gillerprize on November 9

CBC’s Fall 2020 Primetime Schedule launching Monday, October 5:

All following times local. For Newfoundland and Labrador, please add half an hour to all times.

MONDAYS

7 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m.)

7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA Season 2 (104×30) Mondays to Thursdays; premieres the week of October 12

8 PM – THE SOUNDS (8×60) premieres October 5

9 PM – PURE Season 2 (6×60) premieres October 5

10 PM – THE NATIONAL

TUESDAYS

7 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m.)

7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA Season 2 (104×30) Mondays to Thursdays; premieres the week of October 12

8 PM – STILL STANDING Season 6 (10×30) premieres October 6

8:30 PM – THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES Season 28 (19×30) premieres October 6

9 PM – BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW Season 5 (8×30) premieres October 6

9:30 PM – CATASTROPHE Season 3 (6×30) premieres October 6

10 PM – THE NATIONAL

WEDNESDAYS

7 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m.)

7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA Season 2 (104×30) Mondays to Thursdays; premieres the week of October 12

8 PM – WAR OF THE WORLDS (8×60) premieres October 7

9 PM – TRICKSTER Season 1 (6×60) premieres October 7

10 PM – THE NATIONAL

THURSDAYS

7 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m.)

7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA Season 2 (104×30) Mondays to Thursdays; premieres the week of October 12

8 PM (7 AT, 7:30 NT) – BATTLE OF THE BLADES Season 6 (1×120, 6×60) premieres with a two-hour special October 15 

9 PM – DRAGONS’ DEN Season 15 (10×60) premieres October 22

10 PM – THE NATIONAL

FRIDAYS

7 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m.)

7:30 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m.)

8 PM – MARKETPLACE Season 47 (22×30) premieres October 9

8:30 PM – YOU CAN’T ASK THAT Season 2 (8×30) premieres October 9 *CBC Gem-first premiere, with all episodes available to stream beginning October 2*

9 PM – LANDSCAPE ARTIST OF THE YEAR CANADA (4×60) premieres October 9

9 PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS Season 60 (17×60) premieres November 6

10 PM – THE NATIONAL

SATURDAYS

Afternoons – ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES Season 6

7 PM – SHORT FILM FACE OFF (4×60) premieres October 3

7 PM – ABSOLUTELY CANADIAN (6×60) premieres October 31

9 PM and 11 PM – MOVIE NIGHT IN CANADA returns October 3

SUNDAYS

7 PM – BECAUSE NEWS (6×30) premieres October 18

7:30 PM – THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW Season 10 (10×90) premieres October 11

9 PM – ENSLAVED (6×60) premieres October 18

10 PM – THE NATIONAL

 

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Heartland

Heartland returns for Season 14 production

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From a media release:

CBC original family drama HEARTLAND began filming the fourteenth season in Alberta this week. Produced by Dynamo Films and SEVEN24 Films, HEARTLAND Season 14 will premiere in Winter 2021 on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service. The ten-episode, one-hour drama follows life on the iconic Heartland ranch as Amy Fleming (Amber Marshall) and her family deal with the challenges of running a horse ranch which has been in their family for six generations.

HEARTLAND Season 14 cast and crew are returning to set under different circumstances from previous seasons, due to COVID-19.

Although there was a delay from originally scheduled production due to COVID-19, the HEARTLAND cast and crew remain committed to sharing Season 14 with fans. HEARTLAND is the longest-running one-hour drama in Canadian television history. It is a multi-generational family drama that is much loved by fans of all ages, not only in Canada, but all around the world. HEARTLAND has made its way into the hearts of families in more than 119 countries.

Filming locations for Season 14 include Calgary, High River, Millarville, and Longview in Alberta, Canada.

A CBC original series, HEARTLAND is based on the bestselling series of books by Lauren Brooke. The executive producers are Michael Weinberg, Tom Cox, Jordy Randall, and Heather Conkie who also serves as the showrunner. The series is produced by Dean Bennett. The series writers are Heather Conkie, Mark Haroun, Ken Craw, and Alexandra Clarke. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports; Trish Williams is Executive Director, Scripted Content; Helen Asimakis is Senior Director, Scripted Content; and Deborah Nathan is Executive in Charge of Production.

Heartland is produced by Dynamo Films and SEVEN24 Films in association with CBC with the financial participation of the Canada Media Fund, Government of Alberta, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit.

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Kim's Convenience

Thunderbird Entertainment announces start of production on Season 5 of CBC original comedy Kim’s Convenience

From a media release:

Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc. (TSXV: TBRD) (OTC: THBRF) (“Thunderbird” or the “Company”) is thrilled to announce that production of the next season of its hit CBC original comedy series Kim’s Convenience begins today in Toronto. One of Canada’s most-watched homegrown comedies, the fifth season is set  to premiere on CBC TV and CBC Gem  in Winter 2021. As previously announced, CBC has also renewed the series for a sixth season.

In season five, the Kim family faces one of its toughest challenges yet, as they navigate a difficult medical diagnosis for Umma (Jean Yoon). With Appa (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) stepping up as the primary caregiver, and a recently graduated Janet (Andrea Bang) moving back in, boundaries are inevitably crossed. Meanwhile, Jung’s (Simu Liu) brief trip to business school tests his relationship with Shannon (Nicole Power) as Kimchee (Andrew Phung) reconnects with his family, and his high school crush.

Earlier this year, Kim’s Convenience was recognized by TV Guide as one of the best “feel good” streaming series available. It was also recently dubbed as a perfect quarantine distraction by Oprah magazine. Additional accolades include numerous Canadian Screen Awards, Leo Awards, ACTRA Awards and a Canadian Comedy Award. The series has also received nominations for awards from the Writers Guild of Canada, and the Directors Guild of Canada. In addition, the series has received international acclaim, winning a 2019 award for “Most Popular Foreign Drama” at the 2019 Seoul International Drama Awards in South Korea.

In addition to airing in Canada on CBC and CBC Gem, the series also streams on Netflix and is watched on cable and VOD platforms around the world, including in Japan and Korea.

A CBC original series, Kim’s Convenience is based on the award-winning play by Ins Choi, who also adapted it for television. The series is produced by Ivan Fecan and co-created by Ins Choi and Kevin White on behalf of Thunderbird Entertainment in association with the Soulpepper Theatre Company. Executive Producers are Ivan Fecan, Alexandra Raffé, Ins Choi and Kevin White, and Sandra Cunningham is Supervising Producer.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Corus Studios’ original series Big Timber makes its debut October 8 on History

From a media release:

Beginning Thursday, October 8 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, HISTORY® offers an inside look into the logging industry through the eyes of a rambunctious sawmill company. In Big Timber (10×60) logger Kevin Wenstob and his team, go to extremes to keep the family sawmill, and their way of life, alive. Deep in the heart of Vancouver Island, Kevin has invested $1.5 million on a remote timber claim high up the steep, rugged slopes of Klitsa Mountain. Home to some of the best lumber in the world, Kevin supplies his customers with the top-quality red and yellow cedar, fir, and rare hemlock that cannot be found anywhere else.

The team logs on rugged mountain cliffs where slopes reach angles as steep as 60 degrees. The weather is unforgiving, turning from scorching hot to torrential rain in a heartbeat, and snow comes early at this altitude. On top of everything else, Kevin’s equipment continues to get weathered by the harsh conditions and he is constantly concerned about equipment breakdowns.

With a thousand truckloads of timber waiting up top for him, he could make millions if he succeeds in getting them all down. However, it’s a huge gamble, and if he fails he could lose everything his family has worked for, he risks a hefty fine for any logs he leaves behind. It’s a constant battle to complete his mission and stay alive, but they’re up for the fight.

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Industry News

Link: CFC and Netflix announce the creators and TV series concepts selected for Project Development Accelerator

From a media release:

The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and Netflix are proud to announce the creators and TV series projects selected for the inaugural TV series portion of the CFC/Netflix Project Development Accelerator, an individually tailored development initiative, which runs from September to November 2020.

The CFC/Netflix Project Development Accelerator is a three-month accelerator designed to offer advanced project development and workshopping support for the four selected TV series projects. Tailored to their specific creative and business needs, the Accelerator will see these creators and projects benefit from international creative and marketplace expertise and feedback from Netflix executives, as well as a range of additional industry professionals, to help them elevate and amplify their original series on an international level.

MEET THE PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR TV SERIES PROJECTS:

 Alter Boys
Creator/Writer: Jonathan Lawrence; Producer: Ryan Wilson Cooper
Format/Genre: Half-hour drama

Alter Boys follows a group of young men who are thrust into furtive practices of conversion therapy in an isolated camp veiled by the woods. The new camp director’s aggressive program leaves the men struggling to navigate one summer’s haunting interplay of hope and ruin.

Jonathan Lawrence is a Winnipeg-based Indigiqueer filmmaker and actor who has produced several award-winning short and feature films and has appeared on both stage and screen. Most recently, Jonathan is working to expand his latest short film into a limited drama series. Jonathan aims to create evocative work that draws on a distillation of human vulnerability and brokenness amid visceral landscapes and the beauty therein.

#RELATIONSHIPGOALS
Creators/Writers: Jennifer Holness and Sudz Sutherland
Format/Genre: Half-hour comedy/drama

 #RELATIONSHIPGOALS follows Keisha Winters, a relationship blogger, podcast host and artsy divorced mom, who lives with her supremely capable daughter, Kelly, and her very Jamaican mother, Althea. Together, these women represent three generations of Black girl magic – all under the same roof, and all with strong opinions. About everything. Through the crazy stories that land in Keisha’s inbox, to the guests on her podcast and her own complicated personal life, #RelationshipGoals explores the funny side of friendship, family, life and love.

Jennifer Holness is an award-winning writer, producer and director. She created the TV series Shoot the Messenger and the award-winning mini-series Guns for CBC. She has produced numerous docs, including Stateless (PBS), which won the Hot Docs 2020 Special Jury Prize for Canadian Feature Documentary. Her dramatic feature, Home Again, was nominated for two CSAs and earned her a DGC nomination for Best Directing. Additionally, Jennifer produced Love, Sex and Eating the Bones, which won nine festival awards, including Best Canadian First Feature Film at TIFF 2003. Currently, she is directing the feature documentary Subjects of Desire and is developing the drama series Talk to Me with BellMedia.

Sudz Sutherland is an award-winning writer and director who has directed two award-winning features, Home Again and Love, Sex and Eating the Bones (Best Canadian First Feature Film, TIFF 2003), as well as more than 75 hours of television on shows including Batwoman, The Flash, Blindspot, Designated Survivor, Reign, Murdoch Mysteries, and many others. Additionally, Sudz co-created the series She’s the Mayor (VisionTV), Shoot the Messenger (CBC) and Guns (CBC). He has won an International Emmy for his work on The Phantoms, three CSAs for Best Direction and one CSA for Best Writing. Sudz is currently developing a drama series entitled Talk to Me with Bell Media, as well as a feature, Everything is Everything.

The Ageless
Creator/Writer: Faisal Lutchmedial
Format/Genre: One-hour sci-fi action/drama

The Ageless is a serialized one hour sci-fi action drama that follows an elderly WWII vet, who, once transformed by an age reversal experiment back into his young Nazi fighting prime, sets out to dismantle a fascist cult of the eternally young.

Faisal Lutchmedial is a screenwriter who most recently wrote on Endlings (CBC / Hulu) and Ransom (CBS / Global). He was invited to develop his latest feature screenplay The Voices Inside at TIFF Writers Studio in 2019. Faisal’s director credits include the short Useless Things, which won the Writers Guild of Canada English Script Prize at the Festival Nouveau Cinema Montreal, and the labour rights feature documentary My Cultural Divide.

girl
Creator/Writer: Pat Mills
Format/Genre: One-hour comedy/drama

Taylor gets ‘mistaken’ for a girl on the first day of high school. Instead of correcting everyone, Taylor runs with it and learns first-hand what it’s like to be a teenage girl – but is the perception of their gender more accurate than what Taylor is prepared for?

Pat Mills is a Toronto-based writer/director. His first feature, Guidance, was hailed as a “Grade A” comedy by the Los Angeles Times and was a New York Times Critics’ Pick. His sophomore feature, Don’t Talk to Irene, won Best Comedy Screenplay at the Austin Screenplay Competition, and two Canadian Comedy Awards (Best Feature; Best Writing in a Feature), among other festival awards. Pat was named one of MovieMaker Magazine’s 25 Screenwriters to Watch and was University of Toronto’s Universal Studios Screenwriter-in-Residence in 2018/19. He is currently in post on the queer thriller The Retreat (Alyson Richards Productions/Clique Pictures), and recently directed Queens, a drag queen comedy series for CBC Gem.

 

The CFC/Netflix Project Development Accelerator is one component of the larger Netflix/CFC Global Project, which supports Canada’s traditionally underserved creatives, including Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC), women, LGBTQ2S+, Francophone creators (French as a first language), and creators living with disabilities.

The two additional accelerators, the Calling Card and Marketplace Accelerators, are yearlong accelerators, which, to date, have supported more than a dozen projects, ranging from shorts to features and TV series. For more information on specific projects and participants, please visit https://bit.ly/2SwOLkA.

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